SOLICITATION NOTICE
F -- Long Term Wild Horse Holding Facility
- Notice Date
- 3/3/2008
- Notice Type
- Solicitation Notice
- Contracting Office
- BLM-BC NATIONAL BUSINESS CENTER* BC663 BLDG 50, DFC, PO BOX 25047 DENVER CO 80225
- ZIP Code
- 80225
- Solicitation Number
- NAR080064
- Response Due
- 4/21/2008
- Archive Date
- 3/3/2009
- Point of Contact
- Steven Santoro Contracting Officer 3032363518 Steven_Santoro@blm.gov;
- E-Mail Address
-
Email your questions to Point of Contact above, or if none listed, contact the IDEAS EC HELP DESK for assistance
(EC_helpdesk@NBC.GOV)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- Total Small Business
- Description
- The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has a requirement for a pasture facility located within the continental U.S. to maintain up to 2,350 wild horses for one year, with 4 additional one year option periods. The following sets forth the background of BLM's needs and the basic requirements needed for each Wild Horse & Burro Holding Facility: Wild horses on public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Forest Service are protected, managed and controlled under the provisions of the Wild and Free Roaming Wild Horses and Burro Act of December 15, 1971, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1331 1340). As resource conditions and other factors warrant, excess wild horses are removed from the public lands and placed in private maintenance through the Adopt A Horse Program. Some of the horses that have not been adopted because of age or other factors are currently being cared for by the Tadpole Cattle Company in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. The purpose of this contract is to continue the maintenance of these animals for the remainder of their lives. The possibility exists that more unadoptable animals will be removed from the range and transported to the facility. This is not the preferred management method for these animals; however, on occasion it will be necessary to place animals at the facility, on an as needed basis. It is the intent of the BLM that the number of animals at the facility will decline during the period of this contract. The horses currently being maintained at the Bartlesville facility are a non-reproductive herd consisting of primarily older horses in the age range of 5 30 years old. They consist of mares and geldings, with no stallions in the herd. Some of these horses have been maintained at the Bartlesville facility for approximately 18 years. Objective - The Bureau of Land Management anticipates the award of one contract resulting from this Request for Proposals (RFP). The contract shall be for one (1) base year, plus four (4) option years, with an anticipated award date of May 8, 2003. The facility must be prepared for the conduct of an Environmental Assessment (EA) and an inspection for specification compliance, to be performed by the BLM upon contract award. Once the facility meets the minimum requirements of the EA and the specifications contained herein, BLM will begin shipping animals to the facility. This is anticipated to occur within 90 calendar days from the date of award. No payments shall be made until after animals are received at the facilities, and have resided at the facility for a full one month period. Contractor(s) will be reimbursed on a per animal feed day basis for the previous month of service. No advance payments are authorized. Award of a contract constitutes the first delivery order of the contract. Subsequent orders shall be issued orally by the Contracting Officer's Representative (COR). The COR will schedule the delivery and pickup of animals with the Contractor. The objectives of this contract are: To maintain the unadopted excess wild horses currently located at the Bartlesville facility in pastures large enough to allow free roaming behavior and that can provide the food, water and shelter necessary to sustain the animals in good condition; To minimize the handling of wild horses by humans and sorting of the animals through chutes, gates and corrals; To provide regular, on the ground monitoring of the wild horses to ascertain their well-being and safety; Provide management by individuals who are knowledgeable and experienced about the behavior and nutritional requirements of equines and the management of land for the sustained production of grass and other desirable forage plants. General Services - The contractor shall provide all necessary land, facilities, personnel and supplies to perform the following general tasks. Provide land, forage, shelter, salt, minerals, water and fences necessary to properly care for and maintain a maximum of 2,350 wild horses to graze in pastures. The contractor must also provide supplemental feed as necessary to maintain the horses in good condition (i.e. during periods of drought, deep snow, ice storms, fire, or when other circumstances warrant); Provide corrals and adequate facilities to load and unload wild horses on an as needed basis; Unload, sort and segregate animals upon their arrival, in the event that additional horses are transported to the facility; Gather and move horses from pasture to pasture as needed, supervise their health and welfare, provide supplementary feed as needed and maintain the facilities in a safe condition; Provide regular monitoring (at least once a week) of horses on site and a record keeping system that documents the frequency and results of observations; Provide a record keeping system that identifies the location of each horse on site and other information, such as its overall condition, death, etc. The records shall be made available for duplication within 5 days after a request is made by the COR and/or PI; Dispose of the remains of dead horses. The contractor may be required, after consultation with the COR and/or PI or a designated representative, to euthanize horses that are suffering or are in pain. Specific Services - Handling and Gathering - In the event that animals are transported to the facility, they will normally arrive at the site in trailer loads of approximately 35-40 head per load. The contractor will provide a telephone number where they can be reached 24 hours per day for scheduling shipments. BLM will attempt to schedule shipments for daytime arrival. However, horses shall be unloaded immediately, regardless of arrival time. The contractor will unload, sort by age, and condition, if determined to be appropriate by the Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) and/or the Project Inspector (PI), into various groups; All horses shall be handled, treated and maintained in a humane manner. Horses in corrals and chutes shall be worked in a manner that minimizes excitement of the horses to prevent injuries from crowding or trampling; Gathering or movement of horses from pastures shall be done with the concurrence of the COR and/or PI, except in emergency conditions, when the contractor determines an immediate gather or movement is necessary for the safety and welfare of the horses. The contractor shall notify the COR and/or PI within 24 hours after such movement. Handling of the horses will be kept to a minimum. However, it may be necessary to move the horses from one pasture to another because of range management practices. Corral Facility - Corrals may be permanent or temporary (portable panels). The corrals will be used to receive horses (if needed) and to prepare horses for shipment at the end of the contract. It is not anticipated that the horses will have to be gathered otherwise. The corrals must be at least 72 inches high and made of stoutly constructed material, i.e., pipe, steel, lumber, etc. Any corral constructed of mesh wire (openings no larger than 2 inches x 4 inches) must be equipped with at least 3 wood sight boards (2 inches x 8 inches) located on the upper portion of the fence. The three sight boards shall be spaced no more than 12 inches apart. Corrals constructed of pipe or wood must have openings of not more than 12 inches between horizontal members. Corral gates shall be constructed of wood or pipe, at the same height as the fences. Gates shall be visible to the horses, either from the materials used in construction, or by using materials such as plywood or plastic mesh placed on the gates; Two sorting corrals, each with a minimum of 3,600 square feet (60 feet X 60 feet), shall be provided; One holding corral, with a minimum of 6,000 square feet (75 feet X 80 feet), shall be provided. Unloading and Working Facility - The facility shall have a loading and unloading chute, sufficient to safely unload and load semi trailer trucks and small stock trailers. The chute may either be permanent or temporary. In order to load horses at the site, a crowding pen and runway at least 36 feet long and 28 inches to 32 inches wide will be required. Fences shall be a minimum of 72 inches high, stoutly constructed and made of lumber, pipe, or steel. Fences - Pasture perimeter and division fences shall meet State and/or local fence standards for height and spacing between vertical and horizontal members and construction materials. If determined by the COR and/or PI, flagging may be required on certain fences, with 8 inch flagging attached to the top horizontal member of the fence, every 20 feet, so that the horses can see a fence. Gates, rather than cattle guards, shall be used at all fence openings to keep horses in pastures. Pastures - The facility shall have sufficient land and forage initially to sustain a maximum of 2,350 wild horses. Pastures shall be of sufficient size to allow horses freedom of movement and exercise necessary for good health and to continue their free roaming behavior. Pastures shall be free of hazards such as unfenced paved public highways. If pastures are noncontiguous, they shall be managed as separate units, with the maximum number of units being four (4). Horses shall not be moved from one unit to another except under extraordinary conditions and with the permission of the COR and/or PI. The maximum allowable distance between units is fifty (50) miles; Sufficient land and forage shall be made available for the number of horses maintained. However, as the herd is reduced by mortality, pastures may be converted to domestic livestock use by the contractor, provided the use does not interfere with the wild horses. Stocking domestic horses adjacent to or with the wild horses is unacceptable; The available standing vegetation in pastures must be of sufficient nutritive quality and quantity to maintain the horses in good condition. Good condition is described as follows: ribs cannot be visually distinguished, but can be easily felt; backbone is not visible; hip bones do not show; withers are distinguishable but do not protrude; shoulders and neck blend smoothly into the body; The stocking rate for the site shall be adjusted as necessary to assure horses are maintained in good condition, as described above; Shelter from the natural elements shall be provided in each pasture by the topography (e.g., canyons, hills, etc.), other natural features such as trees, or manmade structures. Supplemental Feed - Supplemental feed (primarily hay) shall be available at the site to feed the horses in case of drought, fire, deep snow, ice storms, or other unforeseen events. Supplemental feed shall be of such quality and fed in sufficient quantity to sustain the horses in good condition. Supplemental feed shall not be fed to individual horses in declining health because of age and other natural causes. Hay used as supplemental feed shall have a protein content of no less than 10 percent, be leafy, green, well cured, properly stored and free of dust, most, or heating, and be free of any Russian Thistle or prickly herb, "Cheat" grass, and any other weed or grass not considered healthy forage for domestic animals. Feed Requirements - A good quality, grass/legume hay shall be fed to and made available in sufficient quantity for each animal, with a crude protein not less than 10 percent. Animals shall be fed at least 2.5 percent of body weight per day. The COR may test hay to verify quality; Inclement weather will stress animals, requiring that the volume of feed be increased to maintain their body flesh. Water, Minerals, and Salt - Each pasture shall have reliable water sources capable of supplying 16 gallons of clean water per horse, per day. The maximum distance to water in any pasture shall be 4 miles; Granulated, rock, or block salt shall be accessible to all horses in each pasture; Minerals necessary to maintain the horses in good condition and that are deficient in the available forage in the care unit shall be provided to all horses in each pasture, either as a supplement or added to the salt. Deaths and Disposal of Remains - Dead horses shall be identified by freeze number and physical description, and disposed of in accordance with State and/or local sanitation laws. Rendering plants may be used for carcass disposal provided no compensation is received by any agency or individual disposing of the remains. The contractor shall notify the COR and/or PI, or designated representative immediately if the death of a horse is suspicious and it appears that a postmortem examination should be performed by a veterinarian. The COR and/or PI shall hire a veterinarian and make the arrangements for this procedure. Observation of Horses - The wild horses shall be observed by the contractor at a minimum of one (1) time per week, and more frequently when conditions warrant, i.e., during flooding, tornados, and the fire seasons, to ascertain their safety and well being and assure that fences are properly maintained. Except in emergency situations, observations shall be carried out on foot, from a vehicle, or horseback. In unusual situations, such as deep snow, etc., which make ground transportation impractical, aircraft may be used, with the prior approval of the COR and/or PI. Records that document, as a minimum, the date of the observation, condition of the horses, problems and concerns of the observer, and the name(s) of individual(s) making the observation shall be maintained. Any problems or concerns shall be reported to the COR and/or PI within 24 hours of discovery. Access to the Facility - Access to the unloading and loading chute shall accommodate both sedans with trailers and semitrucks. Access shall be available during inclement weather. Observation bar the Public - The site is not intended to be a public viewing area. Therefore, the contractor will restrict or prohibit access onto the site by the general public; The contractor shall notify the COR and/or PI within 24 hours of any request from human organizations or wild horse interest groups, to observe the horses. All such organizations and groups shall be allowed to tour the site only under the approval and guidance of the COR and/or PI; All requests to view the animals shall be directed to the COR AND/OR PI. Records - An inventory that identifies all horses delivered to the site shall be kept at the facility. A record shall be kept on the location (pasture) each horse occupies. Each horse will be identified with a 4 digit freeze number on the hip, along with an angle freeze mark on the left side of the neck. Horses that die shall be identified as soon as possible and noted on the inventory. Probable cause of death shall also be noted. Upon request by the COR and/or PI, the record shall be made available within 5 days for duplicating. Responsibilities of BLM - Veterinary Care - The BLM will provide and pay for a veterinarian to treat sick or injured horses, as deemed necessary by the COR and/or PI. The veterinarian may be used to perform euthanasia on horses and conduct postmortem examinations as requested by the COR and/or PI. The contractor may be required to assist the veterinarian. Farrier Services - The COR and/or PI will determine if horses should have their feet trimmed. BLM will make the arrangements and hire a farrier if trimming is needed. The contractor shall gather the horses needing trimming and assist the farrier. This is not intended to be a complete list of the specifications. The full requirement will be posted in solicitation NAR080064, which will be available at http://www.fbo.gov on or about March 19, 2008. This requirement is 100% set aside for small businesses under NAICS 115210. Hard copies of the solicitation will not be provided. Facsimile proposals will not be accepted. Vendors must be registered at http://www.ccr.gov to be considered for award.
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- Record
- SN01522597-W 20080305/080303224244 (fbodaily.com)
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