Notice of intent to solicit from a single source

This is a notice of intent to solicit from a single source. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), intends to negotiate a purchase order with the North Fork Mono Tribe for Cultural and ecosystem restoration practices to advance innovation in landscape-level climate adaptation and community-based resilience.

Partnership with Tribes with expertise on cultural burning and ecosystem restoration, such as the traditional knowledge held by the North Fork Mono Tribe, will help USGS facilitate scientific knowledge exchange while building relationships with other Tribes. Moreover, this partnership will support inter-tribal relations and knowledge sharing and will enable testing of new approaches for integrating Western and Indigenous practices to advance a new era of innovative climate adaptation.

As described in the attached Statement of Work. Award will be made in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 13.106-1(b) and the procedures at FAR Part 12 entitled, Acquisition of Commercial Items and FAR Part 13 entitled, Simplified Acquisition Procedures. The North Fork Mono Tribe is, to the USGS¿ knowledge, the only source who can provide these services on the Tribal land.

The North Fork Mono Tribe, has actively been engaged in meadow, oak and cultural resource renewal projects for the last 20 years, building on millennia of traditional, place-based ecosystem knowledge. As a leader in cultural burning for decades, the Honorable Ron Goode, Tribal Chair of the North Fork Mono Tribe, has invited and hosted Tribes from across the State of California and beyond to cultural burn workshops on his property in Mariposa, California to share his knowledge of cultural burning.

However, outside of these informal exchanges, there is a lack of readily available resources dedicated to highlighting the successes and challenges of Tribes looking to continue or bring back good fire to their ancestral homelands. In response, Chairman Goode has spearheaded an effort dedicated to reaching Tribes and building an understanding of cultural burning in California on a broader scale.

He has extended invitations to non-indigenous federal land managers to promote cross-cultural understanding and to demonstrate how traditional practices can be incorporated into land management decisions and actions. Chairman Goode of the North Fork Mono Tribe is the only known Indigenous Elder who holds a deep knowledge of traditional practices that also is willing and available to work with non-indigenous professionals to integrate Indigenous Knowledge into Western land management practices.

He need for this knowledge is urgent, as land managers struggle to adapt to rapid climatic changes that can lead to ecosystem transformations and unprecedented wildfire in California and across the western U.S. The purpose of this notice is to satisfy the requirements of FAR Subpart 5.2. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive quotes. However, all responsible parties may submit a quotation by the closing date of this announcement which shall be considered by the agency.

No solicitation will be issued. A determination not to compete this action based upon responses received is in the sole discretion of the Government. The NAICS code for this action is 541620 Environmental Consulting Services. Responses or inquiries shall only be accepted through electronic mail addressed to sklingler@usgs.gov and must be uploaded and received in their entirety no later than 26 July 2024.