Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
Martime NWR Interpretive Exhibit Services
Department of the Interior · U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
AI summaryOnly small businesses can bid: this is a total small business set-aside. Interior's FWS Contracting Activity wants a new Seabird Theater exhibit and film designed, built and installed at the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge visitor center in Homer. The response due date is November 9, 2026, 8:00 AM Eastern, and the continuation sheet lists work from December 1, 2026 to June 30, 2028. More in the summary
AI summary Beta
This summary may miss requirements: 2 of 8 attachments weren't read (B08_Attachment_3_Exhibit_Conservation_Guidelines.pdf, B09_Attachment_5_seabird_theater_drawings_2002_0001.pdf). Check the attachments on SAM.gov.
Only small businesses can bid: this is a total small business set-aside. Interior's FWS Contracting Activity wants a new Seabird Theater exhibit and film designed, built and installed at the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge visitor center in Homer. The response due date is November 9, 2026, 8:00 AM Eastern, and the continuation sheet lists work from December 1, 2026 to June 30, 2028.
Who can bid (4)
- Small business (total small business set-aside) under NAICS 541850.
- Keep representations and certifications current in SAM.gov, updated at least annually.
- A design team with working knowledge of accessibility standards.
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- If using subcontractors, the prime contractor must perform more than 50% of the requirements.
How to submit: Email to Joni_Dutcher@fws.gov (Section L); no hard copies. Other pages show Joni_Dutcher@ios.doi.gov, so confirm the address.. What to include is under Full summary below. Check the solicitation's instructions on SAM.gov.
Things to watch (8)
From the version posted Oct 21, 2026.
- Serious: Total small business set-aside. Only businesses that qualify as small under NAICS 541850 can bid, and a prime team must do more than 50% of the work itself.
- Worth checking: Site visits on October 28 and October 29, 2026. The in-person visit is October 28, 2026, 3:00 PM PT (2:00 PM Alaska Time) and the virtual one is October 29, 2026, 11:00 AM PT. Sign-up is due 72 hours before. The text does not call either mandatory. The Q&A puts the in-person visit in Homer, AK, not the Washington State addresses in Section L.
- Worth checking: Concept design and drawings due with the quote. Bidders must submit a preliminary concept design and concept drawings before award, which is unpaid design work for a small firm.
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- Worth checking: Remote Alaska travel and filming costs. The Government provides ship time only for filming on the refuge vessel, and trips of 5 to 7 days plus travel to remote towns and the Homer site add cost to a fixed price.
- Worth checking: Performance dates differ across the documents. The continuation sheet gives December 1, 2026 to June 30, 2028, line item 00010 shows September 1, 2026 to June 1, 2028, and Phase V must finish by March 31, 2028. The Government says the line-item dates will be reconciled by amendment.
- Worth checking: Two email addresses for the contracting officer. Section L tells bidders to send quotes to a fws.gov address, while the amendment lists an ios.doi.gov address for the same person. Confirm which one to use before sending.
- Worth checking: Budget answers differ. One answer says the budget is Not to Exceed $500,000.00 and another declines to give a range. The contractor must finish all tasks within the fixed project budget and timeline.
- Minor: Raw footage and original files become Government property. All original photography, video, raw footage and production files transfer to the Service on acceptance, while the contractor keeps copyright only in the media-kit images, so plan pricing and subcontractor terms around this.
Read from the notice and 6 attachments. 2 of 8 not read. Show which files.
- Sol_140FF027Q0002_Amd_0001.pdf (read)
- Sol_140FF027Q0002.pdf (read)
- B09_Attachment_6__140FF027Q0002_amendment_1_0001.pdf (read)
- B08_Attachment_4_National_Park_Service_Standard_Specifications_for_Planning_Design_Production_and_Ins.pdf (read)
- B08_Attachment_1_Seabird_Theater_Images.pdf (read)
- B08_Attachment_2_Seabird_Theater_Upgrade_Project_Interpretive_prescription_Final_2019.pdf (read)
- B08_Attachment_3_Exhibit_Conservation_Guidelines.pdf: not read (it couldn't be opened): open it on SAM.gov
- B09_Attachment_5_seabird_theater_drawings_2002_0001.pdf: not summarized: open it on SAM.gov
Full summary
What they want
- Design, build and install an updated Seabird Theater exhibit inside the theater's current oval footprint, using low- to medium-level technology staff can maintain and with accessibility features such as tactile displays and audio description.
- Remove the old exhibit and audio-visual (AV) equipment, saving wildlife models where possible, and move the shared AV rack 5 to 10 feet, reconnect it and confirm it still works.
- Outline, film, edit and deliver a 3 to 5 minute HD film about the refuge's seabirds with closed captioning, plus a media kit of 4K video clips and at least 75 still photos.
- Submit design drawings for review at 30%, 60%, 90% and 100% completion, then fabricate and install, finishing production and installation by March 31, 2028.
- Price optional line item 00020 as one not-to-exceed total with a breakdown for Additional Film, Presenter Mode, Interactive Video Component and Surround Sound.
- Provide a one-year replacement warranty, as-built drawings, maintenance and AV manuals, a maintenance kit, a walk-through and staff training.
- Disclose to the contracting officer's representative (COR, the Government's day-to-day contact) any AI-generated content proposed for the exhibit or film.
- Make a separate 8-hour building-prep site visit to Homer, AK, and host an on-site design workshop there with the lead designer(s) attending in person.
- Contract type
- Firm-fixed-price (one set price, whatever the work ends up costing) request for quotation (RFQ), combined synopsis/solicitation; base item 00010 plus optional line item 00020
- Period of performance
- Continuation sheet: December 1, 2026 to June 30, 2028. Line items show other dates (see red flags). Production and installation must finish by March 31, 2028.
- Place of performance
- Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center, 95 Sterling Hwy, Homer, AK 99603; film locations on remote refuge islands. SAM.gov leaves the field blank.
- Estimated value
- Not to Exceed $500,000.00, given as the answer to a bidder's question about the available budget; another answer declines to give a budget range
- How they'll choose
- Best value tradeoff: technical and past performance combined count for more than price. One award is planned.
- Offers due
- November 9, 2026, 8:00 AM Eastern
- How to submit
- Email to Joni_Dutcher@fws.gov (Section L); no hard copies. Other pages show Joni_Dutcher@ios.doi.gov, so confirm the address.
- Page limits
- Non-priced submission: 20 pages (the price page is not counted). Keep each email attachment to 25MB or less and split into several emails, citing the solicitation number in each.
What they'll judge offers on
- Technical Acceptability: (a) preliminary concept design and approach to the visitor experience and the refuge's message, (b) statement of capability for meeting the timeline, (c) pictures and description of a recent similar project (past 8 years per the amended text), (d) concept drawing submissions
- Past Performance: quality of past workmanship, ability to meet specifications and standards of workmanship; related projects should be used
- Price: checked for fairness and reasonableness, not rated; option prices are added to the base price
What to include when you submit
- Send the quotation in two parts: a non-price section organized by evaluation factor in order, and a price section.
- Non-price section: a compliance summary of your approach to the statement of work, with relevant examples and samples of past projects of comparable magnitude.
- Include pictures and a description of a recent project similar in size, scope and content; the amended text widens the window to the past 8 years. A subcontractor's project can count if its role on that project and on this contract is clearly identified.
- Include a preliminary concept design and concept drawings (alternatives or options are allowed); the Government declined to drop this requirement.
- Name the team member(s) with accessibility expertise and explain how accessibility review fits the design process, at proposal or kickoff.
- Price section: a completed price schedule, all acknowledged amendments, and the representations and certifications.
- Give hours and fees for each task or deliverable, an itemized cost estimate for each interpretive element (design, artwork, illustrations, fabrication and installation listed separately), a total not-to-exceed fee, a detailed schedule by task, a list of subcontractors with credentials of the people doing on-site installation, and a list of assumptions.
- Give one not-to-exceed price for optional line item 00020, with an itemized breakdown for its four components (Additional Film, Presenter Mode, Interactive Video Component, Surround Sound).
- Include the cost of third-party image and intellectual property rights in the evaluated price.
- If a subcontractor is on the team, the prime must do more than 50% of the requirements and say so in the submission.
- Send questions in writing by email 7 business days before the solicitation closes (Section L); answers were posted in Amendment 1.
After award, you must have
- Lead designer(s) attend the design workshop in person in Homer, AK. From Sol_140FF027Q0002.pdf:
…must attend in person in Homer, AK (hybrid attendance for others is acceptable)
Not in the notice text
- Parts of the solicitation and of the amended solicitation were cut off in the text read, including the amended Section L and the use-rights section. Attached but not read: B08_Attachment_3_Exhibit_Conservation_Guidelines.pdf (too large) and B09_Attachment_5_seabird_theater_drawings_2002_0001.pdf (scanned drawings). The full set is on SAM.gov.
- Whether the site visit is required is not stated; one clause says offerors shall inspect the site, but the visit is described as a formal pre-bid visit.
- The final contract dates; the Government says the line-item dates will be reconciled by amendment.
- The ceiling height of the theater is not documented and is to be confirmed, ideally during the site visit.
- SAM.gov leaves the place of performance blank; the documents point to the Homer, AK visitor center.
Eligibility and how to respond
- Set aside for small businesses: only a business that counts as small under this notice's NAICS code can bid as the prime contractor. More open small business set-asides under NAICS 541850
- How to submit, from the AI summary: Email to Joni_Dutcher@fws.gov (Section L); no hard copies. Other pages show Joni_Dutcher@ios.doi.gov, so confirm the address. Check it in the notice before you send anything.
- Service contracts usually set minimum pay rates (the Service Contract Act). Price the labor with the SCA price calculator.
Notice details
- Posted
- Oct 21, 2026
- Notice type
- Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
- Office
- FWS Contracting Activity, Falls Church, VA
- Product/service code
- C219 · Architect and Engineering – General: Other
- Business type
- Consulting & professional services (FedReady's grouping, from NAICS 541850)
- Versions
2 versions have been posted, newest first.
- Oct 21, 2026 · Amendment 0001 (this version)Due Nov 9, 2026
- Oct 7, 2026 · Combined Synopsis/SolicitationDue Nov 9, 2026
- Attachments
Past awards and competition
Who has won work like this before, the likely incumbent, and what similar contracts paid, from USAspending.gov.
Before you respond
- How to respond to a solicitation (8 steps)
- How to read a government solicitation
- How to price a government contract
- Set-aside contracts explained
Terms on this notice: Solicitation, Set-aside
Latest amendment note (Amendment 1) from SAM.gov
Amendment 1 is hereby to provide Questions & Answers, update portions of the solicitation (changes are highlighted in red), and add the Seabird Theater Drawings. Please read the solicitation in its entirety.
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