The Bureau of Reclamation, Upper Columbia Area Office intends to negotiate a sole source contract with the The Yakima River Basin Coalition. The purpose of this contract is to obtain assistance from the Yakima Coalition in the development of a steehead life cycle model for use in the Endangered Species Act consultation on the future operation and maintenance of the Yakima Project.The authority for use of other than full and open competition for this transaction is implemented by FAR 6.302- Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. The cited authority must be used because it is the only practicable method of acquisition due to the nature of the supplies or services to be acquired as follows: The model being acquired will allow Reclamation to estimate the risk of extinction for steelhead associated with the proposed future operations of the Yakima Project. Steelhead in parts of the Yakima basin form sub-populations that are part of larger populations that include rainbow trout. The Yakima Coalition has been heavily involved in fishery issues in the basin for several decades and have provided two previous reports that examine the viability of steelhead in the Mid-Columbia, including the Yakima basin. In assembling those two reports they gathered the available data sets on steelhead production and survival in the Yakima basin from a variety of sources, evaluated the data quality and applicability and made estimates of viability of Yakima steelhead populations and other steelhead populations in the Mid-Columbia ESU. Given their understanding of Yakima Project operations, the existing steelhead production and survival data, and steelhead viability issues in the basin, they are uniquely qualified to develop this model. A Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition has been prepared in support of this acquisition. This notice is not a request for competitive proposals. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed action is solely within the discretion of the Government. Inquiries received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement in the future, if the need arises. Inquiries will be accepted by Fax at (509) 454-5615, Attention: Connie Morgan

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