SOURCES SOUGHT
F -- Wildlife Technical Assistance to Support USDA Farm Bill Conservation Programs
- Notice Date
- 6/2/2004
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541990
— All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, North Carolina State Office, 4405 Bland Road, Suite 205, Raleigh, NC, 27609-6293
- ZIP Code
- 27609-6293
- Solicitation Number
- NRCS-11-NC-04
- Response Due
- 6/16/2004
- Archive Date
- 7/1/2004
- Point of Contact
- Elizabeth Caldwell, Contract Specialist, Phone 919-873-2113, Fax 919-873-2146, - Carmelita Wesley, Contract Specialist, Phone 919-873-2117, Fax 919-873-2146,
- E-Mail Address
-
lcaldwell@nc.nrcs.usda.gov, carmelita.wesley@nc.usda.gov
- Description
- The USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is issuing this Sources Sought Notice to determine if there are any interested parties who could perform the required services. All interested parties should respond to this Notice by providing the Contracting Officer with a statement of interest and a description of their capability to perform the statement of work. Employees of the USDA-NRCS are currently performing this service. This Notice solicits responses that include, but are not limited to, the following information: (1) Size of organization and number of employees who hold college degrees in wildlife biology, wildlife management, or forestry, (2) number of employees who are Certified Wildlife Biologists by The Wildlife Society, (3) number of employees who meet the criteria to be certified as USDA Technical Service Providers under the categories ?Wildlife and Fisheries? or ?Wildlife and Fisheries ? Interdisciplinary Biological?, (4) number of employees who hold a Certified Burner designation by the NC Division of Forest Resources, (5) a description of experience managing projects of state-wide scope and complexity, (6) experience developing upland and wetland wildlife habitat management plans on agricultural lands, (7) experience developing technical tools or procedures for wildlife habitat assessments, (8) experience training others in wildlife habitat management assessment and practices, (9) experience with wildlife habitat management in all three physiographic regions of North Carolina, (10) knowledge and experience applying wildlife-related practices using practice standards from Section IV of the NRCS Field Office Technical Guide (nrcs.usda.gov/technical/efotg/), (11) experience conducting effective wildlife conservation outreach and educational programs, and (12) knowledge of USDA Farm Bill cost-share programs and North Carolina?s Cooperative Upland Habitat Restorations and Enhancement (CURE) program. Background Under the provisions of Public Law 74-46, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is assigned responsibility to assist owners and operators with the development and implementation of conservation plans and systems. The Food Security Act and the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act (Farm Bill) authorize NRCS to utilize Farm Bill conservation program funds to deliver technical and financial assistance for wildlife habitat conservation. A North Carolina funded effort, the Cooperative Upland Habitat Restorations and Enhancement (CURE) program, has very similar goals of delivering technical and financial assistance for wildlife habitat conservation on private lands. Since 2002, CURE and USDA Farm Bill programs have been implemented in a cooperative manner to leverage benefits to wildlife habitat. This has been accomplished by focusing resources in common areas, sharing wildlife technical assistance from the respective agencies to ensure coordinated delivery of practice assistance, and using the programs? niches and authorities in a complementary fashion to deliver single integrated wildlife habitat plans for landowners. This cooperative approach has benefits for the client (a better product and service), the agencies (greater environmental outcomes), and the taxpayer (cost efficiencies). Since both CURE and the USDA Farm Bill conservation programs share common wildlife objectives, it is the intention of NRCS in North Carolina to continue this cooperative relationship to the greatest extent possible. Project Objective The objectives of this project are: 1. To improve the timeliness of technical assistance for North Carolina land managers who want to receive assistance from the Farm Bill conservation programs and CURE by increasing the level of technical assistance available to support the design, implementation, check-out, and reporting of wildlife-related conservation practices. 2. To improve the quality of wildlife technical assistance available for North Carolina land managers through the enhancement of wildlife conservation planning technology and outreach tools. 3. To improve the environmental outcomes from Farm Bill conservation programs by improving the technical quality of wildlife ranking criteria, and evaluating the conservation effects on wildlife habitat and populations. Implementation of this project will not preclude a Farm Bill program participant from selecting and acquiring technical assistance from any Technical Service Provider certified on the USDA TechReg website (techreg.usda.gov). Scope of Work The contractor is required to: Deliverable 1: Design wildlife habitat management practices, including the development of detailed practice specifications per NRCS standards (estimate: 6,000 acres per year) Deliverable 2: Provide technical assistance to support the installation wildlife habitat management practices cost-shared through the Farm Bill. (Estimate 6,000 acres per year) Deliverable 3: Provide the technical assistance for checkout, monitoring, and reporting progress of completed wildlife habitat management practices. This includes verification that practices are applied according to plans and specifications, and reporting progress using NRCS software. Deliverable 4: Develop wildlife management technical tools and information products e.g., technical notes, practice standards, job sheets for planners, application ranking criteria, etc. (Estimate: 12 per year) Deliverable 5: Prepare conservation plans for program participants using NRCS planning software. Includes providing inventory and assessment of wildlife conservation objectives and analysis of natural resource conservation treatment alternatives (Estimate: 30 plans) Deliverable 6: Prepare and deliver wildlife management training programs for NRCS and other technical service providers. (Estimate 6 programs per year) Deliverable 7: Prepare and deliver wildlife management outreach products and programs for potential program participants (Estimate: 6 programs per year) Deliverable 8: Provide assistance in the evaluation of Farm Bill conservation programs effects on wildlife habitat and populations. Quality Assurance Technical assistance provided will be spot-checked by USDA-NRCS technical staff to ensure compliance with NRCS planning policies and adherence to Field Office Technical Guide standards (www.nrcs.usda.gov/technical/efotg/). Deliverable Schedule Technical assistance will be made available on a continuous basis to support cost-share program applications. Individual project assignments will be made by NRCS. The actual extent will vary depending upon program applications within a program application sign-up period. Technical Point of Contact: Matt Flint, Biologist, Phone 919-873-2124
- Place of Performance
- Address: Various locations within North Carolina
- Zip Code: 27609
- Country: USA
- Zip Code: 27609
- Record
- SN00595739-W 20040604/040602211730 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps.gov Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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