Description
Intent to Award to vendor Sole Source. Vendor is Small Business and current in SAM.Gov WORK STATEMENT Background. The Hawaiian goose or nene ( Branta sandvicensis ) is a federally and state listed Threatened and Endangered species, and native to the Islands of Hawai`i. Nene are strongly attracted to nesting habitat at the Hōkūala Resort’s (Resort) property, adjacent to Līhu`e Airport (LIH), Kaua`i District, State of Hawai`i. Nene began visiting and subsequently nesting at the Resort property between the two main runways at Līhu`e Airport (LIH) in the mid-1980’s. The increasing number of nene adjacent to LIH created concerns that an air strike could result. On April 14, 2011, Governor Neal Abercrombie issued an Emergency Proclamation directing the Hawai`i Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) in cooperation with the Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services to immediately undertake to translocate nene from the Resort property. DOFAW developed a 5 year plan to translocate the entire nene nesting population from the Resort. As of March 31, 2016 a total of 652 nene have been translocated from the Resort to the islands of Maui and Hawai`i. As nene were removed from the Resort, the number of dispersal events at Līhu`e Airport, to reduce the risk of nene/aircraft conflict at LIH, declined. In the 2017/2018 breeding season, 14 pairs nested. The goal of this project is intended to reduce nesting from returning pairs, and preventing any additional nene from nesting this year at the Resort. Hazing This Pilot Project proposes that Wildlife Services’ personnel will be able to haze nene on the Resort property as needed to prevent nesting. Nene may attempt to nest at any time during the day or night. To be effective, personnel will need to conduct hazing activities multiple times consecutively. Both of the following hazing methods will be implemented by this project. Hazing with Canines – One method to haze nene will be using trained dogs (Border Collies) with the objective of flushing birds from the property. The birds will need to be flushed multiple times in order to be effective. A spotter with infrared scope and/or night vision binoculars will need to be observing to see where the birds go so that if they land again on the property they can be flushed again. A certain number of nene will have satellite tracking devices attached, so their overall movements may be tracked to assess the efficacy of the hazing techniques. Canine Requirements Fully vetted health requirements as the State of Hawai’i is rabies free Veterinarian Health Certificate Each canine with individual identification; tattoo or Passive Integrated Transponder chip Basic obedience Canine must be public-friendly and genial Trained to haze/herd geese on land, as well as able to swim out to an island to haze nene Trained for an Emergency Recall Whistle in the event of an emergency Need for two weeks training of WS staff at State-side Training Facility, followed by two weeks training with staff and trainers at Resort on Kaua`i WS Staff – Another method to haze will include personnel approaching nene with golf carts, walking, running or using handheld flags, and flashlights. The goal is also to attempt to flush the birds form the property. Again, the birds will need to be flushed multiple times. These methods can be used during the day when dogs cannot be used, as well as at night. Human hazing will not include any form of noise disturbance. The Resort has stated that hazing methods must be compatible with the Resort experience for visitors and not result in disturbance or interfere with Resort operations or guests. In direct proximity to guest rooms, only hazing methods that will not disturb guests are acceptable. Delivery One (1) fully trained Border Collie will be delivered to the WS office on Kaua`i when requested. To my knowledge, this type of canine and threatened and endangered avian hazing has not been done within the Western Region of Wildlife Services before. Basic prices of trained Border Collies are around $7,500 on line, although US Fish and Wildlife Service recently paid $20,000 for an untrained (unknown breed) brown treesnake detector dog for the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, and Kaneohe Marine Corps Base, Hawai`i recently acquired two Border Collies for over $24,000 and one week of handler training. Once the contract is agreed upon and the date of delivery agreed to, Wildlife Services’ canine handlers will travel to the Canine Training Facility for a two week period to be paired with the appropriate Border Collie and begin the bonding/training process. Next, the Trainers will accompany the WS canine handlers and their respective Border Collies to Kaua’i so the bonding/training process may continue on-site at the Resort for another two week period. 2) Quantities One (1) fully trained Border Collie to be ordered and delivered, with portable kennels, collars, and Recall Whistle to the island of Kaua`i, Hawai`i. 3) Payment Vendor to register in the Invoice Processing Platform (IPP) @ https://www.ipp.fms.treas.gov/ to down load invoice for payment disbursement. Invoices must be numbered and list vendor address, point of contact name and phone number and delivery order number. Invoices must be dated no earlier than delivery date.