Inactive

140L5724R0003 BLM-Utah State Office Terrestrial Assessment, Inventory, and Monitoring (AIM) Data Collection Sources Sought Notice February 05, 2024 Purpose: This is a sources sought notice for the pur... 140L5724R0003 BLM-Utah State Office Terrestrial Assessment, Inventory, and Monitoring (AIM) Data Collection Sources Sought Notice February 05, 2024 Purpose: This is a sources sought notice for the purpose of conducting market research. Proposals are NOT being requested, nor accepted at this time. Responses are being requested exclusively from small businesses. The purpose of this notice is to gain knowledge regarding the type of interested businesses and their qualifications. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will use information obtained through this notice to develop an acquisition strategy. The BLM anticipates conducting a competitive acquisition for this requirement. The amount of interest or lack thereof will determine the possibility of a small business or other socio-economic small business set-aside for the solicitation. Quality of responses received will be considered when making any small business set-aside determinations for this requirement. Additional Information: Specification and drawings have been included with this notice. All documentation is in a DRAFT format and has been provided for comment. Comments received may be used to make corrections, revisions, and/or other requirement changes depending on the nature and type of information received. Any comments provided shall be considered public information and the BLM reserves the right to use the information provided without restriction. Reimbursement: Response to this notice is strictly voluntary; no reimbursement will be made for any costs associated with providing information or any follow-up information requests. North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes: 541620 / Environmental Consulting Services Small Business Size Standard: $19.0M Solicitation: The BLM anticipates issuing a request for proposal in Spring 2024. Anticipated Period of Performance: The period of performance will be from October 1 2024 - December 30 2025. The field season for data collection will be between March 1, 2025 to September 30, 2025 with data submission due October 15, 2025. Requirements: The Utah State Office (UTSO) is requesting collection of BLM Terrestrial Assessment, Inventory, and Monitoring (AIM) data to document effectiveness of the decisions established in its Resource Management Plans, to determine treatment effectiveness, or for habitat evaluation, ES&R, among others. Terrestrial AIM data collection and support for the 2025 field season. The contractor will be responsible for collecting data at targeted and randomly distributed points on BLM administered lands throughout individual field and monument offices within Utah as well as preliminary QA/QC. The work consists of approximately: -Field data collection at approximately 650 plots across the 11 field offices and monuments on BLM administered land within Utah. Data collection is completed using, at minimum, 3 person crews. -Field crews are often required to camp at/near AIM plots during the field season. -At each plot, the contractor shall collect data in accordance with the Monitoring Manual for Grassland, Shrubland, and Savanna Ecosystems - Second Edition (Herrick et al. 2017), and other methodologies as requested by BLM personnel. -The contractor shall follow the latest version of the Terrestrial Field Crew Data Management Protocol, which includes the Calibration Protocol, Rejection Protocol, and Data Backup Protocol, and can be found on https://www.blm.gov/aim/resources. -Each plot, at minimum, shall include plot characterization, plot observation, photos, line-point intercept, vegetation height, gap intercept, soil aggregate stability, and complete plot-level species inventory in accordance with the BLM AIM monitoring manual. -Ensuring that field crews can identify local plants to species or sub-species, either by providing specialized local information or training, or by requiring formal education background of crew members. -Ensuring that data is collected within the timeframes identified by BLM personnel for optimal vegetative expression, according to climate and local phenology. -Electronic data capture while field sampling is preferred by the BLM. Any data that is collected using paper forms should be entered into Collector/Survey123 as soon as possible and error-checked in detail again after it is entered. The procedure for this can be found in the most current version of the Terrestrial Field Crew Data Management Protocol in the Field Crew Data Management section. -Providing and setting up electronic capture devices with the current versions of AIM data capture applications. A list of these applications can be found on the AIM Data Capture Applications page: https://blm.gov/aim/resources. Prior to fieldwork project must be populated with fields and picklists appropriate for the project areas. -Following the Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) steps outlined in Monitoring Manual for Grassland, Shrubland, and Savanna Ecosystems ¿ Second Edition and the latest Terrestrial Field Crew Data Management Protocol (https://blm.gov/aim/resources Monitoring Protocols) Submission / Response Contents: Interested small businesses should submit the following information: 1. Company name, DUNS number, SAM UEI number, address, point of contact, telephone number, and email address 2. Business classification type: Please indicate whether your company is classified small business under the NAICS code listed above. The size of a small business firm includes all parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, etc.-see 13 CFR 121.108. Misrepresentation of size status may result in penalties. Please indicate all relevant small business socioeconomic classifications as follows: a. SBA certified Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) business b. Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small (SDVOSB) business c. SBA certified Woman Owned Small (WOSB) business d. Economically Disadvantaged Woman Owned Small (EDWOSB) business e. 8(a) business (include program entry and expiration) f. Socio-economically disadvantaged business g. Indian-owned small business economic enterprise 3. Information detailing number of past AIM plots sampled for the BLM in accordance with the BLM AIM monitoring manual 4. Information detailing the capability to hire sufficient supervisors, program managers, crew managers, and crew staff (comprised of trained botanists and soil scientists) 5. Information detailing the experience, education, and qualifications, and AIM training certifications of personnel employed or will be employed to complete this project. 6. Information detailing the ability to source a sufficient number of: 4x4 vehicles with high clearance, UTV/ATVs for difficult to access terrain, electronic data capture tablets for collector/survey123 data collection, GPS devices, and all other materials needed to successfully complete the monitoring as listed on the AIM website, (http://aim.landscapetoolbox.org/data- collection/terrestrial-master-equipment-list-2-9-17-1/). 7. Statement regarding ability to comply with FAR 52.219-14 Limitations on Subcontracting, which requires the prime contractor to perform at least 25% of the cost of the contract, excluding the cost of materials with its own employees and employees of a similarly situated subcontractor. 8. Feasibility of completing work during proposed period of performance. 9. Rough estimate of cost to complete 650 terrestrial AIM plots across the state of Utah. 10. Submission of any suggested changes, questions, conflict or ambiguities of DRAFT documents. 11. Interested companies may also submit existing marketing materials such as capability statements and brochures. Submittal Due Date/Time: February 28, 2024, at 12:00 PM Mountain Time Submit To: Mark Renforth / Contract Specialist / mrenforth@blm.gov