The US Geological Survey (USGS) is seeking the procurement of the time of the Ecological Society of America’s personnel necessary to support the Panel on Vegetation Classification and provide the support for the panel meetings. The panel is responsible for the oversight and management of the Peer Review, as well as education and outreach throughout the year. USGS works directly with the ESA’s Vegetation Panel in the implementation of the U.S. National Vegetation Classification. Period of Performance will be 10/1/2017 through 09/30/2018. The USGS requires a provider responsible for the management of the activities of a Panel on Vegetation Classification in addition to managing the Peer Review Process outlined as required by the Federal Geographic Data Committee’s (FGDC) Vegetation Subcommittee to revise the United States Vegetation Classification. The USGS is aware of no other source that can provide the above. Therefore, it intends to make an award to Environmental Society of America, unless it is contacted by any who believes they have obtained similar technical expertise and can provide the same service. Vendors are invited to contact the Contract Specialist, Erika Zwiren via email at
[email protected] no later than 12:00 PM EST, Thursday, July 13, 2017 with an affirmative answer. SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION STATES THE FOLLOWING PART: The following information is provided to demonstrate the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications: The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), will acquire the time of the Ecological Society of America’s personnel necessary to support the Panel on Vegetation Classification and provide the support for the panel meetings. The panel is responsible for the oversight and management of the Peer Review, as well as education and outreach throughout the year. USGS works directly with the ESA’s Vegetation Panel in the implementation of the U.S. National Vegetation Classification. The Ecological Society of America is an established scientific organization with a long history of scientific research related to the classification of vegetation. The Ecological Society of America’s Panel on Vegetation Classification designed and manages the Peer Review Process outlined as a requirement by the Federal Geographic Data Committee’s Vegetation Subcommittee to meet the needs of the dynamic content standard. That standard was officially approved by the FGDC in 2008 and requires that the United States Vegetation Classification can only be revised through a formal peer review process. The Ecological Society of America’s Governing Board formally granted the Panel on Vegetation Classification standing committee status in 2008. In that capacity the Panel: • Advances standards for peer review of the U.S. National Vegetation Classification (NVC) to facilitate improvements in classification methods and in the scope and quality of data, • Fosters and coordinates research in vegetation classification and the use of the NVC for understanding vegetation patterns and dynamics, • Supports applications of the NVC for management and conservation, research, and education objectives, and • Promotes national and international understanding of North American vegetation as a component of ecosystems that sustain the biosphere. This project requires the direct involvement of the panel in the technical and independent peer review process. No other organization maintains and has access to the legacy data, the scientific expertise, and the institutional knowledge necessary to complete this task efficiently. This acquisition provides access to the ESA personnel responsible for the managing the activities of the Panel on Vegetation Classification; without their support the independent peer review by the nation’s experts on vegetation classification would not be possible diminishing the scientific rigor of the classification and the Standard it supports. No other scientific organization public or private is focused on plant community classification which requires experience in statistically rigorous scientific analysis (ordination and classification) of detailed vegetation plot data and an understanding across the full domain of plant community types in the U.S. ESA’s Panel on Vegetation Classification and NatureServe are the only two non-governmental organizations that have been involved in extensive vegetation classification projects across the U.S. ESA’s Panel on Vegetation Classification is the sole vendor that can provide access to the network of ecologists, who make up the panel, along with the data and information each panel member can provide. While NatureServe plays an important role in development of the USNVC content, they cannot provide the independent scientific review required. Only the ESA Panel on Vegetation Classification brings together experts needed to provide that review. The Federal Geographic Data Committee – Vegetation Subcommittee recognizes Ecological Society of America as its authority with respect to the independent peer review process necessary for USGS to maintain the dynamic content of the NVC Standard. The NADP is a public, nonprofit, unincorporated, interstate association of parties interested in atmospheric deposition and its effects. It is structured as a cooperative program that represents coordinated efforts of many federal, state, academic, and private organizations and individuals to operate monitoring sites, report data, and oversee research activities related to atmospheric deposition. Membership in NADP is open to individuals and institutions interested in participating in any aspect of atmospheric deposition monitoring and/or research stemming from NADP data. This organizational structure is consistent with State Agricultural Experiment Station (SAES) Guidelines for Multi-state Research Activities. The contracts the USGS seeks to award represent partnerships to support sites in the most efficient manner with organizations and individuals that own and control the local site locations. Under the interagency National Acidic Precipitation Assessment Program established in 1981, the USGS is the designated lead agency for the monitoring of atmospheric deposition and NADP is the operational organization through which the USGS and other participating organizations accomplish this national-scale monitoring in the most efficient and cost-effective manner.