This email is to announce the intention of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to post a solicitation within the next 30 days. Advanced notice is provided to alert potentially interested parties given the busy summer study season, however the official and expanded announcement to follow should be referenced for all application information. Please feel free to circulate broadly. *Questions on the solicitation will not be answered until an official announcement has been made.* *GENERAL INFORMATION* In 2016, the Natural Resource Trustees for the *Deepwater Horizon* oil spill finalized a comprehensive restoration plan for the Gulf of Mexico that includes a settlement of up to $8.8 billion in order to resolve claims for natural resource damages related to the spill. Initial research and injury assessments indicated injury to various marine mammal species as a result of the spill. The Trustees proposed funding for various marine mammal conservation efforts in the Gulf of Mexico to compensate for injuries incurred by these species. Specifically, the Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group approved and funded a marine mammal project titled “Reduce Impacts of Anthropogenic Noise on Cetaceans” and the project factsheet is available here: https://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/2019-05%20OOTI... The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) through a partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), seeks a qualified independent Contractor(s) to support work under the initial phase of the anthropogenic underwater noise reduction project to identify and prioritize locations and sources of underwater noise within the Gulf of Mexico based on their impact to cetaceans; and to prioritize noise reduction opportunities that show the greatest potential for testing in future phases. This solicitation is part of a larger project that includes both short and long-term acoustic monitoring that will be used to evaluate pilot project effectiveness and overall project success. NFWF will employ a competitive process that assesses the Offerors’ plan for achieving stated work items, technical qualifications, and cost considerations. The award level will be based on the Foundation’s evaluation of the proposal and budget documentation. The contract period of performance is estimated to be two years but may be extended. The selected Contractor(s) should have the willingness and ability to start immediately (within 2 weeks of offer) and travel within the Gulf of Mexico region when appropriate and safe to do so. *SCOPE OF WORK* The selected Contractor(s) will support the Project Management Team (PMT) in the implementation of three tasks; 1) Risk Assessment and Sound Propagation Modeling, 2) Industry Collaboration and Engagement and 3) Development of a Recommended Options Paper. Offerors should indicate which task(s) they wish to complete and describe the knowledge and experience that qualifies them to perform the role(s) identified. If several Offerors apply as a team who would collectively perform all three tasks, the proposal should clearly itemize the distribution of labor expected among the entities, should ensure that the full list of requirements can be accounted for across the team as a whole and that a clear plan is proposed to support coordination among team members, which will be supported by NFWF if the team is selected. The level of effort required will vary by year and within a given year. A ‘not to exceed cost’ will be negotiated upon award. -- Rebeccah A. Hazelkorn Protected Resources Division NOAA, NMFS, Southeast Regional Office 263 13th Avenue South St. Petersburg, FL 33701 Office: 727-551-5751 Cell: 941-724-3906