--Sage Grouse Core Habitat Mapping and Modeling

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), in accordance with FAR 6.302-1 intends on negotiating and awarding a sole source contract with The National Audubon Society for the mapping and modeling of core Greater sage grouse habitat. The BLM will utilize the geospatial core habitat data for Greater sage-grouse to better manage for the conservation of this at-risk species. The standard NAICS classification is 541370. The size standard is $4.5 million. The Audubon Society has established a working relationship with the eleven western state wildlife management agencies to acquire the use of geospatial data depicting Greater sage-grouse lek locations and lek breeding populations, as well as available Greater sage-grouse telemetry data from 1997-2009 covering the United States range of this species. The Audubon Society will follow the method developed by Doherty et al. (2009) and approved by the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies to develop spatial models and generate maps of core habitat for the Greater sage-grouse throughout the entire species range in the United States. This method is currently only completed by The Audubon Society. In addition, this information is needed for the use in Eco-regional Assessments which will begin in late April. Therefore, this project must be completed prior to then, and cannot wait for vendors to try and develop similar modeling methods. All responses received by 4:00PM MST on February 17, 2010 will be considered by the Government. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed purchase order based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Interested persons shall identify their interest and capability to respond to the requirement no later than the aforementioned date. Any response to this notice must show clear and convincing evidence that competition would be advantageous to the Government in future procurements. For questions concerning this Notice of Intent, please contact Chad Hepp, [email protected].