The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) Maine Field Station is issuing notice of intent to negotiate a sole source procurement with W. F. Baird and Associates to develop a customized software system to provide environmental data (minimum requirements are water temperature, salinity, tide height, directional velocity, and bathymetry) at a 25 meter grid resolution or less that corresponds directly to the time and location of smolt movements (measured, interpolated, or assumed) in the study area. The Atlantic salmon are part of a population segment listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Gaining a better understanding of the environmental conditions these fish encounter and site-specific conditions associated with mortality is a critical research need. The development of the software system by Baird and Associates will work with the existing infrastructure of database and GIS software systems and has been successfully demonstrated in preliminary work with 1997-1998 and 2002-2003 datasets. The contract for this software is a follow-on to a previous software project successfully implemented by Baird and Associates. The statutory authority for other than full and open competition is 41 USC 253 (c) (1), Only One Responsible Source. Interested parties may identify their interest and must provide evidence of their capability to respond to the requirement by April 20, 2004. Written requests for additional information may be faxed to (757) 441-3786. Telephone requests will not be accepted. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals. A determination by the Government not to compete with this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. Numbered Note 22 applies.

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