A. Background and Objectives CDFW’s Wildlife Diversity Program focuses on conserving the state’s biodiversity and recovering its most valuable species, such as the Sierra Nevada red fox (Vulpes vulpes necator) (SNRF). The SNRF is listed as a threatened species in California. It is one of the rarest carnivores in California, persisting only in two small populations in the Lassen Peak region and the Sierra Nevada. CDFW conducts scat surveys to determine the species’ distribution, minimum abundance and genetic diversity, as well as capture and telemetry studies to understand its habitat selection, vital rates and causes of mortality. This information is key to developing effective strategies to recover the SNRF. Putative SNRF scat samples collected at or near survey stations will provide timespecific, geo-referenced sources of DNA for use in determining the distribution and minimum number of individual SNRFs in study areas. The samples will also yield information about the genetic characteristics of individuals and populations sampled. In addition, biological samples collected from captured SNRFs will provide high-quality DNA to enable the more complex genomic analyses which will be necessary to plan for potential genetic rescue of SNRF populations via translocations. These genetic and genomic analyses must be conducted in a laboratory with specific expertise in the SNRF subspecies. B. Work to be Performed Under the direction of the CDFW Contract Manager or designee, the Contractor will provide the services of qualified dog handlers, specially trained scat detection dogs, transportation, and equipment necessary to assist CDFW in surveying for and collection of SNRF scat. The Contractor will collect SNRF scat in two study areas of California— the Lassen study area (Error! Reference source not found.) and the Sierra Nevada study area (Error! Reference source not found.), See Exhibit A, Attachment I. In Fiscal Year (FY) 1 (contract approval – 6/30/25): • The Contractor must complete a minimum of twenty (20) survey days in the Lassen study area and forty (40) survey days in the Sierra Nevada study area. A survey day is defined as one dog handler with one dog for a full workday (eight hours). In FY 2 (7/1/25 – 6/30/26): • The Contractor must complete a minimum of twenty (20) survey days in the Lassen study area and forty (40) survey days in the Sierra Nevada study area. A survey day is defined as one dog handler with one dog for a full workday (eight hours).
