SOLICITATION NOTICE
B -- Beaufort Sea Anadromous Fish Overwintering Habitat
- Notice Date
- 5/20/2003
- Notice Type
- Solicitation Notice
- Contracting Office
- Minerals Management Service Procurement & Support Services Division 381 Elden Street, MS 2500 Herndon VA 20170
- ZIP Code
- 20170
- Solicitation Number
- 72732
- Archive Date
- 5/19/2004
- Point of Contact
- Melissa Rountree Contract Specialist 7037871354 Melissa.Rountree;
- E-Mail Address
-
Email your questions to Point of Contact above, or if none listed, contact the IDEASEC HELP DESK for assistance
(EC_helpdesk@NBC.GOV)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- The Minerals Management Service (MMS) plans to identify Beaufort Sea anadromous fish overwintering habitat. It will identify habitat using remote sensing techniques. Conclusions will be verified by ground-truthing field work to detect fish presence or absence and the habitat characteristics. The study is envisioned to be a 2 1/2 year effort. The study results will be used to help evaluate and mitigate the effects of outer continental oil and gas development. The most likely potential effects are hypothesized to result from oil spills or ice roads built to supply offshore oil and gas development. BACKGROUND: Arctic coastal rivers and stream systems are productive aquatic habitats but anadromous fish use may be limited by the amount of suitable overwintering habitat. Despite the likely importance of these areas in which fish must survive a minimum of eight months a year, the extent of overwintering habitat accessible to anadromous fish of the Beaufort Sea is not known. Very little scientific knowledge exists on the location, characteristics, and variation of overwintering habitat. Arctic cisco, Bering cisco, least cisco, humpback whitefish, broad whitefish, Arctic char, grayling, rainbow smelt, saffron cod, and four-horn sculpin are known to overwinter in deep pools of major rivers. It is assumed that water just outside the shorefast ice is too saline to support overwintering fish because no ciscoes, whitefish or char have been documented to overwinter in Alaskan coastal waters. However, recent oceanographic studies in Canada indicate conditions which might allow anadromous fish to overwinter in nearshore delta areas within or just beyond the shorefast ice. Physically sampling all waters for overwintering potential is logistically difficult and expensive. In past fish overwintering studies, diving and underwater video was found to be an effective but expensive sampling technique for identifying overwintering habitat. MMS believes the cost of initial location of overwintering habitats can be reduced by using remote sensing technology such as synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and other satellite imagery. Methods to identify unfrozen fresh waters could be improved by studying the shades of grey in SAR images. Where overwintering habitat is brackish water, however, other remote sensing methods would be needed to help interpret SAR images. The goals of this study are to use remote sensing technology to identify probable unfrozen habitat, then field verify whether fish use the identified habitats and describe the important habitat characteristics. The field verification will also determine whether salinities are too high for anadromous fish just beyond (seaward of), and within the shorefast ice zone. The study area(s)are to be representative of major potential anadromous overwintering habitat, including freshwater, brackish delta waters, and nearshore areas just outside the shorefast ice of the Alaskan Beaufort Sea (145o-157o west longitude). The technical aspects of this study include the following tasks: Task 1) Stakeholder, Intergovernmental Coordination and Permitting. The Contractor shall communicate with local residents, Native groups, commercial activities, and environmental interests to minimize local concerns, avoid disturbance to the subsistence use of resources, and maximize the use of local expertise and vessels. The Contractor shall obtain all necessary permits in a timely manner for conducting the scientific program. The Contractor shall also arrange to present the findings to key stakeholders and to MMS staff. Task 2) Summary of Existing Knowledge. Identify suspected or probable riverine, riverine-connected, delta, shorefast ice and brackish (seaward of shorefast ice) anadromous fish overwintering sites within five miles of the Alaskan Beaufort coast using local traditional knowledge, scientific and ?gray? literature, and other sources of information. Collection of traditional knowledge is expected to include individual contacts or talking circle discussions with knowledgeable local residents who are paid for their time and expertise. Task 3) Use Remote Sensing Data To Estimate Location and Amount of Anadromous Overwintering Habitat. Remote sensing will be employed to identify overwintering habitat(in the form of sufficient unfrozen water) and plan timing and locations of field ground-truthing in the second and third years. Activities to be considered by the contractor may include but are not limited to identifying three to five past years of satellite imagery, chosen on the basis of weather conditions and availability, to identify the range and variability in location of potential overwintering habitat and minimum habitat (maximum freezing) periods. Remote sensing technologies to be considered in tasks 3 and 4 below may include, but are neither required nor limited to, review of current year satellite data, reconnaissance by aircraft radar, through-the-ice fish finder, underwater photography or other innovative technology to finalize location and dates of field verification. The Contractor shall document how they are going to obtain the necessary satellite imagery. We are currently exploring options with the National Ice Center (NIC) to provide, in our facility and at minimal cost, contractor access to the SAR imagery in current NIC archives from 1999-2003. There is no guarantee that this agreement will be ratified by the NIC and MMS. Task 4) Field Validation and Characterization of Anadromous Overwintering Habitat: Fieldwork in Years 2 and 3 is anticipated to include, but is not limited to, use of state-of-the-art portable remote sensing equipment to confirm use of representative areas as overwintering habitat; identify species; estimate relative- and, (as far as practical) absolute-abundance and mortality; as well as hydrographic, physical or other habitat characteristics within habitat pockets during the late overwintering season. Field work is to be restricted to potential sites for anadromous fish (i.e., at least seasonally connected to the river system) and likely to be affected by road building, potential oil spills or other development activities in connection with federal offshore oil and gas leases. The Contractor?s proposal shall recommend and describe a statistically defensible sampling design. Task 5) Logistics and Permits: The Contractor shall be responsible for communications, field logistics, and transportation of supplies, equipment, data and samples to and from the field in a timely manner. The Contractor shall specify appropriate logistics and safety measures compatible with proposed field methods under expected weather and ice conditions. The Contractor shall coordinate with other ongoing studies to maximize scientific gain and minimize cost. The Contractor shall identify and adequately treat potential negative consequences of research activities in relation to local villages, subsistence activities, wildlife populations, wildlife habitats, and other natural resources. Task 6) Data and Analysis: All data collected will be analyzed to a) test the hypothesized overwintering locations and b) quantify the biological importance of the overwintering locations. The estimated funding for this project is $480,000 but is subject to change and will be finalized at the time the Request for Proposal is issued. The Period of Performance is estimated to be 30 months during FY 2003-2005. The procurement for this solicitation will be in two Phases: Phase I Capabilities Statements and Phase II Technical Proposal, Program Management Plan, and Cost Proposal. Your Phase I CAPABILITIES STATEMENT must detail: (1) Your key personnel (those who would have primary responsibility for performing and managing the study) with their qualifications and specific experience; (2) Your organizational experience and facilities including your organization?s experience and success in managing this type of work. Include a description of the organization, the experience of its support personnel, and information about your subcontractors, partners, and quality of cooperation between organization, staff, key personnel, and clients. and (3) Specific references for previous work of this nature that your key personnel or organization has performed within the last four years. Include contract number, project description, period of performance, dollar amount, client identification, the point of contact, telephone number & E-mail address. If you believe the Government will find derogatory information as a result of checking your past performance record, please provide an explanation and any remedial action taken by your company to address the problem. YOUR CAPABILITIES STATEMENT WILL BE EVALUATED BASED ON: (1) The relevance, breadth and depth of the skills, abilities and experience of your key personnel including their experience in work similar to that proposed, and their demonstrated ability to collect, interpret and synthesize information to meet the goals of the research project. Scientific personnel must collectively demonstrate the appropriate experience in the relevant disciplines. Particularly pertinent is their expertise in the areas of Arctic anadromous fish and overwintering habitat; SAR and other satellite remote sensing technologies; portable remote sensing technologies; Arctic field sampling and logistics; gathering and use of local and traditional knowledge; and researching effects of the petroleum industry. This experience should be demonstrated through work experience (e.g., work on similar research projects, relevant courses taught, etc.) or authorship of relevant books and articles published in appropriate peer reviewed journals. (2) The ability of your organization to monitor and manage the research to complete projects in a timely manner, adhere to schedules and budgets, maintain effective cost controls, and ensure the delivery of quality products. The similarity and degree of comparability of past work to this research project will be considered. 3) Your organization's experience and past performance. The number, size, and complexity of similar projects, adherence to schedules and budgets, effectiveness of program management, willingness to cooperate when difficulties arise, general compliance with the terms of the contracts, and acceptability of delivered products will be considered. In Phase II, following review of all Capabilities Statements, MMS will establish a list of those deemed most qualified to perform the work. Offerors will be contacted and told their evaluation. At that time MMS will provide additional instructions for written Technical and Cost proposals and the Program Management Plan. HOW TO RESPOND TO PHASE I: In order to compete for this contract, interested parties MUST demonstrate that they are qualified to perform the work by submitting their Capabilities Statements by 4:00 P.M. EST, June 10, 2003, with an original and one (1) copy to Melissa Rountree, Contract Specialist, Minerals Management Service, 381 Elden Street, MS-2500, Herndon, VA 20170-4817. Four (4) additional copies and one electronic copy in MS Word on a floppy disk or CD shall be sent to Kate Wedemeyer, Minerals Management Service, Alaska OCS Region, 949 E. 36th Avenue, Anchorage, AK 99508. Questions or requests should be E-mailed as soon as possible to: Melissa.rountree@mms.gov. Please include your full name, the RFQ number (72732) and title, your organization, complete address, and email address and phone numbers.
- Web Link
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Please click here to view more details.
(http://ideasec.nbc.gov/ecprod/owa/ec$cbd.sypfirstcount?P_SERVER_ID3=MM143501&P_OBJ_ID1=95466)
- Record
- SN00328925-W 20030522/030520214719 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
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