F--The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District is issuing this Sources Sought Announcement to determine the interest of small business contractors for the Ninigret Pond Eelgrass Restoration Project

*****CORRECTION TO PREVIOUS NOTICE: RESPONSE DATE IS 5 DECEMBER 2005***** The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District is issuing this Sources Sought Announcement to determine the interest and availability of small business contractors. The purpose of the Ninigret Pond Eelgrass Restoration project is to restore subaqu atic vegetation, in the form of eelgrass, to the flood tidal shoal of Ninigret Pond, Charlestown, RI. About 40 acres of the flood tidal shoal will have been dredged under separate contract to a depth of about 0.75 meters (2.5 feet) below MLW. Eelgrass will be restored in the dredged restoration areas through a combination of direct planting and seeding. The restored beds will be planted in mosaics of patches (at a 0.5 ratio ) throughout the restoration area to mimic natural beds and to allow the beds to coa lesce through succession. Monitoring of the effort by the Government will take place for two consecutive growing seasons to determine the success of the project. Work shall be completed no later than September 10, 2008. The estimated cost of this work is b etween $1,000,000.00 to $5,000,000.00. The solicitation shall be made available via the Internet on or about 2/14/06. Interested Small Businesses who are capable of performing this work should submit a written notice to this office demonstrating your abi lity and experience planting and seeding in aquatic environments. This is not a request to be placed on a solicitation mailing list nor is it a Request for Proposal (RFP) or an announcement of a solicitation. Responses are required no later than 5 Decemb er 2005. Responses should be addressed to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District, 696 Virginia Road, Concord, MA 01742-2751, ATTN: David Dilks (Contracts Branch). Firms interested shall provide the above documentation, in one original for m and one copy. Responses shall be limited to 5 pages and shall include your small business status, if any. The government will not pay for any material provided in response to this market survey nor return the data provided. The results of this survey will be considered to be in effect for a period of one year from the date of this notice.