The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers intends to award a sole source Contract using Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 Civil Works funds, contracting with other than full and open competition based on only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy USACE requirements for a subscription to NatureServe's Multi-Jurisdictional Dataset (MJD) Web Service. The service provides a quick and convenient way to find out where endangered, threatened, and other at-risk species are located in relation to USACE project locations. The proposed action will make this data available to USACE users across the country. NatureServe is a non-profit organization that represents an international network of biological inventories-known as natural heritage programs or conservation data centers-operating in all 50 U.S. states, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean. The objective scientific information about species and ecosystems developed by NatureServe is used by all sectors of society-conservation groups, government agencies, corporations, academia, and the public-to make informed decisions about managing our natural resources. They collect and manage detailed local information on plants, animals, and ecosystems, and also develop information products, data management tools, and conservation services to help meet local, national, and global conservation needs. This subscription will allow unlimited usage/unlimited queries during the subscription year. These data are widely used by government, academia, NGOs, and the private sector to inform conservation and environmental management. A menu of XML and GIS-based web services is now available to streamline access to these data. NatureServe Web Services provides direct access to these data from desktops by integrating the existing distributed network of biodiversity databases held by state and provincial natural heritage programs. Data from most of the U.S. and Canada are accessible. Access to the NatureServe's MJD Web Service will be provided to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Institute for Water Resources (IWR), 7701 Telegraph Road, Alexandria, VA 22315-3868. The subscription will be available to all within USACE that register to use the service. The estimated total cost of this effort in the Base Year $ $86,347. It is estimated that the yearly cost will have a 3% annual escalation for Option Years 1-4. USACE will realize significant savings compared with obtaining the individual Natural Heritage program data for each state. In addition, we have an included an option to develop/test the subscription on a tablet computer for the governments use. NatureServe offers unique access to all available biodiversity data. This subscription service is not provided by any other vendor. As such the data are generally considered the standard for biological evaluations are used by all sectors of society-conservation groups, government agencies, corporations, academia, and the public-to make informed decisions about managing our natural resources. IWR will be able to share the MJD Web Service with USACE districts, providing substantial cost savings to the Government compared with purchasing the data from each state's Natural Heritage database. It also ensures that the data is integrated uniformly. NatureServe is the membership organization for a network of 82 independent natural heritage programs and conservation data centers throughout the Western Hemisphere. It was established in 1994 and was originally known as the Association for Biodiversity Information. By 2001, the organization had grown and evolved into its present form. The Nature Conservancy, which since the 1970s had provided scientific and technical support to the network, transferred this role to NatureServe, along with professional staff, databases, and responsibility for the scientific standards and procedures under which the network operates. It would be significantly more expensive than NatureServe's subscription to purchase each state's data separately. Since each state is a member of Nature Serve, these are the only two options to obtain the data. NatureServe is presently the only vendor supplying this consolidated data and is used by all sectors of society-conservation groups, government agencies, corporations, academia, and the public-to make informed decisions about managing our natural resources. If other firms become available with similar biodiversity subscription services comparable to NatureServe, then those firms will be considered in future procurements. An internet search was conducted to determine if any other vendors exist that have access to the required data. Only NatureServe was determined to be available to provide the desired data consolidated for all 50 states. Also, IWR continuously interacts with consulting firms that provide environmental consulting services, including several firms and subcontractors under an IDIQ contract. Such firms routinely visit IWR and provide information and presentations on their capabilities and expertise. IWR also tracks such firms through communications with other federal agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Department of Defense and through industry trade and technical publications. At present, none of these other firms can provide the required subscription services comparable to NatureServe's service. This is a special notice prepared in accordance with the format in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.302-1(a)(2)(iii)(A), Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. However, any firm that believes it can meet this requirement may give written notification to the Contracting Officer within 15 days from the date of publication of this announcement. Supporting evidence must be in sufficient detail to demonstrate the ability to comply with the requirement. Responses received will be evaluated; however, a determination by the Government to compete the proposed procurement based on the responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. If no responses are received, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will proceed with awarding a Firm Fixed price type contract to NatureServe for Nature Serve Multi-jurisdictional Dataset Screening Web Service Subcription. These services will be provided to the Institute for Water Resources, Alexandria, VA. Point of Contact for this requirement is Tonya Brailey-Jordan at
[email protected], 7701 Telegraph Road, Alexandria, VA 22315.