Funding Opportunity – DOD Golden Eagle Monitoring

September 10, 2022

Request for statements on interest/request for proposals within three cooperative ecosystem studies units
Interest #N62473-22-2-0013

Project to be initiated in 2022

Project Title: Golden Eagle Monitoring and Management, Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, CA

Responses to this Request for Statements of Interest (RSOI) will support the Golden Eagle Monitoring and Management Program at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center (MCAGCC) Twentynine Palms, California. The authority for this Cooperative Agreement is 16 USC §670c-1. The total funding limit for base contract execution is $106,500.00.

Estimated Funding
Base Period – $106,500.00

Type of Assistance Instrument Anticipated: Cooperative Agreement

Authority: Cooperative Agreement under 16 USC §670c-1

Eligible Applicants: Any Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) Californian, Colorado Plateau, Desert Southwest, or Rocky Mountains cooperative partner who qualifies under the DoDGARS Part 34 or 2 Code of Federal Regulations 200 is eligible to apply.

Cost Sharing: Not required

Background:
Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms (MCAGCC) is a major training asset for the United States Marine Corps (USMC) in the Mojave Desert. MCAGCC covers roughly 1,100 square miles in San Bernardino County, CA. Golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) are protected by several legislative authorities that pertain to MCAGCC, including the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, and Executive Order 13186. All federal agencies also have the burden of analysis through the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to evaluate the effects of their actions and plans on the natural environment, which includes golden eagles. To fully identify impacts of an action on the golden eagle, MCAGCC would first need to have the following information: 1) up to date biological information; location, distribution, general abundance and productivity data, 2) information on activities that are likely to result in disturbance or take based on biological data, 3) avoidance and minimization measures for disturbance and take, and 4) quantification of any anticipated disturbance or take and applying for the corresponding permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).

Little recent golden eagle abundance, distribution, and productivity data exist at MCAGCC. Publicly available golden eagle nest data accessed through Data Basin combined with a 2012-2013 survey sponsored by Environmental Affairs at MCAGCC, documents that there are at least ten nest locations recorded on base, in which five were observed active during the 2012 breeding season, and another 4 located in the shared use area of Means Lake.

Brief Description of the Anticipated Work:
Objectives:
1) Create a map of potential nesting habitat for golden eagles at MCAGCC
2) Conduct drone surveys or other innovative methods that will avoid disturbance to confirm nesting in potential nesting habitat
3) Confirm active and inactive nests
4) Model how climate change could affect current eagle habitat on MCAGCC
5) (Optional) If possible within budget and access constraints, determine and report nest success
MCAGCC seeks an experienced team to map golden eagle nesting habitat on base, develop an achievable monitoring protocol, and implement portions of that protocol within budget at high priority sites. The main final deliverable shall be a final report and GIS SDSFIE-compliant geodatabase with a field-tested monitoring protocol for the base and preliminary baseline data.
High quality habitat is in open rock faces with limited or infrequent proximal human use. The use of drones and other non-intrusive technology is an anticipated requirement to determine occupation and eaglets. Drone use on base requires added coordination and deconfliction in restricted airspace.
The winning proposal will reinvestigate the 14 known nesting sites while also expanding the survey effort to potential habitat throughout the base (approximately 12 training areas). The Government recognizes that total coverage and amount of surveys performed may be limited by the budget, access, and timeline rather than the availability of habitat.

Reporting and Meetings
Reports and meetings are meant to satisfy all Tasks and Options exercised. All reports and minutes are generated as draft by the Cooperator, proceed through review by the Government (base and NAVFAC), before finalizing with incorporated comments.

Large and Complex Work Plan,
The Cooperator shall prepare a proposed Work Plan detailing how the Cooperator proposes to accomplish all Performance. The Work Plan shall include, but not be limited to, methodologies for executing each element of the project (both field and analytical treatments), data measurements and requirements, project implementation (including site access, reports and their structures, quality control procedures, and preliminary work schedule), personnel and agency roles and qualifications, technical services and qualifications (if distinct from personnel and agency), references, and the accident prevention plan. Modifications to the work plan may be made at any point in the project so long as they are approved by the Cooperative Agreement Technical Representative (CATR), Base Technical Representative (BTR), and the Cooperator before applying those changes.
The final work plan will be distributed to the CATR and BTR electronically.

Accident Prevention Plan (APP).
The Recipient shall submit an Accident Prevention Plan/Health and Safety Plan concurrently with the Work Plan, but it shall be printed under a separate cover/separate file from the Work Plan. The APP will detail any anticipated hazards or threats to safety and detail any measures that can or should be taken to avoid or mitigate them. This plan should include Activity Hazard Assessments (AHAs) and any medical or safety certifications held by the project staff such as 40-hour EM 385 1-1 and OSHA training, first aid, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (all examples given are mandatory).
Final APP will be distributed to the CATR and BTR electronically.

Quarterly (3-month) Progress Reports.
The Cooperator shall prepare Progress Report(s) detailing incremental accomplishment of all Performance Objectives under task orders. Reports shall be due quarterly by the 10th of the first month of the Federal quarter. Progress reports shall be prepared on a quarterly basis on a timeline that matches the timing of the submission of invoices. If no progress has been made or the project is on standby, a brief email will suffice to document that the quarterly report had no significant findings.

Each report shall reference the Project, Document number, and Contract number. The report shall include the dates of the reporting period, a detailed account of work accomplished, a figure/map displaying locations of polygons surveyed, an estimate of percentage of work completed, and an estimate of costs to date [written by email separately from the written report and at the same time]. The report shall include any past or future potential issues. Progress report structure and information required shall be amended as requested by the CATR.

Progress reports will be distributed to the CATR and BTR electronically.

Large Draft and Final Reports and Publications.
The Cooperator shall prepare a Draft (for Government review) and Final (incorporating Government comments) Report detailing the accomplishment of all Performance Objectives under task order during the project. For purposes of the draft report all raw data, data sheets and electronic databases (including GIS data) shall be included with the electronic copy. The Draft Final Report is due within 90 days of completion of field work and within 60 days of the end of the Period of Performance.

The Final Report is due within 30 days of Government comments or by the end of the Period of Performance, whichever is sooner. The final report will be a comprehensive report compiling, summarizing, and describing the information gathered in all years of the task order, satisfying the primary objectives.
The BTR and CATR will review the Draft Report and provide comments and/or modifications to the Cooperator for incorporation into the report. If the Cooperator takes exception to any of the requests for modification made, a meeting or telephone conference will be held to resolve the issue. If there are unresolved differences, the Cooperator will address these in a separate letter submitted to the BTR and the CATR.

Electronic, legible copies of all raw field data collected and any raw laboratory results are to be submitted with the draft report. All electronic photographs are to be labeled with the project name, location of the photo, and date of the photo.

Final Report Specifics
1) Photographs/images taken as part of the task order shall remain Government property and are to be provided electronically on disc(s) or via DoDSAFE with submission of the final report. Cooperators may use the photos internally, and for publication with prior approval by BTR and only with appropriate citation.
2) The final report will be submitted with all of the information contained in the draft report as modified by Government comment.
3) GIS Data – The Cooperator shall submit any new GIS data generated during the field surveys following the guidelines of the installation and the US Marine Corps GEOFidelis. GIS data will be reviewed by the BTR and shall not be considered final until all comments have been incorporated and data accepted by the BTR. Any elements that do not have a usable correlation to the GEOFidelis model can be delivered in a separate geodatabase agreed upon by the Cooperator and the BTR.

The final report will be distributed electronically to the CATR and electronically and in bound hard copy to the BTR. The Cooperator shall provide one complete set of unbound hard and electronic copies of the final report (including all photographs, appendices, copies of all data sheets completed in support of the project, all databases and other supporting information) to the NAVFAC SW regional NCR Records Management. The transmittal cover sheet and mailing instructions can be found in Environmental Work Instruction EWI 4, Revision 6 revised 30 September 2021 (available on request to the CATR). The hard copy sent to NCR Records Management shall be unbound and 3-hole punched without a binder. The digital copy provided should be on the minimum number of DVD’s or CD’s necessary to hold the required information. Two additional bound hard copies along with an electronic version and any electronic data on CD-ROM or DVD-ROM will be sent to the BTR. All electronic deliverables will also be delivered via DoDSAFE or similar mechanism with a drop-off request initiated by the CATR or BTR upon Cooperator’s request.

On-Site Full-Day Kick-off Meeting.
Kick-off and Site Visit Meeting: The purpose of the kick-off meeting is to discuss any questions the Cooperator may have regarding the contract, explain Base access and security requirements/restrictions, clarify schedules and discuss other pertinent information on the work to be performed. This meeting will also serve to introduce the Cooperator to the site and any unique characteristics or specifics for application of the work plan.

Unless otherwise specified in the task order, the Cooperator personnel managing the task order are expected to be present in person at all meetings.
The Cooperator shall provide meeting minutes to the CATR via e-mail within 15 days after the meeting. Content of meeting minutes shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, a list of attendees with contact information, topics/issues discussed, problems and solutions identified, the “Task List” generated at the meeting with designation of responsible person for each task listed and due dates. The Cooperator shall incorporate any Government comments received on the meeting minutes. Revised meeting minutes shall be submitted via e-mail within five (5) days of receipt of Government comments.

MCAGCC requires roughly a half-day of field briefings for all personnel entering the field. These briefings include desert survival, range safety, UXO avoidance, and other mandatory safety and protocol trainings. These trainings will be offered as part of the full-day kick-off meeting or can be scheduled at convenience.
On-Site Half-Day Meetings (Small).

There shall be one in-person meeting per year following field sampling to discuss progress and at the end of the project to discuss final results including analysis, write-up, and any resulting publications the Cooperator may wish to prepare and submit.

Period of Performance:
The base period of performance covered by this agreement is 36 months upon award. The end date is the anticipated date that the Government accepts the final report. However, the parties may extend the term of the Cooperative Agreement by written modification.

Anticipated Award Date
Base Period
Date of Award – 36 Months
Fall 2022

Materials Provided Upon Award:
MCAGCC will work with the Cooperator to provide the latest GIS materials including known nests (past and present), topography and terrain, imagery, and anything else the Cooperator requests from the base GIS data so long as it is available for use.

Latta, B.C., C.G. Thelander, P. Cantle. 2017. Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos canadensis) Surveys at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center (MCAGCC), Twentynine Palms, California.

Select Engineering Services. 2020. Using Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems to Monitor Golden Eagle Nests on DoD Installations: A Guidebook.

Materials Requested for Statement of Interest/Qualifications:

Please provide the following via e-mail attachment to: Kevin Magennis (kevin.e.magennis.civ@us.navy.mil).
a. SF 424 (Enclosure 3) and Research & Related Senior/Key Personnel Form (Enclosure 4). Please see Factor 1 for additional submittal requirements.
b. Research & Related Budget Forms (Enclosure 5).
c. Please see Factor 3 for additional submittal requirements. SF-LLL Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (Enclosure 6). If applicable, complete SF- LLL. Applicability: If any funds other than Federal appropriated funds have been paid or will be paid to any person for influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any agency, a Member of Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a Member of Congress in connection with the grant/cooperative agreement, you must complete and submit Standard Form – LLL, “Disclosure Form to Report Lobbying.”
Reimbursement of pre-award costs will not be allowed.
Please note, that some of the forms functionality may be lost. Please visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/forms/r-r-family.html#sortby=1 to retrieve the forms directly from the Grants.gov website.

Review of Statements Received:
Proposals will be evaluated as best value tradeoffs based on the following three factors: 1) Credentials of Key Personnel, 2) Scientific Approach, and 3) Reasonableness of Cost.
NOTE: All requirements listed are minimum requirements. Offerors will be assessed on their ability to adhere to the listed requirements, completeness of responses, follow directions, comply with restrictions and provide quality control on their submittals. All page limits refer to 12 point font and single spaced pages. Submissions that exceed the page limitation specified within its corresponding factor may have additional pages removed from consideration.

Factor 1 – Credentials of Key Personnel
a. PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: The Recipient shall designate one person as responsible for ensuring that provisions are in place, project and personnel supervision are sufficient, quality control and meeting of reporting requirements are on met a daily basis. This person shall have, at the minimum:
1. Minimum three (3) years of professional experience in designing field surveys, establishing methodology, and successful project management
2. Minimum three (3) years of professional experience in avian biology and ecology, additional weight will be given to offerors with experience in eagle nesting surveys and diurnal raptors
3. Professional experience leading personnel, staff, or students in desert, mountainous, or otherwise hostile environments
4. Direct experience with the technology identified to perform the nesting surveys (e.g. drones or similar devices) preferably on military lands.
5. A graduate degree in Biological Sciences, Natural Resource Management, Geography, Data Management, GIS, or a similar discipline
b. FIELD TECHNICIAN(S): The person shall have, at the minimum:
1. A Bachelor of Science degree or higher in biology, ecology, geography, or other project-objective related field from an accredited college or university.
2. General knowledge of field data collection techniques in the method(s) specified in the proposal and ability to perform the tasks specified in the proposal.
3. Ability to keep clear, legible and accurate notes.
4. Ability to perform moderate to difficult hiking and basic climbing (bouldering) in a harsh desert terrain and high temperatures.
5. Direct experience or training with the technology identified to perform the nesting surveys (e.g. drones or similar devices) preferably on military lands.
With the Research & Related Senior/Key Personnel Form, the Applicant shall provide type written résumés, not to exceed 8 pages for each individual, single spaced with 12pt font for the project manager and field technician(s) that are assigned to the project. Résumés must clearly state qualifications, experience with this type of project, professional registration and certificates with start and end dates for each role or project detailed. In addition to the standard résumé, please list applicable projects or research with reference points of contact demonstrating each professional experience bullet above to cover both the technical requirement and the time requirement. Indicate which requirement each project/research fulfills.

Factor 2 – Scientific Approach
Not to exceed 5 pages, the Offeror shall develop a description of their approach and methods to addressing the anticipated work stated above. The Offeror shall be evaluated as to the soundness of the overall approach and use of any innovative techniques to accomplish project objectives. Factors for evaluation include:

a. Method of nest surveys as judged for sensitivity, applicability, compatibility with the military environment, likelihood of success, and types of data taken.
b. Flexibility of method and efficiency of data collection to work around prioritized military training schedules.
c. Amount of data and area expected to be surveyed within the budget.
d. Expected scale and resolution of the data and deliverables.
e. Reasonableness and approach to monitoring and ability to perform for up to 2 years of field work within budget.
f. Timelines likely to stay within fiscal and other previously written deadlines to include reporting and deliverables.
g. Complexity and adaptability to environmental factors.
h. Ability to operate safely in desert and military training conditions.
i. Innovation and efficiency of approach and the transferability to other Navy and Marine Corps projects including scalability of protocols.

Factor 3 – Reasonableness of Cost
After technical evaluation of the proposal, the offers will be analyzed for fair and reasonable pricing. The proposal will be analyzed to determine whether its pricing is materially/mathematically balanced, and is fair and reasonable. The Offeror shall use OMB Circular A-21 “Cost Principles for Institutions of Higher Education,”, 48 CFR part 31 “Contract Cost Principles and Procedures,” or 2 CFR 200 Subpart F “Audit Requirements” as applicable. Evaluations will include an analysis to determine the Offeror’s comprehension of the requirements of the solicitation as well as to assess the validity of the Offeror’s approach. A clear cost breakdown of work elements to be accomplished detailing quantities for the various work items, unit, unit prices and extended prices will be required and will be evaluated. Evaluation will include an analysis to determine the Offeror’s comprehension of the requirements of the proposed agreement as well as to assess the validity of the Offeror’s methodology. Please be sure to provide a proposal for the option elements as listed within the statement of work. Please provide your proposed budget on the provided pdf titled, “Research and Related Budget” form (Enclosure 5). *Form: RESEARCH AND RELATED BUDGET
Complete the Research and Related Budget form in accordance with the instructions on the form. You must provide a detailed cost breakdown of all costs, by cost category, by the funding periods described below, and by task/sub-task corresponding to the task number in the proposed Statement of Work. You may request funds under any of the categories listed as long as the item and amount are necessary to perform the proposed work and meet all the criteria for allowability under the applicable Federal cost principles. The budget should adhere to the following guidelines:
• The budget should be driven by program requirements. Elements of the budget shall include:
• Direct Labor – Individual labor category or person, with associated labor hours and unburdened direct labor rates.
• Indirect Costs – Fringe benefits, overhead, G&A, COM, etc. (must show base amount and rate). Justify in Field L.
• Travel – Number of trips, destination, duration, etc. Justify in Field L (on the form).
• Subcontract – A cost proposal as detailed as the applicant’s cost proposal will be required to be submitted by the subcontractor. If applicable, include a Research & Related Subaward Budget Attachment Form.
• Consultant – Provide consultant agreement or other document that verifies the proposed loaded daily/hourly rate. Include a description of the nature of and the need for any consultant’s participation. Strong justification must be provided, and consultants are to be used only under exceptional circumstances where no equivalent expertise can be found at a participating university. Provide budget justification in Field L.
• Materials – Specifically itemized with costs or estimated costs. An explanation of any estimating factors, including their derivation and application, shall be provided. Include a brief description of the applicant’s procurement method to be used (competition, engineering estimate, market survey, etc.). Justify in Field
• Other Directs Costs – Particularly any proposed items of equipment or facilities. Equipment and facilities generally must be furnished by the cooperator/recipient (justifications must be provided when Government funding for such items is sought). Include a brief description of the applicant’s procurement method to be used (competition, engineering estimate, market survey, etc.). Justify in Field L.
• Budget Justification (Field L on the form): Provide the required supporting information for the cost elements as shown above (see Research & Related Budget instructions) and listed as follows: indirect cost, travel, consultant, materials, and other direct costs.
Provide any other information you wish to submit to justify your budget request.

NOTE: Every deviation from the scope of work requirement must be identified. Proposer must identify the paragraph in the scope of work that is applicable and provide sufficient information to justify why the deviation is in the best interest of the government.

RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF EVALUATION FACTORS – Factor 1, 2, and 3 are of equal importance.

Timeline for Review of Statements of Interest:
We request that Statements of Interest be submitted by September 16, 2022 2:00 PM PDT. This Request for Statements of Interest will remain open until an investigator team is selected. Statements of Interest received after September 16, 2022 2:00 PM PDT is considered “late” and may not be considered. Please submit requests for information/questions no later than September 14, 2022 2:00 PM PDT.

Please send electronic responses and questions only to:
Kevin Magennis, Contract Specialist Environmental Acquisition Core kevin.e.magennis.civ@us.navy.mil
Point of Contact information:
Kevin Magennis, Contract Specialist Environmental Acquisition Core
Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Southwest
750 Pacific Highway, 12th Floor, San Diego, CA 92132

Funding Opportunity – DOD Golden Eagle Monitoring

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