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Wildlife Agency Seeks Vendor for Mule Deer GPS Collars

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (CDFW) Data and Technology Division has issued a Request for Quote, seeking monitoring collars “to perform a multi-year study of mule deer.”

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The state wildlife agency is seeking vendor support for an IT project that should commence next year, to count and monitor a sampling of mule deer, which are found throughout much of California.

In a Request for Quote (RFQ) released Dec. 4, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (CDFW) Data and Technology Division announced it needs GPS/VHF monitoring collars to perform a multi-year study of mule deer. It’s designed to create an integrated population model that is based on multiple data sources and multiple methods, CDFW project lead Jane McKeever told Techwire via email. To create the most accurate model, data sources will include collar data, ground counts and aerial telemetry. Responses are due by 2 p.m. Dec. 18. Among the takeaways:

• The project will survey a representative sampling of female mule deer, as it seeks 44 "mule deer GPS/VHF collars." CDFW will use the information from the females, chosen because they’re seen as population drivers, said McKeever, an environmental scientist and wildlife biologist.

• Collars must be capable of being delivered by March 1 and the weight of each must not exceed 500 grams, or about 1.1 pounds. Each must be adjustable to around 36 centimeters and have a battery life of at least six years. The collars must also be capable of “satellite communication for alerting CDFW via text or email immediately upon detecting mortality with a GPS location,” according to the RFQ. They also must be capable of transmitting location data and status messages via satellite at least once every 24 hours to a CDFW personal computer. Electronic components should be shock resistant and waterproof, and any airtime or subscription fees should be included in the bid.

• The contract value, McKeever said, is expected to be less than $50,000. The anticipated agreement execution date is Jan. 3, according to the RFQ, and the deer capture is planned for mid-March. Vendor selection, McKeever said, “usually takes place right after the close of bid and may take up to two weeks.” The project is funded through a Pittman-Robertson grant.

• CDFW requires all collars have “web data server access” to view data immediately after it’s transmitted, using programs including Google Earth. It also requires data be stored in non-volatile memory. McKeever said the data will be sent via satellite phone to a server, and checked for errors and validated once it’s downloaded to agency computers. From there, it will be integrated into a relational database housing information collected on deer populations over the past 40 years.

Theo Douglas is Assistant Managing Editor of Industry Insider — California.