The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 7 (Alaska) intends to award a sole source procurement to Allakaket Tribal Council. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 7, requires community liaison and interpreter services to the to aid the Government's effort to manage subsistence on Kanuti National Wildlife Refuge. The contractor shall also provide expert advice to the Service on the effectiveness refuge programs, activities and research conducted near Allakaket, Alaska.Liaison services shall include 1. Conduct subsistence harvest surveys, interviews, etc., including waterfowl, big game, furbearers, and fish.2. Explain subsistence rules and regulations to village residents.3. Issue federal subsistence hunting permits.4. Help the refuge staff prepare for and set up for village meetings; interpret from English to Koyukon-Athabascan to so that elders can understand; interpret from Koyukon-Athabascan to English to so that the refuge employees can understand.5. Assist with wildlife and fisheries surveys when needed.6. Gather input from the village as to how the refuge can do a better job of providing the community with meaningful subsistence opportunities.7. Assist with environmental education efforts in the school and at Science Camps. Allakaket Tribal Council is uniquely qualified to provide these services. For the Kanuti Refuge-Tribal Council liaison to function effectively, the liaison must attain the trust of local village residents, must speak the Koyukon Athabascan language, and must have their own experience and expertise in the harvesting of fish, wildlife, and other resources for subsistence in a remote Alaska environment. Further, the Kanuti Refuge-Tribal Council liaison must be respected by local residents and who can effectively explain the complicated subsistence regulations in a manner that is credible and understandable to local people. The Allakaket Tribal Council is in the best position to provide a liaison with these qualities who already has the respect and trust of village residents so that they would be willing to share the sometimes private information about the quantities of subsistence resources utilized, and the locations where these resources are harvested. It is extremely unlikely that a non-local person could function effectively in this situation. It would take many years for a non-local person to achieve that trust and then it would not be as complete as for a local person. The Refuge cannot afford to wait a number of years for an uncertain outcome. This notice is not a request for competitive proposals and the Government does not intended to accept proposals received. See Numbered Note 22.

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