MIDPENINSULA REGIONAL OPEN SPACE DISTRICT REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS & QUALIFICATIONS October 15, 2016 INVITATION The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (District) is pleased to announce the opportunity to provide On-call Biological Survey and Monitoring Services for project work within the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District. Project locations are anticipated to be primarily within San Mateo and Santa Clara counties within existing District Open Space Preserves, at potential new property sites, or at District field or administrative offices (See Attachment 1). The District is seeking qualified, licensed professionals in the following category: Biological Consulting Services/On-call Biological Survey and Monitoring Services About the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District The District is a public agency that owns and manages over 63,000 acres of land in 26 open space preserves. The District’s boundary includes portions of San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz counties within the Santa Cruz Mountains (attachment 1). These areas are managed by the District to preserve a regional greenbelt, protect and restore the environment, and to provide opportunities for ecologically sensitive public access and education. Public recreational use of the Preserves is primarily trail use by hikers, mountain bicyclists, equestrians, and dog walkers. The District leases land for conservation grazing on approximately 10,800 acres as a tool to manage habitat on portions of several preserves. Please visit www.openspace.org for more information about the District. PROJECT DESCRIPTION Objective: This Request for Proposals and Qualifications (RFPQ) is being widely distributed to attract a diverse group of firms that are most suited to performing work for the District in the professional service category indicated above. The District is seeking firms who are known for their quality of work and cost effectiveness. It is preferable that firms have successfully completed similar projects for similar entities within similar geographic settings. Project Opportunities: The District has upcoming projects for which biological consulting services are needed that require more staff time or expertise than are currently available to handle the workload. Through this RFPQ process, the District seeks to engage the services of consulting firms having the skills to assist with biological monitoring, biological surveys, biological research, hydrological surveys, GIS mapping and analysis, CEQA review and drafting of biological recommendations, plant and animal pathogen surveys, preparation of biological reports, and biotic assessments. It is not necessary for an applying firm to be able to perform all of the requested services. Applicants may select to provide as few as one to all of the abovementioned services and as few as one to many different species per biological survey service (details provided below). \\FILESERV\NaturalResources\NR_Projects\a_Multi_Preserve_Projects\Current Projects\BIO_Oncall_consulting\RFPQ\2016\2016_Bio_on_Call_RFPQ_Final.docx The District will compile a list of the most qualified proposers to provide on-call services for an initial contract term of two (2) years with the option for the District in its sole discretion to extend the term for up to two (2) additional years. The number of firms selected will be dependent on the quality, and number of proposals received during this RFPQ process and will range from zero (0) to three (3) total firms with the potential for more if additional firms are deemed highly qualified. These firms will work primarily with one District project lead, per work order, under the guidance of senior staff to accomplish projects similar to those listed below. The following list includes examples of past projects completed by biological on call consultants, as well as potential future projects. Future work will be similar but not limited to these types of projects. 1. Dewatering and Biological Monitoring, Pond DR05 Restoration, La Honda Creek OSP Budget: $13,100 Schedule: August 15th-October 31th, 2014 Perform dewatering of a cattle stock pond that is habitat for California red-legged frog to eradicate invasive fish species (bass) and to prepare for and monitor pond reconstruction. 2. Biological Monitoring of cattle infrastructure installation, Russian Ridge OSP Budget: $12,200 for 1-3 weeks of biological monitoring Schedule: Fall 2014/Winter 2015 Provide Biological awareness training to construction contractor and perform biological monitoring during installation of a new water system on Mindego Ranch. Contractor will need to have experience working with San Francisco garter snake and California red-legged frog. 3. Biological Monitoring during building demolition, Mindego Ranch, Russian Ridge OSP Budget: Total cost $36,342 for 3 weeks of survey and biological monitoring Schedule: Fall/Winter 2014/2015 Provide biological surveys of a former ranch complex (including two houses, garage, barn, outbuildings, and corral area) prior to and during demolition/remediation as required. 4. Bear Creek Redwoods Integrated Pest Management Plan: Bear Creek Redwoods OSP Budget: $25,000 Schedule: Fall 2015/Winter 2016 Develop an Integrated Pest Plant Management plan for the prevention, detection, and control of priority invasive plant species. Provide guidelines for the control of invasive plants and the restoration of native plant communities in priority management areas of the preserve. Development of this plan requires the mapping of the distribution of invasive plant species. 5.) Wildlife Friendly Spring Development Specifications: District Wide Budget: Not to exceed $6,000 Schedule: Summer/Fall 2016 \\FILESERV\NaturalResources\NR_Projects\a_Multi_Preserve_Projects\Current Projects\BIO_Oncall_consulting\RFPQ\2016\2016_Bio_on_Call_RFPQ_Final.docx Research existing design specification to install or modify existing spring boxes, stand pipes, or other spring development structure to allow for safe continued or future use by wildlife. The primary target species is California red-legged frog (CRLF). Provide design specifications to be adopted for District use when developing new springs or modifying existing springs. 6.) Pre-Demolition Chiroptera (Bat) Survey and Exclusion La Honda Creek OSP Budget: $11,800 Schedule: May 2015 Survey for multiple bat species using active survey techniques (searching for evidence of bat presence such as guano, mist netting and visual encounters) and passive acoustic monitoring techniques. Recommend appropriate exclusion techniques to ensure no bat species are harmed during the demolition process. 7.) Other projects Opportunities may arise to work as an on-call biological consultant on other projects as needed at the District’s discretion. Typical District projects include the following, not in any order of significance: Biological Monitoring- During construction, maintenance, remodeling and demolition of bridges, puncheons, residential structures, offices, outbuildings, staging areas, restroom facilities, earthen dams/berms, roads and trails or other natural resource facilities and other structures as needed. Biological Monitoring for the following species is the most common: California red-legged frog, San Francisco garter snake, Western pond turtle, nesting birds, San Francisco dusky footed woodrat, bat species, other listed species and/or species of special concern. Biological Surveys and Assessments- associated with new property acquisitions, preconstruction surveys, or ongoing inventory and monitoring of District resources. Surveys for the following species are the most common: nesting birds (including marbled murrelet), bats, rare plants, California red-legged frog, San Francisco garter snake, Western pond turtle, other listed species and or species of special concern. Capture and relocation, or exclusion of protected species- associated with capital improvement projects where habitat is being permanently modified and as required by CEQA mitigation or a regulatory agency. Capture and relocation or exclusion of the following species is the most common: California red-legged frog, Western pond turtle, San Francisco dusky footed woodrat, bat species. Hydrological assessments: Wetland delineations, cross section surveys, installation of staff gages and bathometric surveys of water bodies such as ponds may be periodically required by the District. Administration – CEQA review and development of biological recommendations, literature review and document preparation, report generation, GIS mapping and analysis, responding to regulatory agency comments, developing mitigation for impacts to biological species, documenting species observations on District lands and submitting CNDDB or other records on behalf of the District. It is preferred that all special status \\FILESERV\NaturalResources\NR_Projects\a_Multi_Preserve_Projects\Current Projects\BIO_Oncall_consulting\RFPQ\2016\2016_Bio_on_Call_RFPQ_Final.docx species (attachment 3) observations that take place during on-call work be mapped and provided to the District in the form of a GIS data layer. An existing special status species layer will be provided to consultants upon receiving a work order. This layer shall be edited, to include new observations, and returned to the District upon completion of the work order. Project Locations Project locations are primarily remote, often difficult to access sites within San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. Projects sites may include any existing District Open Space Preserves, potential new