DFW-2015-003_Preparation of Piping Plover Statewide Habitat Conservation Plan and Associated Environmental Assessment.doc

DFW-2015-003: Preparation of Piping Plover Statewide Habitat Conservation Plan and Associated Environmental Assessment Summary

The Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program of the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife (DFW) is soliciting bids for consulting services associated with the preparation of a Piping Plover Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) and Environmental Assessment (EA) pursuant to Section 10 of the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. DFW is seeking bids from qualified vendors to (1) provide technical assistance and advice to DFW and stakeholders developing the draft HCP and EA; (2) in consultation with DFW staff, write the draft HCP and EA that will be submitted to USFWS and made available for public comment; (3) assist DFW in responding to comments and preparing the Final HCP and Incidental Take Permit application (ITP) for submission to USFWS. DFW and the stakeholders have established a goal of submitting the draft HCP for public comment and associated EA by January 2015. This schedule is subject to change based on a number of factors including the progression of prefiling consultations with the USFWS. Awarding of this contract is contingent on the availability of funding that has not yet been fully secured; however, DFW may elect to proceed with portions of the scope if full funding is not available, as described below.

Introduction The federally Threatened Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) is a small, sand-colored shorebird that nests along the Atlantic Coast on sandy beaches from North Carolina to Newfoundland. Major threats to Piping Plovers include (1) inadequately managed recreational activities (e.g., off-road vehicles, beach raking, heavy foot traffic), (2) predation, (3) loss of nests to overwash from storms, and (4) habitat loss due to construction of structures such as seawalls, revetments and artificial dune-building.

Over the past two decades, the MA Division of Fisheries & Wildlife (MDFW) and US Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) have built cooperative relationships with beach managers and landowners, to the point where virtually all beaches with breeding Piping Plovers are managed in accordance with state and federal guidelines for management of recreational activities at sites where plovers nest (“Guidelines”). This often involves expenditure of considerable resources and staffing by stakeholders. Furthermore, such management requires limiting access to some sections of beach and curtailment of certain recreational activities such as off-road-vehicles—actions that can negatively affect beach revenue. As a result of this improved management of habitat and recreational activities, the Massachusetts population of Piping Plovers has experienced a significant increase over the past 25 years. The current plover population in Massachusetts alone now exceeds the minimum recovery abundance criterion (625 pairs) for the New England Recovery Unit as a whole and represents approximately 36% of the Atlantic Coast population.

As the population of Piping Plovers has increased, due in large part to collaborative management efforts, conflicts resulting from curtailment of human recreational activities on beaches are increasing. Additional management flexibility is needed in order to maintain support for on-going Piping Plover recovery efforts from landowners, beach managers, recreational users, and the general public. Development of a statewide HCP would provide such flexibility in managing beach access by pedestrians, certain beach parking areas, and off-road vehicles on or near beaches where plovers nest and raise young. In return for reasonable increases in flexibility when managing recreational activities, beach managers may be willing to undertake other actions, for example localized reductions in predator populations, to advance plover recovery efforts. Despite the notable gains in Piping Plover populations in Massachusetts, the conflict between conservation and public use threatens the successful cooperative relationship that resulted in the population gains over the last 25 years. Continued cooperation is needed to address recent alarming declines in Piping Plover productivity due largely to predators, particularly in the past two years.

Project Description The objective of the proposed project is to develop and implement a new statewide HCP for the Piping Plover in Massachusetts, pursuant to Section 10 of the ESA, and an associated EA. The HCP will contain management and mitigation commitments that will improve the conservation status of the Piping Plover in Massachusetts, while providing increased flexibility for stakeholders managing both Piping Plover habitat and recreational use of the Commonwealth’s beaches. DFW is working with a group of stakeholders including, municipalities, beach managers and non-governmental organizations, to develop the HCP in consultation with USFWS (see http://www.cbuilding.org/project/massachusetts-piping-plover-habitat-conservation-plan).

Although the focus of the HCP will be on the Piping Plover, it is possible that the HCP will include other Covered Species (e.g. Red Knot). However, because of the limited geographic scope of other potential Covered Species, the decision about whether or not to include other covered species is not expected to significantly increase work load. The HCP will include consideration of at least one state-listed species that co-occurs with the Piping Plover (Least Tern), although it appears unlikely that state-listed species will be formally included as Covered Species.

Because the extent of available funding has not yet been determined (see above), this RFP contains two scenarios contractors may bid on. In Scenario 1 the contractor will take primary responsibility for drafting the HCP and EA, in consultation with DFW. In Scenario 2, the contractor will provide technical assistance and advice to DFW and other stakeholders, but DFW will be responsible for compiling data and preparing the HCP and EA documents. DFW staff have extensive knowledge of Piping Plover biology and management issues, and DFW has direct experience drafting an earlier Piping Plover HCP.

PROJECT PHASES

1. HCP Development – The contractor will work with DFW, the USFWS, and stakeholders to develop an outline of the HCP including but not limited to Covered Activities, Conservation Measures, Impact Minimization Measures, Mitigation Measures, and Eligibility Requirements for subpermittees to be covered pursuant to Certificates of Inclusion. The contractor will also assist in the compilation and anlysis of data on the current status of the Piping Plover in Massachusetts and analysis of the potential impact of the HCP and associated Incidental Take Permit. The period of HCP development will overlap with the period for preparing the draft HCP and EA (see below), and is anticpated to last from the time the contract is awarded through December 2015. This timeline is subject to change, as described above. During this period the contractor will attend stakeholder meetings and participate in conference calls with stakeholders.

2. Prepare Draft HCP and EA Documents – Under Scenario 1, the Contractor will take the lead in preparing these documents with the goal of submitting a “ready to proof-read” draft HCP and EA by January 2015. To meet this timeline, it is anticipated that chapter by chapter drafts will be prepared and shared with USFWS during the HCP development period. It is anticipated that USFWS will comment on these draft chapters such that the January draft is expected to be “near final.” Under Scenario 2 the contractor will offer advice and review draft documents prepared by DFW.

3. Submit Drafts for Public Comment, Respond to Comments, Submit Final HCP and EA – Pending receipt of comments from USFWS, the final Draft HCP and EA for public comment will be submitted to USFWS in early winter 2015 (schedule subject to change). In consultation with USFWS, DFW and the contractor will then prepare responses to comments and the Final HCP, EA, and ITP for submission to USFWS. The respective roles of DFW and the contractor for this phase under Scenarios 1 and 2 will be the same as for phase 2.

Considerations and Instructions for Bid Submission

Interested parties must submit the following information:

1. Mandatory Bid Sheet (attached)

2. A brief description of the contractor’s experience with environmental permitting, endangered species permitting, preparation of NEPA documents, and HCPs.

3. Resumes of the proposed project manager and any other personnel expected to work on the project.

The contractor with the bid that offers the best value to DFW will be selected. This determination will take into account a variety of factors including cost and experience of the contractor with environmental permitting in general, and specifically permitting associated with endangered species. In selecting a contractor strong consideration will be given to the amount of direct experience preparing HCP’s and NEPA documents associated with HCP’s. If the bids fail to meet DFW’s needs, DFW may reject any/all proposal(s) and may solicit additional proposals in order to obtain the best value procurement for the DFW.

A work and payment schedule will be arranged with the winning bidder. Awarding of this contract is contingent on the availability of funding that has not yet been fully secured; however, DFW may elect to proceed with portions of the scope if full funding is not available, as described above and on the mandatory bid sheet. DFW will update interested vendors as more information becomes available. If the necessary funds are not available to complete the entire project, DFW reserves the right to discontinue or reduce the scope of work.

BID DUE DATE:

5:00 pm , July 31, 2014 Submit bid in hard copy format to:

Karen M. Dolan, Finance & Projects Administrator

Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program

MA Division of Fisheries & Wildlife

100 Hartwell Street , Suite 230

West Boylston, MA 01583 Any questions must be submitted in writing and will be responded to in writing. Questions and responses will be posted to the DFW website.

Submit written questions to:

Jon Regosin, Chief of Conservation Science

Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program

MA Division of Fisheries & Wildlife

100 Hartwell Street , Suite 230

West Boylston, MA 01583 jonathan.regosin@state.ma.us

GENERAL INFORMATION:

1) It is the responsibility of the contractor to make all necessary assessments for bidding on this job.

2) This project shall not commence until all required procurement forms have been submitted to DFW by the contractor, and until a “Notice to Proceed” has been received by the contractor from the Division. The final award of this bid will be contingent upon availability of sufficient funds. The Division reserves the right to award part, all or none of this contract pending availability of funds.

3) Any additional project costs must be approved by the Division’s Chief Financial Officer prior to being incurred.

4) The Division will make payments following satisfactory completion of interim and final deliverables and receipt of invoices from the contractor for an amount not to exceed what is specified in the Notice to Proceed.

REQUIRED PROCUREMENT FORMS: Projects shall not commence until all required procurement forms have been submitted to the DFW by the vendor. Procurement forms are not required with bid response.

a) Commonwealth Standard Contract Form, completed and signed by the respondent. Submitted form must be the signed original.

b) Commonwealth Terms and Conditions filled out and signed by the respondent (if the Commonwealth Terms and Conditions has been previously filled out by a respondent and is on file with the Commonwealth, please indicate in the cover letter - a bidder is required to execute this form only once). Submitted form must be the signed original.

c) Commonwealth W-9 tax information form filled out and signed by the respondent (if the Commonwealth W-9 tax information form has been previously filled out by a respondent and is on file with the Commonwealth, please indicate in the cover letter - a bidder is required to execute this form only once). Submitted form must be the signed original.

d) Consultant Contractor Mandatory Submission Form filled out and signed by respondent.

e) Completed Contractor Authorized Signature Verfication Form.

f) Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)

g) Prompt Payment Discount

h) Additional forms may be required upon request

Forms listed above as REQUIRED for submittal of bids are attached to this document.

MANDATORY BID SHEET

FOR

DFW-2015-003: Preparation of Piping Plover Statewide Habitat Conservation Plan and Associated Environmental Asessment Scenario 1: Contractor provides technical assistance and advice to DFW and stakeholders, assists with all aspects of HCP development and responses to public comments, data compilation and analysis, and prepares draft and final HCP, EA, ITP documents for submission to USFWS Total Cost, Phases 1 & 2

Total Cost, Phase 3

Scenario 2: Contractor provides technical assistance and advice to DFW and stakeholders, and reviews draft documents

Total Cost, Phases 1 & 2

Total Cost, Phase 3

Bidders may bid on one or both Scenarios. Bids must include all expenses including but not limited to travel, supplies, and other incidentals.

Bidder’s Information

Name (printed)

Signature

Company

Date

Street Address

Phone

City, State, Zip Code

Email

Signature conveys approval with all proposed bids and agreement with all terms set out in this Scope of Services.

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