Annual Curation Fees for Archaeological Collections

Contract No. 70181AM041 TAS: 14 1263 0000 United States Department of the InteriorJustification of Other than Full and Open Competition Under $25,000 1) Briefly, a description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency's needs and include the estimated value.The Museum will provide curation services for nine cubic feet of human remains and associated artifacts and grave goods from the Alaska Maritime National Widlife Refuge. It will also provide curation services for 29 feet of faunal remains from the Kodiak National Widlife Refuge. 2) Statutory Authority permitting other than full and open competition. Identify the statutory authority permitting with the FAR citation and FAR citation Title. FAR 6.302-1, Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. 3) WHY are the proposed contractor's unique qualifications for the nature of the acquisition requiring the use of the authority cited in item (2). The Burke Museum is the only repository which meets Federal curation guidelines spelled out in 36 CFR 79 and is willing to take large collections of faunal materials. Some of these collections were deposited with the Burke Museum in the late 1970s. Recently, the Museum has become the primary repository for faunal remains from prehistoric sites in Kodiak. In addition to their value for understanding human use and adaptation, these collections are a priceless record for understanding environmental change over the last 8,000 years. The legal authorities cited above require archaeological collections from federal lands to be curated in repositories meeting stringent standards for physical security, staffing, and public access. The Museum has the space, technical expertise, and staffing to properly care for these collections. 4) WHAT effort was made to ensure that offers were solicited from as many potential sources as is practical. The University of Alaska-Fairbanks, Museum of the Aleutians, and Alutiiq Museum have declined to accept and curate these specific collections. 5) A Description of the Market survey conducted and the results. Discussions between cooperators and fellow colleagues produces no other alternative sources to consider.