Horse Capture & Maintenance Ft Polk LA | W9126G 20 2 SOI 1678

Opportunity Information: Apply for W9126G 20 2 SOI 1678

The Horse Capture and Maintenance, Fort Polk, LA opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number W9126G-20-2-SOI-1678) is a Department of Defense, USACE Fort Worth District request for statements of interest (SOIs) to identify an organization or investigator team that can support Fort Polk's Range Management Program by helping address issues created by free-roaming horses on military training lands. The government planned to initiate the project in 2020 and anticipated about $250,000 in base-year funding, with the possibility of additional funding for follow-on work in later fiscal years if the initial effort is successful. The posting is framed as a public-purpose effort, not a straightforward procurement of services, and the agency expects to be substantially involved during performance, which is why the anticipated award instrument is a cooperative agreement rather than a standard contract.

The technical work centers on safely capturing, handling, short-term maintaining, and transporting groups of horses from Fort Polk in a way that aligns with the installation's Environmental Assessment and animal welfare commitments. Capture is expected to occur in relatively small groups over time (generally described as one to three bands, roughly 10 to 30 horses at a time) so that partner organizations can process animals through adoption or placement programs without being overwhelmed by a large, rapid roundup. While the solicitation does not mandate a single capture technique, it makes clear that Fort Polk prefers low-stress methods, with baited capture pens as the primary approach and physical roundup by personnel as a secondary method if needed. A key restriction is that aircraft cannot be used to drive horses long distances for roundup and capture. Fort Polk also reserves the right for its own personnel to opportunistically capture horses; if that happens, the selected partner would still be responsible for the downstream tasks after capture.

In addition to capture, the project includes several operational objectives. The partner must be able to check animals for unique identification and potential ownership indicators, including scanning for microchips and inspecting for brands or tattoos, and must make a good-faith effort to determine whether an animal may be stolen and, if so, attempt to locate the owner. The partner must also support veterinary disease surveillance by immobilizing animals sufficiently for a veterinarian and assisting veterinary technicians to collect blood samples for testing. After capture, the partner is responsible for maintaining horses in captivity by providing adequate feed and water while animals are held in pens until they are removed from the installation, including the capability to transport water as needed. The remaining tasks involve safely loading horses onto trailers (government, private, or 501(c)(3) partner trailers) and transporting them either to different on-post locations or off-post destinations. For transportation, the partner is expected to provide a per-mile cost structure for reimbursement for trips up to 30 miles and for trips between 30 and 250 miles.

Fort Polk provides some infrastructure and materials to support the work, but not everything. Available government-furnished resources include two capture/holding pens (cyclone fencing enclosing about 2 acres with two gates), a smaller internal lot of about 1/8 acre fenced with 6-foot wooden fencing, and a 30-foot enclosed wooden chute leading to a fabricated squeeze chute. The installation also has 60 heavy-duty portable panels (approximately 10 feet by 6 feet, made of 1.5 to 2 inch tubing) that can be used to create working areas, wing fences, or drift fences, with the note that if panels are used for capture, enough should be kept in reserve to maintain flexibility for handling captured animals. Access to range areas is controlled by Range Control, so the partner must follow daily check-in/check-out procedures and plan around days when range access is limited or denied; any new capture sites or use of existing infrastructure requires case-by-case coordination with Range Control.

The submission requested at this stage is intentionally limited: applicants were not asked for a full technical proposal or a budget. Instead, the government wanted a short SOI package (maximum two pages, single-spaced, 12-point font, submitted by email) demonstrating qualifications and relevant capability. The package had to include an SF-424 and a brief statement of qualifications describing the investigator or organization, relevant past projects and clients, available staff/faculty/students and their expertise, and any key capabilities such as specialized equipment or facilities. SOIs were due via Grants.gov announcement with responses requested by 5:00 p.m. Central Standard Time on February 27, 2020, and agency review was scheduled to begin that same day. Submissions were to be emailed as attachments to the listed USACE contacts (Alisa Marshall and Kathy Mitchell). An evaluation board would screen SOIs based on how well the experience and capabilities match the study and fieldwork requirements, invite the best-qualified respondents to submit full proposals, and notify those not selected in writing.

The anticipated period of performance was structured as a one-year base period from the date of award, with three additional one-year option periods planned if funds were available. Overall, the opportunity is aimed at organizations with demonstrated expertise in humane horse capture and handling, equine identification and welfare procedures, coordination in restricted-access military training environments, and the logistics of short-term care and transportation, with an emphasis on low-stress capture methods and compliance with Fort Polk's environmental and operational constraints.

• The Department of Defense, Fort Worth District in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Horse Capture & Maintenance Ft Polk LA" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.300.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jan 27, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Feb 27, 2020. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $250,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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