NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD NONCOMPETITIVE PROCUREMENT Requisition No.: AG-0261-S-12-0030 Date of Notice: 03/08/2013 Contracting Officer: TANYA SPANFELLNER Closing Date: 03/15/2013 This notice will appear for 8 days from above date. ************************************************************************************** Description of Supplies/Services: The USDA Forest Service, Spring Mountain National Recreation Area, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, requires services, non - personal, to provide all tools, equipment, materials, personnel and management to provide needed continuous vegetation information across the forest to support Forest plan revision. A mid-level (1:100,000) existing vegetation map and other products were prepared by partnership composed of the Remote Sensing Applications Center (RSAC), Region 5 Remote Sensing Lab (RSL), Adaptive Management Services (AMS), and the Humboldt-Toiyabe NF with coordination from the Regional Office of the Intermountain Region. In this partnership, RSAC and RSL each provided general project management and expert vegetation mapping support, and AMS field crews collected thousands of field samples with guidance from the Humboldt-Toiyabe NF. Final map products are consistent with the Forest Service mid-level vegetation mapping standards, and are stored in the Forest GIS and National databases. The SMNRA is the last area where this project will be completed. The Government intends to award this requirement noncompetitively IAW FAR 13.106-1(b) (1), to David Charlet, DBA American West Ecology due to the highly specialized nature of the work required. There are no other contractors that could feasibly do the work, because using another contractor would require months for even a highly qualified researcher to get up to speed where as David Charlet, has an intimate knowledge and has conducted extensive research and developed the capability to provide the services required for this project. The contractor has worked with Southern Nevada Agency Partnership (SNAP) in developing vegetation maps on agency lands throughout Clark County. This includes vegetation data gathered in and around the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Red Rock Canyon National Recreation Area, whose lands adjoin the SMNRA on the East. The contractor has the capability for theoretical analyses, exploratory studies and experimental design in related fields of science and technology, the contractor has the ability to assist in the development of this map that is compatible with GIS Southern Nevada Agency Partnership (SNAP) Team, needs and for the purposes of planning and adoptive management. This will also create a data layer format that meets or exceeds the current USFS standards. The contractor has been able to define alliance types use for the delineation of associations required for the identification of understory species that are not present in the upper canopy; direct use of this associations is appropriate only where the mapping effort includes extensive ground observations. Thus, the alliance is defined as a grouping of associations with a characteristic physiognomy and habitat that share one or more diagnostic species that, as a rule, are found in the uppermost or dominant stratum of the vegetation. The contractor's alliance types are specific to the native plants in Clark County and are vital to be able to merge datasets across agencies. Association is the most basic unit of vegetation in the National Vegetation Classification System (NVCS). The NVCS defines an association as "a recurring plant community with a characteristic range in species composition, specific diagnostic species, and a defined range in habitat conditions and physiognomy or structure" (Jennings et al. 2004). The contractor's alliance types are specific to the native plants in Clark County and are vital to be able to merge datasets across agencies. Other interested concerns having the ability to furnish these services/supplies shall submit a capabilities statement to the Contracting Officer no later than the closing date of this announcement. All submissions will be evaluated to determine if competitive opportunities exist. This is NOT an RFQ. This does represent the Government's only written notice of this procurement. All responsible sources may submit a response which, if timely received, must be considered by the agency. The estimated/potential $45,000 Place of Performance: Las Vegas, NV ************************************************************************************* ************************************************************************************* This notice and any resulting contract or order conforms to the requirements in place through FAC 05-66 (effective 28 Feb 2013). All questions regarding this procurement shall be in writing, and addressed to Tanya Spanfellner at
[email protected] no later than 3/15/2013.