87--IRA RPM Tree Order, Upper Mississippi River NFWR, MN

IRA RPM Tree Order, Upper Mississippi River NFWR, MN

THIS IS A NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD A SOLE SOURCE CONTRACT AND IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE QUOTES.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Joint Administrative Operations, Acquisition & Property Operations, FWS Division of Refuges, Upper Mississippi River NFWR has a requirement for a tree seedling order propagated via the Root Production Method (RPM).

The proposed contract action is tree seedlings propagated via the RPM. The Government intends to solicit and negotiate a firm fixed price contract with only one source under the authority of FAR 13.106-l(b) to the following vendor:

Lovelace Farms Inc
88 Forest Keeling Lane
Elsberry, MO 63343-3716

Period of performance is 04/01/2025 through 11/30/2026.

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this requirement is 111421 Nursery and Tree Production; the business size standard is $3.25M.

The Habitat Management Plan for the refuges considers diverse, resilient floodplain forest and restored swamp to be priority restoration communities for the refuges, where soybean fields, single species forest and flood-stressed floodplain forest currently exist. These trees will be utilized on multiple project areas on refuges within the Upper Mississippi River System. These trees will be planted in fallow bottomland fields and in declining forests underplanted to improve forest resilience and enhance habitat conditions for breeding and stopover habitat for wildlife including neotropical migratory birds and tree-roosting bats.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service needs RPM trees because they grow two times faster. Faster growth comes in part from an unsurpassed lateral root mass. Greater root mass improves transplant success and helps the trees grow faster. Lovelace Farms Inc. is being requested as a sole source because they own the patent for the RPM and the process is proprietary.

If any interested party believes they can meet the above requirement within the needed period of performance, it may submit a statement of capabilities. The statement of capabilities must be submitted in writing and must contain clear and convincing evidence that competition of this requirement would be advantageous to the Government. If parties choose to respond, any cost associated with preparation and submission of data or any other cost incurred in response to this announcement are the sole responsibility of the respondent and will not be reimbursed 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.

Capability statements shall be submitted by e-mail ONLY as a Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF attachment to the following address: darla_freyholtz@fws.gov. NO TELEPHONE REQUESTS/OFFERS WILL BE HONORED.