This is an advance notice announcing the intent of the Seattle District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to award a sole-source firm fixed price contract for one (1) base year and four (4) option periods to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to acquire services for operation of a juvenile salmon screw trap at the Green River in King County, Washington. Operation of the trap would evaluate the effectiveness of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) implementation of Reasonable and Prudent Alternative 2 per the Biological Opinion on Howard Hanson Dam issued February of 2019. Trap operation will provide data to estimate production of sub-yearling Chinook and other juvenile salmonid species migrating from the river during outmigration season.

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has operated the screw trap for 21 consecutive years at river mile 34.5 and is the only known entity to monitor smolt migration in the mainstream of the Green River. In previous years, the Corps entered a cooperative agreement with WDFW to operate the trap. Continuing to work with WDFW would ensure data continuity and integrity with historic datasets. Additionally, restricting competition would eliminate the cost of additional time required to award due to the bidding process, methodologies development, and obtaining permits and equipment. WDFW already has the needed equipment, permits, and methodologies in place.

The proposed contract action is for services for which the Government intends to solicit and negotiate with only one source under the authority of FAR 6.302. Interested parties may provide their capability within 10 days after day of publication. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals. However, all responses received within 10 days after date of publication will be considered by the Government. 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.

Questions relating to this announcement may be sent via email to Tam Huynh, Contract Specialist, at [email protected]