(ii) Solicitation Number: AG-569R-S-17-0035. This solicitation is issued as a Firm-fixed price Request for Quote (RFQ). Simplified procurement procedures will be used for this acquisition per Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 13. The Government intends to make one contract award without discussions. Quotes should be submitted initially on the most favorable terms, from a price and technical standpoint, which the quoter can submit to the Government. The Government may issue an order to other than the lowest offeror, waive minor informalities or irregularities in offers received, or elect not to award at all. If necessary, the Government may conduct discussions with any or all offerors. It is in the offeror's best interest to fully respond to the all evaluation factors since an order may be issued on the basis of information received, without further discussion. Award will be made on a Best Value basis and offers shall at a minimum, contain the items described in this section. Each offer shall contain sufficient information to enable a thorough evaluation.
The government reserves the right to award one or more items without awarding all items. Awarding all items is contingent upon adequate funding being available.

(iii) This solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular FAC 2005-95. Provisions and clause incorporated by reference have the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. The full text of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and Agriculture Acquisition Regulations (AGAR) can be accessed at http://farsite.hill.af.mil/ OR
http://www.acquisition.gov/far/ and http://www.usda.gov/procurement/policy/agar.html

(iv) This procurement is a total small-business set aside. The NAICS code is 541715 (2017)/541712 (2012) and the Small Business Size Standard is 1000 employees.

(v) Spruce-Fir, Red Pine, and Aspen Botany Survey

(vi) Description: The purpose of the contract is to survey specified areas of the Ottawa National Forest for the presence of Regional Forester's Sensitive plants, State of Michigan listed plants, other plants of potential viability concern, and priority non-native invasive plants, and record findings. Surveys of the selected areas will be conducted once during the survey period for Items 1-4, and twice for Item 5; survey period varies by Bid Item as stated above. The Contractor shall progressively accomplish the work at a rate that will result in completion of the contract within the time specified. The Contractor shall furnish all labor, equipment, supervision, transportation, supplies, and incidentals (except those designated as Government-furnished property listed in Section G). Before any contract work is started, the Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) will arrange for a pre-work conference to discuss contract provisions and specifications.

(vii) The Contractor shall be required to a) commence work under this contract on or about May 15, 2017, b) prosecute the work diligently, and c) complete all field work by September 15, 2017 except for Bid Items 2 and 4 where surveys may be conducted in 2018. Data sheets/forms will be provided to the COR by September 30, 2017. (If the 2018 survey option for Bid Items 2 or 4 is selected, this work would commence on or about May 15, 2018 and be completed by September 15, 2018 with deliverables due Sept. 30, 2018.) Place of performance is located in sections specified in maps provided.

(viii) Provision at 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors -- Commercial, applies to this acquisition.

(ix) In accordance with 52.212-2 Evaluation - Commercial Items
(a) The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following factors shall be used to evaluate offers in order of importance:
- Qualifications and experience of the crew(s) and any proposed subcontractors.
(1) Experience with and knowledge of the flora of the upper Midwest, especially the western Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
(2) Experience in conducting botany field surveys in the upper Midwest.
(3) Experience in successfully and safely locating new rare plant populations.
- Capacity to accomplish the project in the required time. Identify resources to be dedicated to this project.
- Past Performance on contracts with Government agencies and private clients in terms of cost control, quality of work and delivery schedules.
- Price and overall cost to government

(x) Offerors shall include a completed copy of the provision at 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications -- Commercial Items, with its quote. An offeror shall complete only paragraphs (b) of this provision if the offeror has completed the annual representations and certificates electronically via the System for Award Management (SAM) online at www.sam.gov. If an offeror has NOT completed the annual representations and certifications electronically at the online, the offeror shall complete only paragraphs (c) through (o) of this provision. SAM replaces CCR/FedReg, ORCA, and EPLS.

(xi) The clause at 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions -- Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition.

(xii) The clause at 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required To Implement Statutes Or Executive Orders -- Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition. The following additional FAR clauses cited in the clause are applicable to the acquisition:
52.203-19, Prohibition on Requiring Certain Internal Confidentiality Agreements or Statements
52.209-10, Prohibition on Contracting with Inverted Domestic Corporations
52.233-3, Protest After Award
52.233-4, Applicable Law for Breach of Contract Claim
52.204-10, Reporting Executive Compensation and First-Tier Subcontract Awards
52.209-6, Protecting the Government's Interest When Subcontracting with Contractors Debarred, Suspended, or Proposed for Debarment.
52.219-4, Notice of Price Evaluation Preference for HUBZone Small Business Concerns
52.219-6 Notice of Total Small Business Set-Aside
52.219-28 Post-Award Small Business Program Rerepresentation.
52.222-3 Convict Labor
52.222-21 Prohibition of Segregated Facilities.
52.222-26 Equal Opportunity.
52.222-36, Equal Opportunity for Workers with Disabilities
52.222-41, Service Contract Labor Standards
52.222-42, Statement of Equivalent Rates for Federal Hires
52.222-50 Combating Trafficking in Persons.
52.222-55 Minimum Wages Under Executive Order 13658.
52.222-62, Paid Sick Leave Under Executive Order 13706
52.223-18 Encouraging Contractor Policies to Ban Text Messaging While Driving
52.225-13 Restrictions on Certain Foreign Purchases.
52.232-30 Installment Payments for Commercial Items
52.232-33 Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer--System for Award Management.

(xiii) Additional contract requirement(s) or terms and conditions: All responsible sources may submit a response which, if timely received, must be considered by the agency. Vendors must be registered in Systems for Award Management (SAM) prior to receiving a government contract (formerly Central Contractors Registration or CCR). See www.sam.gov for details - this may take up to 2 weeks and requires a DUNS number, so it is highly recommended that interested parties register immediately in order to avoid any delays in award or to avoid losing an award.
All invoices are to be submitted via the electronic Invoice Processing Platform. This is a mandatory requirement initiated by the U.S. Department of Treasury and you can find more information at this website https://www.ipp.gov/index.htm. Please make sure that your company has registered at https://www.ipp.gov/vendors/enrollment-vendors.htm to establish your account. The "Submit Invoice-to" address for USDA orders is the Department of Treasury's Invoice Processing Platform (IPP). The contractor must follow the instructions on how to register and submit invoices via IPP.
The following attachments are incorporated in the contract.
(1) Statement of Work
(2) Wage Determination
(3) Project maps showing vicinity & stands:
a. Location of Survey Stands on Ottawa National Forest
b. Legend for stand maps
c. One bundle of stand maps for each Bid Item
(4) Form Bundle: Invasive Plant Priority List; Weed Reporting Form and instructions; 2017 List of Rare Plants for the Ottawa National Forest; ONF Botany Program Protocol for Rare Plant Surveys; General Form; Species Form; EXAMPLE OF Stand Tracking Form (actual form to be provided to selected contractor(s); Search Times chart
(5) Michigan Natural Features Inventory Special Plant Form

The following additional FAR provisions and/or clauses in their most current version are applicable to the acquisition:
52.204-7 System for Award Management.
52.204-13 System for Award Management Maintenance.
52.204-16 Commercial and Government Entity Code Reporting
52.204-18 Commercial and Government Entity Code Maintenance
52.209-11 Representation by Corporations Regarding Delinquent Tax Liability or a Felony Conviction under any Federal Law
52.219-1 Small Business Program Representation.
North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is 541715 (2017)/541712 (2012).
The small business size standard is 1000 employees
52.223-2 Affirmative Procurement of Biobased Products Under Service and Construction Contracts
52.223-5 Pollution Prevention and Right-to-Know Information
52.223-1 Biobased Product Certification
52.232-1 Payments
52.232-8 Discounts for Prompt Payment
52.232-11 Extras
52.232-18 Availability of Funds
52.232-23 Assignment of Claims
52.232-25 Prompt Payment
52.232-40 Providing Accelerated Payments to Small Business Subcontractors
52.237-1 Site Visit
52.237-2 Protection of Government Buildings, Equipment, and Vegetation.
52.242-15 Stop-Work Order
52.242-17 Government Delay of Work
52.243-1 Changes--Fixed Price
52.245-1 Government Property
52.246-4 Inspection of Services -- Fixed-Price
52.249-1 Termination for Convenience of the Government
52.249-8 Default (Fixed-Price Supply and Service)
52.252-1 Solicitation Provisions Incorporated by Reference.
www.arnet.gov/far/ www.usda.gov/procurement/policy/agar.html

52.252-2 Clauses Incorporated by Reference.
www.arnet.gov/far/ www.usda.gov/procurement/policy/agar.html

452.224-70 Confidentiality of Information
452.236-73 Archaeological or Historic Sites
452.236-74 Control of Erosion, Sedimentation, and Pollution
452.237-74 Key Personnel
452.237-75 Restrictions Against Disclosure
452.215-73 Postaward Conference
A post award (pre-work) conference with the successful offeror is required. It will be scheduled within 5 days after the date of contract award. The conference will be held at the Ironwood Supervisor's Office. A post field-work, closeout meeting is also required. It will be held at the Ironwood Supervisor's Office; alternatively, it may be possible to hold this meeting by conference call.

(xiv) N/A.

(xv) INFORMATION REQUIRED IN QUOTE: To be considered responsive, contractor must submit the following with offer:
(1) Offeror must respond to all non-price evaluation factors as described under FAR 52.212-2 Evaluation -Commercial Items
Use Experience and Capabilities Questionnaire form or other to provide all requirements;
(2) Completed Schedule of Items;
(3) Offerors shall include representations in FAR 52.209.11; and
(4) Offerors shall include a completed copy of the provision at 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications -- Commercial Items, with its offer. An offeror shall complete only paragraphs (b) of this provision if the offeror has completed the annual representations and certificates electronically via the System for Award Management (SAM) online at www.sam.gov

All offers must be received by 2:00 EST on April 27, 2017

Please submit one complete copy of the above information to:
USDA Forest Service - AG-569R-S-17-0035
Debra Brinn, LSAT Contracting Officer
5761 N. Skeel Ave.
Oscoda, MI 48750

Offers may be submitted electronically to [email protected], SUBJ: AG-569R-S-17-0035
If submitting via email please note file size limitations, formatting or other problems may hamper receipt so please verify that the contracting officer has received your quote.
No facsimile offers will be considered per (c)(1) of FAR clause 52.215-1 Instructions to Offerors -- Competitive Acquisition. Incomplete offers will not be accepted.

(xvi) ALL QUESTIONS MUST BE IN WRITING. Please submit all questions to Debra Brinn at [email protected]. Questions and answers will be posted to FBO so please check back often as it is the contractor's responsibility to remain up to date on all available Q&A's as well as any potential resulting modifications. All questions must be received NLT three (3) days prior to solicitation close date, otherwise the government is under no obligation to review and/or address the questions.