2025-04-17-ptrfp-SNA-NPB.docx

State of Minnesota Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

Calcareous Fen Vegetative Surveys on Scientific & Natural Areas and Native Prairie Bank Easements SWIFT Event #2-17061 Date Posted: April 30, 2025

· Responses must be received not later than 2:00PM, Central Time, May 22, 2025

· Late responses will not be considered

Minnesota’s Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion The State of Minnesota is committed to diversity and inclusion in its public procurement process. The goal is to ensure that those providing goods and services to the State are representative of our Minnesota communities and include businesses owned by minorities, women, veterans, and those with substantial physical disabilities. Creating broader opportunities for historically under-represented groups provides for additional options and greater competition in the marketplace, creates stronger relationships and engagement within our communities, and fosters economic development and equality.

To further this commitment, the Department of Administration operates a program for Minnesota-based small businesses owned by minorities, women, veterans, and those with substantial physical disabilities. For additional information on this program, or to determine eligibility, please call 651-296-2600 or go to the Office of Equity in Procurement home page, at www.mn.gov/admin/oep.

SPECIAL NOTICE: This is a request for proposal. It does not obligate the State of Minnesota to award a contract or complete the proposed program, and the State reserves the right to cancel this solicitation if it is considered in its best interest.

This Solicitation requires proposals to be submitted through the SWIFT Supplier Portal. Please note the security changes below that may impact responders from submitting a timely response.

SWIFT SUPPLIER PORTAL SECURITY CHANGES

There are new security measures that the Minnesota Management and Budget implemented on October 16, 2022. It is a new multi-factor authentication (MFA) to enhance the security of the State of Minnesota Supplier Portal. MFA is an authentication method that requires bidders and suppliers provide two verification factors to log into the SWIFT Supplier Portal. The goal of MFA is to create a layered defense that makes it more difficult for unauthorized system access to occur.

For information about these changes, please refer to the SWIFT Supplier Portal Multi-Factor Authentication FAQ document.

If you have not done so already, please make sure to log into the SWIFT Supplier Portal as soon as possible to get this authentication set up early so there are no issues when submitting a response to an RFP.

You are strongly encouraged to set your MFA during business hours of 8:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M., Central Time, Monday through Friday. You may experience delay setting your MFA after hours.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Solicitation Content

Solicitation Attachments

· Attachment A: Responder Declarations

· Attachment B: Exceptions to State's Terms and Conditions

· Attachment C: Cost Detail

· Attachment D: Responder Forms

· Veteran-Owned Preference Form [If Applicable]

· Workforce and Equal Pay Declaration Page [Workforce required if anticipated contract and all extensions exceed $100,0000

Sample Contract

· Exhibit A: Contract Terms

· Exhibit B: Insurance Requirements

· Exhibit C: Specifications, Duties, and Scope of Work

· Exhibit D: Pricing

SECTION 1 – INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPONDERS

Step 1: Read the solicitation documents and ask questions, if any Step 2: Write your response Step 3: Submit your response

STEP 1 – READ THE SOLICITATION DOCUMENT & ASK QUESTIONS, IF ANY

How to Ask Questions

The contact person for questions is:

Felicia Barnes, EWR Contract Lead DNR Ecological & Water Resources felicia.barnes@state.mn.us Questions should be emailed to the contact by 10 calendar days (by 4:30PM, Central time) prior to the Event end date.

Other personnel are not authorized to answer questions regarding this Solicitation.

STEP 2 – WRITE YOUR RESPONSE

The Response Content section is in this link to Section 4. Prepare a written response and supply all requested content. Responses should address the requested information and documents detailed in Section 4. DO NOT INCLUDE Non-Public/Trade Secret data (as defined in this link to Minn. Stat. § 13.37).

Review, sign, and include the Responder Declarations with your response.

STEP 3 –SUBMIT YOUR RESPONSE

Where to Send Your Response

All responses to this solicitation (termed an “Event” within SWIFT) must be submitted through SWIFT using the Supplier portal (https://mn.gov/supplier). Training and documentation on how to submit your response is available through the Supplier portal link above. Fax, e-mail, and printed responses will not be accepted or considered. All costs incurred in responding to this solicitation will be borne by the responder.

Late responses will not be considered. Responses received after End Date above will not be considered, even if errors or delays were caused by issues outside of responders’ control. If you need assistance please contact the SWIFT Vendor Assistance Helpline at 651-201-8100, Option 1, and then Option 1.

By submitting a response, your company is making a binding legal offer for the period of time set forth below in Section 6, Conditions of Offer.

SECTION 2 – SUMMARY OF SCOPE

Procurement Overview and Goals.

The DNR requests proposals for a qualified surveyor to collect vegetative data in 19 statutorily protected calcareous fens on Scientific and Natural Areas (SNA) and Native Prairie Bank easements (NPB) in the following counties: Carver, Clay, Jackson, Mahnomen, Marshall, Polk, Redwood, Scott, Wilkin and Winona Counties (Table 1 on page 6). Calcareous fens are rare and distinctive peat-accumulating wetlands fed by groundwater that is rich in calcium and other minerals. Calcareous fens are protected by Minnesota Statue 103G.223 and are formally listed on the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) web page. All sites are identified in Table 1 along with work needs at each site (Table 1). All sites occur on Scientific and Natural Area or Native Prairie Bank Easement land. SNA sites will require an SNA permit to collect data and NPB sites will require coordination with SNA staff or landowners to access sites prior to data collection activities. All field work must be completed by June 30, 2026.

Sample Tasks and Deliverables.

Activity 1. Obtaining permits & field work preparation.

For SNA sites obtain permit(s) for collecting data and specimens and document landowner permissions for privately owned NPB calcareous fen sites. Also obtain necessary permits for the collection of state-listed plants from the DNR. Develop a field work plan that includes two visits to each site in both June and August. Meet with DNR prior to commencing field work to discuss the field work plan.

Activity 2. Field data collection At each site identified in Table 1, perform a meander survey creating a species list of all species encountered in the target area for a minimum of 30 minutes. After the meander survey is complete, conduct the work needed at each site identified in the last column of Table 1.

All relevés should use the MNDNR Relevé Method in the most well-developed calcareous fen area if there is no existing relevé(s) or repeat the relevé(s) that may already be established. Relevés and menders need to occur in both June and August for each location. Revisits to relevés should be conducted in the same location to capture the full diagnostic features of expected vascular plants (Table 2 on page 8). All relevés should have sub meter GPS points recorded.

Vouchering of specimens should occur when the following criteria are met;

1) the species is a new occurrence in the county,

2) the species has a “yes” in the voucher priority column of Table 2,

3) the diagnostic features for identification are present and

4) the population is greater than 100 individuals.

When vouchering specimens, the rare species collection guidance should also be followed. Visited sites should have the calcareous fen community mapped as a OPp93 feature class.

The responder should document the endangered, threatened, and special concern (ETS) species individuals encountered. If a site doesn’t have calciphiles and no OPp93 community present, a statement describing the amount of effort that was put into searching and GPS locations of the search must be provided.

Activity 3. Data submission and reporting All field data should be reported to DNR at the end of each field season. The responder will submit data, one submission at the end of the first year of field work (January 31, 2026) and one submission at the conclusion of all the field work to include a report due by July 30, 2026 (Table 3 on page 9).

The report must include the following components:

· A brief justifications of how discretionary decisions were made for each component.

· Summary of sites visited.

· Landowner permissions obtained, including copies of permits if applicable.

· Meander surveys conducted and results.

· Results for meander surveys would be a species list and GPS tracks or polygons of the area walked.

· Relevés completed.

· All relevé data needs to be properly formatted using the relevé method.

· Vouchering specimens

· Specimens should be collected if all of these circumstances are met.

· If the species is a new county or state record.

· If the species is from Table 2 with a voucher priority of “yes”.

· if the circumstances for herbarium collection are met.

· If populations are too small for specimen collection photo vouchers with diagnostic features are preferred.

· Specimen vouchers will be identified to the species by the contractor. Vouchers will be properly labeled, dried, packaged and submitted to the DNR.

· The label data will be recorded on an electronic spreadsheet using the Bell Museum’s standard data submission form (provided by DNR).

· ETS occurrence data

· The ETS occurrence data will be submitted through the Rare Plant Observation spreadsheet, with spatial data as a GIS feature class. Information on rare plant observations are available through the DNR’s Natural Heritage Information Systems webpage.

· Map the OPp93 calcareous fen community using remotely sensed data (topography, air photos, etc.) supported by ground data collection (meanders and relevés).

· Submission of the map should be in the form of a GIS feature class.

· Sites not visited should not be mapped.

Table 1. Fen site locations. All Native Prairie Bank Easement sites will need access coordinated with the landowner and SNA staff because they are easements. All SNA sites will need an SNA permit. The Relevé column shows how many relevés are needed, the NPC column indicates weather the site needs NPC mapping y= yes, n= no mapping, m = maybe depending on the site visit/professional judgement. Detailed work needs are identified in the last column.

Table 2. Indicator species for calcareous fens in Minnesota. Additional species should be documented as well. The best time to identify each species is of particular importance to capture the full species present at a site.

April - May

July - September

April - June

July - September

June - August

May-July

July - September

September October

April - June

June-September

July - October

June - August

Table 3. Timeline

*Denotes date at which an invoice must be submitted for all work completed in the fiscal year (invoicing can occur at a frequency agreed to between the contractor and the DNR).

SECTION 3 – PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

1. Anticipated Contract Term.

The term of this contract is anticipated to be from 6/2025 to 6/2026.

Question and Answer Instructions.

All questions should be submitted no later than the date and time listed in Section 1, Instructions to Responders. The State is not obligated to answer questions submitted after the question due date and time.

Only personnel listed above are authorized to discuss this solicitation with responders. Contact regarding this solicitation with any personnel not listed above could result in disqualification. This provision is not intended to prevent responders from seeking guidance from state procurement assistance programs regarding general procurement questions.

If a Responder discovers any significant ambiguity, error, conflict, discrepancy, omission, or other deficiency in the solicitation, please immediately notify the contact person detailed above in writing of such error and request modification or clarification of the document.

Additional Tasks or Activities.

Responders are encouraged to propose additional tasks, activities, or goods above and beyond the scope of what is requested in this solicitation if they will substantially improve the results of this procurement. Any costs associated with these additional tasks, activities, or goods should be clearly marked and separated from costs associated with the tasks, activities, or goods specifically requested under this solicitation. Because cost is a factor in the evaluation of responses to this solicitation, failure to separate costs for additional tasks, activities, or goods may result in those costs being included in a responder's cost proposal and result in a lower cost score for that proposal.

SECTION 4 – PROPOSAL CONTENT

Please submit the following information:

Work Plan. Provide a work plan, including a tentative timeline and a description of the deliverables to be provided, for each activity. The work plan should show an understanding of the tasks to be accomplished and be within the project’s timeline. The work plan may be used as a scheduling and managing tool, as well as the basis for invoicing. This document should NOT list cost detail. If cost detail is included in this document, the State may disqualify the proposal as non-responsive. Responder should provide a statement of the objectives, goals, and tasks to show or demonstrate the Responder's view and understanding of the nature of the contract.

Qualifications and Experience. Responder should provide an outline of the background and experience of all personnel who will conduct the work, detailing their training, experience, and qualifications for items 2.1-2.4 below. Resumes or other information about project personnel should not, if possible, contain personal telephone numbers, home addresses, or home email addresses. If it is necessary to include personal contact information, please clearly indicate in the response that personal contact information is being provided.

Experience identifying and collecting common and rare wetland vascular plants characteristic of Minnesota’s calcareous fens or similar areas in neighboring Midwestern.

At least one field personnel working on the project must be on the DNR certified listed-species surveyors – plants list in a relevant category.

Experience processing and labeling herbarium-quality plant specimens. Include number of specimens processed and number of submissions accepted to an herbarium with your response.

Experience with in-field classification of Native Plant Communities of Minnesota.

Responder must obtain a permit to collect State-listed species prior to the beginning of field work. Responder must acknowledge in its response its intent and ability to obtain the permit.

Cost Detail. Complete and submit Attachment C, “Cost Detail,” attached to this solicitation.

License Agreements, Maintenance Agreements, or Other Terms and Conditions.

The State may require Responder to provide any license agreements, maintenance agreements or any other terms and conditions relevant to the work under a resulting contract. Review and approval by the State will be required prior to contract execution. In the event Responder fails to comply with a request under this provision, Responder agrees that it will not seek to enforce terms and conditions of any such agreement against the State. Further, failure to provide any of the pertinent documents upon request may result in the State not agreeing to sign any additional documents, rejecting your response, or cancelling the award.

Submit all requested documentation, including, but not limited to, the following documents:

1. Attachment A: Responder Declarations

2. Attachment B: Exceptions to State's Standard Terms and Conditions

3. Attachment C: Cost Proposal

4. Attachment D: Responder Forms

a. Veteran-Owned Preference Form (If Applicable)

b. Workforce and Equal Pay Declaration Page (Workforce required if anticipated contract and all extensions exceed $100,0000 DO NOT INCLUDE Non-Public/Trade Secret data (as defined by Minn. Stat. § 13.37).

SECTION 5 – EVALUATION PROCEDURE AND CRITERIA

The State will conduct an evaluation of responses to this Solicitation. The evaluations will be conducted in three phases:

Phase 1 - Review responses for responsiveness and pass/fail requirements Phase 2 - Evaluate responses Phase 3 - Select finalist(s)

1. Phase 1 – Responsiveness and Pass/Fail Requirements The purpose of this phase is to determine if each response complies with mandatory requirements. The State will first review each proposal for responsiveness to determine if the Responder satisfies all mandatory requirements. The State will evaluate these requirements on a pass/fail basis.

Mandatory Requirements. The following will be considered on a pass/fail basis:

· Responses must be received by the due date and time specified in this RFP.

Phase 2 - Evaluate Responses Only those responses found to have met Phase 1 criteria will be considered in Phase 2.

The factors and weighting on which responses will be evaluated are:

Preference points are described under Solicitation Terms and will be applied to the total score after points have been awarded.

Phase 3 - Select Finalist(s) Only those responses that have been evaluated under Phase 2 shall be eligible for Phase 3.

The State will make its selection based on best value, as determined by this evaluation process. The State reserves the right to pursue negotiations on any exception taken to the State’s standard terms and conditions. In the event that negotiated terms cannot be reached, the State reserves the right to terminate negotiations and begin negotiating with the next highest scoring responder or take other actions as the State deems appropriate. If the State anticipates multiple awards, the State reserves the right to negotiate with more than one Responder.

It is anticipated that the evaluation and selection will be completed by June 1, 2025.

SECTION 6 – SOLICITATION TERMS

1. Competition in Responding The State desires open and fair competition. Questions from responders regarding any of the requirements of the Solicitation must be submitted in writing to the Solicitation Administrator listed in the Solicitation before the due date and time. If changes are made the State will issue an addendum.

Any evidence of collusion among responders in any form designed to defeat competitive responses will be reported to the Minnesota Attorney General for investigation and appropriate action.

Addenda to the Solicitation Changes to the Solicitation will be made by addendum with notification and posted in the same manner as the original Solicitation. Any addenda issued will become part of the Solicitation.

Joint Ventures The State allows joint ventures among groups of responders when responding to the solicitation. However, one responder must submit a response on behalf of all the others in the group. The responder that submits the response will be considered legally responsible for the response (and the contract, if awarded).

Withdrawing Response A responder may withdraw its response prior to the due date and time of the Solicitation. For solicitations in the SWIFT Supplier Portal, a responder may withdraw its response from the SWIFT Supplier Portal. For solicitations done any other way, a responder may withdraw its response by notifying the Solicitation Administrator in writing of the desire to withdraw.

After the due date and time of this Solicitation, a responder may withdraw a response only upon showing that an obvious error exists in the response. The showing and request for withdrawal must be made in writing to Solicitation Administrator within a reasonable time and prior to the State’s detrimental reliance on the response.

Rights Reserved The State reserves the right to:

· Reject any and all responses received;

· Waive or modify any informalities, irregularities, or inconsistencies in the responses received;

· Negotiate with the highest scoring Responder[s];

· Terminate negotiations and select the next response providing the best value for the State;

· Consider documented past performance resulting from a State contract may be considered in the evaluation process;

· Short list the highest scoring Responders;

· Require Responders to conduct presentations, demonstrations, or submit samples;

· Interview key personnel or references;

· Request a best and final offer from one or more Responders;

· The State reserves the right to request additional information ; and

· The State reserves the right to use estimated usage or scenarios for the purpose of conducting pricing evaluations. The State reserves the right to modify scenarios, and to request or add additional scenarios for the evaluation.

Samples and Demonstrations Upon request, Responders are to provide samples to the State at no charge. Except for those destroyed or mutilated in testing, the State will return samples if requested and at the Responder’s expense. All costs to conduct and associated with a demonstration will be the sole responsibility of the Responder.

Responses are Nonpublic during Evaluation Process All materials submitted in response to this Solicitation will become property of the State. During the evaluation process, all information concerning the responses submitted will remain private or nonpublic and will not be disclosed to anyone whose official duties do not require such knowledge. Responses are private or nonpublic data until the completion of the evaluation process as defined by Minn. Stat. § 13.591. The completion of the evaluation process is defined as the State having completed negotiating a contract with the selected responder. The State will notify all responders in writing of the evaluation results.

Trade Secret Information Responders must not submit as part of their response trade secret material, as defined by Minn. Stat. § 13.37.

In the event trade secret data are submitted, Responder must defend any action seeking release of data it believes to be trade secret, and indemnify and hold harmless the State, its agents and employees, from any judgments awarded against the State in favor of the party requesting the data, and any and all costs connected with that defense.

The State does not consider cost or prices to be trade secret material, as defined by Minn. Stat. § 13.37.

A responder may present and discuss trade secret information during an interview or demonstration with the State, if applicable.

Conditions of Offer Unless otherwise approved in writing by the State, Responder’s cost proposal and all terms offered in its response that pertain to the completion of professional and technical services and general services will remain firm for 180 days, until they are accepted or rejected by the State, or they are changed by further negotiations with the State prior to contract execution.

Award Any award that may result from this solicitation will be based upon the total accumulated points as established in the solicitation. The State reserves the right to award this solicitation to a single Responder, or to multiple Responders, whichever is in the best interest of the State, providing each Responder is in compliance with all terms and conditions of the solicitation. The State reserves the right to accept all or part of an offer, to reject all offers, to cancel the solicitation, or to re-issue the solicitation, whichever is in the best interest of the State.

Requirements Prior to Contract Execution Prior to contract execution, a responder receiving a contract award must comply with any submittal requests. A submittal request may include, but is not limited to, a Certificate of Insurance.

Targeted Group, Economically Disadvantaged Business, Veteran-Owned and Individual Preference Unless a greater preference is applicable and allowed by law, in accordance with Minn. Stat. § 16C.16, businesses that are eligible and certified by the State as targeted group (TG) businesses, economically disadvantaged (ED) businesses, and veteran-owned businesses will receive points equal to 12% percent of the total points available as preference.

For TG/ED/VO certification and eligibility information visit the Office of Equity in Procurement website at https://mn.gov/admin/business/vendor-info/oep/ or call the Division’s Helpline at 651.296.2600.

Reciprocity State shall comply with Minn. Stat. § 16C.06, subd. 7, as that applies to a non-resident vendor. This paragraph does not apply for any project in which federal funds are expended.

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