7134-20 - POS - Wetland Mapping, Vegetation Survey and Ecological Condition Assessment

BACKGROUND:
Wetlands are a vital and sensitive resource within the arid west and in Boulder County. Wetlands function as significant habitat to a wide variety of plants and animals and provide an array of ecosystem services that benefit the people of Boulder County. They are recognized as an “important environmental resource” in the Boulder County Comprehensive Plan - Environmental Resource Element. Unfortunately, today wetlands face a broad range of threats. From invasive species degrading plant communities, to a decrease of water inputs associated with precision agriculture, to alterations in precipitation and hydroperiod due to climate change. Wetlands both globally and locally are rapidly changing.
 
While Boulder County Parks and Open Space (BCPOS) has collected data on wetlands in the past, the last update to wetland mapping on BCPOS land occurred in 2008 and less than 6% of wetlands within the county have ever received a standardized quality assessment. This data is critical for decisions made regarding the stewardship and management of wetlands. 
 
Therefore, the Boulder County Parks and Open Space Department is seeking proposals to conduct a spatial mapping update and rapid ecological condition assessment for a targeted sample of wetlands on numerous BCPOS properties. The methodology will include a GPS delineation of the wetland feature, species inventory, percent cover estimate, and some, but not all, components of the ecological integrity assessment following the methods outlined in the Colorado National Heritage Program’s (CNHP) 2015 Colorado Wetland Ecological Integrity Assessment protocol (Field Manual Version 2.1) and associated Level 2.5 field data form located at: (https://cnhp.colostate.edu/cwic/library/manuals/ ). It is the selected Contractors responsibility to become familiar with the assessment protocol document.
 
BCPOS has collected data on wetlands in the past but has never completed a comprehensive inventory and much of the data is out of date. Previously collected BCPOS wetland data, as well as, the CNHP National Wetland Inventory will be used as a baseline for the field inventory. Due to the large number of features on BCPOS lands in these data sources, this effort will focus on emergent wetlands and exclude a majority of riverine or freshwater pond/lake features. For 2020 this project will be limited to northern Boulder County (see Attachment B).  There is an estimated total of 141 wetland features and 299.9 acres that are currently mapped on forty six (46) BCPOS properties; and an additional sixteen (16) wetland features and 411.3 acres currently mapped on seven (7) conservation easement properties in the baseline dataset that will be field verified and inventoried as appropriate, as part of this effort.
 
Note that much of the current mapping was done by aerials and accuracy is highly variable; many of the features in the dataset have not been confirmed on the ground and may be omitted from the inventory during field verification, if they do not meet the criteria for a wetland. A large majority of the currently mapped wetlands occur on the plains in the eastern part of the county, although this may be a result of previous mapping priorities and difficulty distinguishing wetlands via aerials at higher elevations. If additional wetlands that are not in the baseline dataset are observed in the field during the inventory, they should be documented with a photograph and provided to Boulder County to determine if they should be added to the assessment. Attachment B shows the distribution of the current baseline wetland layer that will be verified and inventoried or documented and removed as part of this effort.
 
The data collected through this effort will be used to rank the overall ecological integrity of existing wetlands, help guide future management decisions and allow for repeated monitoring of BCPOS wetlands in the future.
 
CONTRACT LANGUAGE:
The successful proposer will be required to enter into a Contract for Services and meet all insurance requirements as required prior to any work beginning.
 
All proposers are instructed to thoroughly review all the stated insurance requirements for this Project, the insurance requirements stated are the minimum and standard for Boulder County Government, for this Project. All hired contractors are required to meet the insurance requirements, as stated, for contracted services as part of the Boulder County contracting process. Owner/Sole Proprietors/Officer are not exempt from the county’s insurance requirements and coverage limits. Please refer to the Insurance Requirements in this RFP.
 
In the event the selected contractor is unable to commence work as agreed to, the Boulder County Commissioners may rescind the bid award and proceed to award the contract to another proposer based on RFP # 7134-20, re-bid the work, or proceed in any lawful manner the County deems necessary.
 
PRE-PROPOSAL MEETING: 
A Pre-proposal meeting will NOT be held for this Project.
 
ATTACHMENTS:
The following documents are part of this RFP:

1. Attachment A:               Sample CNHP Field Data Form with Required Metrics
2. Attachment B:               Boulder County POS Wetland Maps
3. Attachment C:               Table of Wetland Acreages and Properties
4. Attachment D:               Boulder County Metadata Standards
5. Attachment E:               Parks and Open Space Metadata Standards
6. Attachment F:               Sample Contract