A COMPLETE QUOTE SHALL INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION: a. Sign and fill in contractor’s information on SF1449 Solicitation Form (page 1) and provide pricing (page 2). Please be sure to include contractor’s DUNS and CAGE number. Complete Certifications and Representations in the Provisions Section. b. Technical Capability – Interested contractors must provide sufficient information about product being offered (Spec. sheets, brochure, and pictures and other literature) to allow for a determination the offered product meets the specifications contained herein. c. Past Performance Information – Interested contractors shall provide at lease two (2) past performance references for recent and relevant work performed by the quoter involving SmartGPS/VHF Animal Collars within the last three years. Include project title, description, dollar value, dates performed and contact information for the performance reference, including location, and reference contact information (name, title, valid e-mail address, and phone) Quotations will be evaluated in accordance with 52.212-2 Evaluation – Commercial Items 2. Submit all questions in writing to Rita Fish-Whitlock at
[email protected] no later than the deadline of this solicitation. Questions should be submitted no later than three (3) days prior to the response deadline to ensure adequate time is available to respond and to amend the solicitation if necessary. 3. Quoters must be fully registered in the System for Award Management (www.sam.gov) including current online representations and certifications, no later than the solicitation response date/time. 4. In accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 9.1, a prospective contractor may be requested to provide additional information in order to assist the Government in making a responsibility determination. 5. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an agency of the Federal Government and is tax exempt (Tax ID # 41-0696271). 6. The Government intends to evaluate quotes and award a contract without discussions. Therefore, a quote should contain the quoter’s best terms from a price and technical standpoint. However, the Government reserves the right to conduct discussions if later determined by the Contracting Officer to be necessary. The Government may reject any or all quotes if such action is in the public interest and accept other than the lowest quote. STATEMENT OF WORK Movements of mesocarnivores in relation to wild pig operations TITLE OF CONTRACT Purchase of SmartGPS Tracking Collars for Raccoons and Opossums with corresponding Base Stations. BACKGROUND Wildlife research frequently requires documenting locations of study animals to determine where they live, forage, and reproduce as a basis for further determination of their activities on the landscape. When researching important details such as potential for disease transmission or damage to agriculture or other resources, accurate and precise locational information is essential to answering these questions. Traditionally, Very High Frequency (VHF) radio collars were used to collect this type of information, though have been replaced by collars providing far less locational uncertainty by incorporating global positioning system (GPS) technology. By using traditional VHF collars, combined with GPS technology, animal locations are obtained with much less effort and are more reliable and spatially accurate. Most recently, collar and GPS technology has advanced further to the point of allowing one-way and two-way communications (i.e., bluetooth technology, UHF transmission, Iridium satellites) between collars, downloading base stations, and researchers collecting information. These communications enable researchers to acquire locational information remotely without recapturing the animal to retrieve data on the collar. Additional desired features such as temperature and activity sensors, remote drop-off mechanisms, and SmartGPS enhance the ability of researchers to provide more answers. TYPE OF CONTRACT This will be a one-time firm-fixed Price Purchase Order for items meeting the specifications and terms herein. REQUIREMENTS Item Description To achieve the goals of the USDA APHIS WS NWRC Management of Ungulate Disease and Damage Project, we request the purchase of the following equipment, with specific configurations, to help accomplish documentation of raccoon and opossum movements. 15 raccoon and 15 opossum GPS/VHF collars: Unique VHF beacons for each collar. Collars shall be completely waterproof. No cables needed to program collars; all programming is wireless. Can remotely change the GPS collection (i.e. number of GPS points/day and when to collect to GPS points) on collars in the field. User can create ≥ 10 daily GPS schedules on collars. 3-axis accelerometer included in collar to record activity data. Ambient air temperature data recorded by collars. Incorporation of material in collar that will deteriorate, ranging from 3 to 36 months, to allow for automatic release of collar from animal. Collars must be compatible with existing Telemetry Solutions base stations. The USDA APHIS WS NWRC already owns two of these base stations. 12 Base Stations. Base stations are standalone and do not need on-site operator or laptop. Base stations operate ≥ 24 hrs on internal battery power source. Base stations must also be configured to operate via external power and include proper wiring for an external 12V battery. Base station(s) must be able to remotely download data from multiple collars, simultaneously. Base stations must also be portable and able to be attached to a drone to increase range of remote download. Base Stations shall not exceed 200 grams. Base stations shall be compatible with collars and allow for automatic, long range (up to 30 kilometers) download of GPS data. No cables needed to download data from collars; all data transfer from collar to computer is wireless via software provided by manufacturer. Other Requirements - 15 Collars must be designed for use on racoon of 4-9 kg in size; Raccoon collars must weigh < 75 grams. 15 Collars must be designed for use on opossum of 3-6 kg in size; Opossum collars must weigh < 70 grams. App/software, provided by collar manufacturer, used to download data must be compatible with Android and iOS operating systems. Must be able to view/verify downloaded collar data in the app/software in the field. ≥ 1-year warranty, which includes batteries. 365-day customer support shall be included. Shipping Instructions The collars shall be delivered, FOB destination included, within 45 days of receiving this contract. PLEASE SEE THE ATTACHED SOLICITATION FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THIS OPPORTUNITY