R--Notice of Intent to award Sole Source Contract with Edward Gheen as the Implementation Coordinator for the implementation of the 2009 Malheur NWR Fire Rehabilitation Plan

In 2006 several thousand acres of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge were burned in the South End Complex Fire. With that catastrophic event, fire burned area emergency stabilization funds were received for FY 07, and several treatments and stabilization projects were funded along with a Fire Rehabilitation Implementation Leader to implement fire rehab treatments and specifications. Edward Gheen was hired in a one year term position as the Implementation Leader. For the first few months, a major part of his time was spent disseminating information from the South End Complex and Basque Wells and Craters Fires Burned Area Emergency Stabilization Plan (ES plan). Along with dissemination information from the ES plan, Ed had to interpret FWS fire policies involved with these processes. As work on the implementation of the plan progressed a major part of Edward's job involved compiling monitoring information, field data, and general analysis of available information to write a Fire Rehabilitation plan which is an extension of the ES plan. This plan encompassed the next two fiscal years and involved complex planning procedures, standards, and locations. The plan was submitted for funding in FY 08, but was not funded due to budget deficiencies and Edward was let go after his term expired. Later in FY 09 the Fire Rehabilitation Plan was funded and the Refuge has until the end of the Fiscal Year to complete the work in it. The Refuge staff have knowledge of the plan and its specifications, but would have tremendous difficulty getting the plan implemented due to the time needed to sort through information that is relatively unfamiliar to them while trying to get any other Implementation Leader up to speed at the same time. Edward Gheen is intimately familiar with every aspect of the FY 09 Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Fire Rehabilitation Plan and is the only person who can efficiently implement it and all of its parameters successfully. Edward Gheen is the preferred contractor. Edward Gheen is a veteran owned small business. Point of contact: Lorrie Gleghorn at 503-231-2392