Exhibit E.pdf

EXHIBIT E-Request for Proposal on Bird survey Work

SCOPE OF WORK:

The work described herein will be completed by the CONTRACTOR on dates identified by project manager prior to initiation of project for an amount specified on each project’s approved purchase order per the rates provided by the prospective contractor All overhead costs, including travel, office supplies, and copying costs are built into the price of the deliverables. Meetings will occur when needed between the contractor and the project manager and park staff to pick up documents and information, drop off deliverables and invoices, and to provide feedback and status updates. Contractor should note that the purchase order agreement is subject to the standard terms and conditions printed on the back of the PO form. All deliverables produced as part of this effort become property of Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) but may retain the authors name as a courtesy.

BACKGROUND

The purpose of this project is to:

1. Create bird surveys at parks that do not yet have formalized surveys and repeat pre-existing surveys where additional data is needed.

2. Conduct bird surveys at parks in order to:

a. Compile comprehensive bird species for specified project locations through research of existing data provided by the Resource Stewardship Program and publicly available data sources and communication with park staff.

b. Identify key bird species and the habitats within the park which they use.

c. Identify migratory bird species that use the park and the areas of the park that are key to migratory success of these species.

d. Identify raptors species and their nesting locations.

e. Identify crepuscular species like owls and poorwills that use the park and the areas of the park which they use.

3. Identify key avian habitats within park(s) and:

a. Quantitatively and spatially document these key habitat areas,

b. Mapping these key habitat areas and documenting species presence, which species are breeding in certain areas, and

c. Documenting which species are using areas as key migration stopovers.

This information will help State Parks manage and protect key avian habitat areas, as well as to help compare species diversity between parks and diversity within the parks over time.

The long-term concept is to create surveys that could be repeated in the future by Resource Stewardship staff and/or park volunteers. Surveys should be created so that access by volunteers is possible.

Contractor will attempt to identify local experts in the geographical area of the park that have the capability to fill this volunteer role.

Direction in the survey report to help achieve this goal will require:

1. Clear communication of survey protocols by the contractor in the field and within the survey report,

2. Clear identification and illustration of survey areas through photos, maps, and GPS locations, and

3. Good coordination by the contractor with Project manager, CPW field staff and volunteers.

When local experts are included in the project to lend their knowledge to the survey, these goals can be more easily achieved. Efforts will be made by the contractor, and with assistance of the project manager, to include CPW Resource Stewardship Program staff and local species experts from the public in the field survey process.

The table below will be populated with project site specific information on a project by project basis.

This information will include the parks where these surveys will be conducted, their acreages, the numbers of plots and the types of surveys. The number of plot locations is based on what can be accomplished in 1 day (sunrise to 10 am) in the field. Communication with the project manager should occur if contractor feels that a second survey day is needed. Project site maps will be provided to plot point count station locations prior to the start of field work. Communication with park management in regards to count station locations will occur to ensure resource management needs are addressed by the surveys.

Park Total

Acres

Land

Acres

Task A -migratory plots

Task B -breeding plots

Task C-

Raptor nest/owl surveys

Task D-

Waterfowl surveys

XX STATE PARK TBD TBD Y Y TBD TBD

XX STATE PARK TBD TBD Y Y TBD TBD

XX STATE PARK TBD TBD Y Y TBD TBD

DELIVERABLE DETAIL:

For this project, the contractor will conduct several types of bird surveys. All bird names used in the deliverables of these surveys will follow industry standards outlined in the American Ornithologists Union’s English names

(not scientific names) in their Check-list of North American Birds, 7th edition. Through survey work and research, contractor will produce the following deliverables:

A. Communication – Upon project approval, the contractor will:

● Communicate planned field dates to the Park Manager for approval and to any park birding volunteers (none known for these parks at this time) well ahead of time (preferably 2 weeks notice).

● Make arrangements for getting in and out of the park during the required hours if necessary.

● Arrange for campsite reservations (if the contractor desires to do so) through the state parks reservation system, including payment. It is highly encouraged to overnight in the park to ensure that incidental and evening observations occur.

● Make sure any permanent markers that are to be used for the survey be approved by the Park

Manager prior to their placement.

● Communicate in advance (at least 2 weeks) with the Resource Stewardship project manager, so that

Stewardship staff may have an opportunity to coordinate with the contractor and any volunteers to come in the field to participate in the search and learn search criteria.

B. Point Count Stations: Locations and Report Appendix – This section of the report will serve as a guide for future bird surveyors to find point count stations.

The Contractor will:

● Locate an appropriate number of point count stations stated in the table above on a map prior to field work through coordination with the project manager and with park management to ensure park management needs are addressed by the survey.

o Locations will be ground-truthed and adjusted in the field in order to meet a number of goals. It should be possible to do about 10 -15 point locations in a day.

o Ideally, these stations will be placed in locations so that all habitats/biomes found in the particular park are represented, the greatest diversity of birds can be accounted, Migratory

Bird Counts and Breeding Bird Counts can be performed from the same point count stations, and surveys can be conducted in the shortest period of time.

o Consideration of future surveys being performed by volunteers should be made keeping ease of survey in mind. Station naming protocols are addressed below.

o Count stations will be GPS’d by the contractor and photos will be taken of the count station location in order to document locations and to create a point count station guide for the appendix of the report.

o This appendix will include:

▪ Map of point count stations that displays roads, trails, topographic features, and any other identifying land characteristics the contractor feels will help in locating point count stations.

▪ Photographs of each count station location with point count station numbers, GPS lat/long coordinates, and a brief narrative describing the station location and how to find markers. Adding people to photographs, when possible, helps with location identification.

C. Migratory Bird Point Counts – The goals are to identify migratory species and their key migratory habitat areas in the parks so recommendations on the management of these areas can be made, as well as to spatially document the species observed and the habitat used for historical and comparison purposes.

The contractor will provide within the Report:

● Create a point count survey. The number of count station locations will be as stated in table above or adjusted through consultation with project manager.

o The count station locations will be at the same locations and have the same count station #’s as for the breeding bird survey.

o Locations will be permanently/semi-permanently marked on the ground by the contractor for future use, with marking techniques pre-approved by the park manager.

▪ Marking can include using existing landmarks. Marking technique should be unobtrusive and should not impact park visitor experience.

o Locations may be adjusted somewhat in the field if necessary through discussion with project manager.

o The survey will use point count stations that will be GPS’d by contractor and entered into a spreadsheet (template file will be provided by the project manager) as well as mapped on paper or another type of map.

o All breeding bird survey work will be performed before 10 am and fall within Colorado

Breeding Bird Atlas II protocols whenever possible.

o The contractor will conduct visual and auditory observations at each point and record every bird species seen or heard within 100 m over an 8 minute time period. Flyovers will also be recorded and noted as flyovers. This protocol can be adjusted somewhat, through consultation with the project manager, to improve survey efficiency and to achieve project goals.

▪ These locations should be sampled at least 2 separate times (at least 2 weeks apart, but ideally at least 4 weeks apart) ideally between May 1-June 29.

▪ These migratory counts should be scheduled, whenever possible, to coincide with breeding bird counts to attempt to have 3 visits to the park to achieve the project goals.

● Consider project location to determine when the optimal times are for migration counts for that location.

Point count locations will be mapped with these attributes (template file will be provided by the project manager):

● PARKCODE

● Station_number

● Date

● Sta_descrip

● UTM_X

● UTM_Y

● Species (list each species common name as a column and put in the count values)

● Tot_species

● Tot_individs

● Comments

In addition, two tables, one point count and one summary, will be created to display survey findings and will be included within the report as an appendix, but will also be delivered as a standalone Excel file (template file will be provided by the project manager).

D. Breeding Bird Point Counts - The goals are to identify breeding species and their key habitat areas so these areas can be protected, as well as to spatially document the species observed and the habitat used for historical and comparison purposes. The contractor will:

● Create a point count survey of breeding species. The number of count station locations will be as stated above.

o The count station locations will be the same locations and #’s as the migratory bird points and will be marked using approved techniques previously mentioned.

o All survey work will begin at sunrise and be completed no later than 10 am.

o The contractor will conduct visual and auditory observations at each count station and record every bird species seen or heard within 100 m over an 8 minute time period. During these counts breeding behaviors will be noted and coded using Colorado Breeding Bird Atlas II protocols and flyovers will be noted.

▪ Following these protocols, all birds observed within suitable nesting habitat during their documented breeding season (Kingery 1998/Colorado Breeding Bird Atlas

2016) will be characterized as “potential nesting species”. Birds exhibiting nesting behaviors (i.e. adults carrying food to fledglings, adults sitting on nests, adults with recently fledged young) will be characterized as “confirmed nesting species”.

▪ These locations should be sampled 2 separate times (at least 2 weeks apart, but ideally at least 4 weeks apart) ideally between May 15-June 25, 2011. Point count locations will be mapped with these attributes:

Point count locations will be mapped with these attributes (template file will be provided by the project manager):

● PARKCODE

● Station_num

● Date

● Sta_descrip

● UTM_X

● UTM_Y

● Species (list each species common name as a column and put in the count values)

● Tot_species

● Tot_individs

Also two tables will display the findings and will be included within the report as an appendix, but will be delivered as a standalone Excel file as well (template file will be provided by the project manager).

E. Raptor Nests & Owl Surveys – The goal is to identify raptor nests so these areas can be managed, to spatially document these nests for historical and comparison purposes, as well as to identify locations for volunteer monitoring of raptor nests. At the parks noted in the table above as Y for raptor surveys, the contractor will:

● Obtain (from park staff, local CPW Wildlife staff, local birders, etc…) any known raptor nest locations.

● Search the park for additional raptor nests (above and beyond the point count stations).

● Search the park and identify key raptor habitat areas.

o Identification of these habitat areas will be very helpful for future raptor monitoring efforts.

● Map locations of nest locations and key habitat areas either by drawing on the map or with GPS. If drawn on map, lat/long coordinates should be supplied through use of Google Maps, Get-Lat-Long, or other spatial/GPS services.

● Perform owl surveys in identified habitat areas as time allows to identify what owl species might be active in the park and what park areas owls are using as habitat.

o These surveys would be conducted at least once ideally between May 1-June 25.

o Raptor/Owl surveys should be scheduled, whenever possible, to coincide with breeding bird counts to attempt to have 3 visits to the park to achieve project goals.

o The contractor will GPS owl habitat areas from an offset but will write in the adjusted estimate of GPS location of the actual nest (use compass coordinate and distances, or, if quality aerial photography is available, mark the exact location on a map).

o It is understood that certain species will not be documentable within the timeframe of the project.

o Document protocols used in the survey report. Protocols should mimic accepted field protocols for species targeted in the survey. Reference protocol used when possible.

All raptor nests observed will be recorded in an Excel file with these attributes (template file will be provided by the project manager):

● Nest_ID

● Date

● Nest_Descrip

● UTM_X

● UTM_Y

● Year

● Species

● Active (Y, N, unsure)

● Confidence (High, Med, Low)

● Observers

● Spa_source (GPS with estimated offset or drawn on map)

F. Waterfowl/Wading/Shorebird Nesting Areas – The goal is to map key areas in and around the reservoirs where riparian/water habitat type birds are breeding so these areas can be protected and to spatially document waterfowl numbers and species for historical purposes.

The Contractor will:

● Search for areas of concentrated waterfowl or shorebird nesting and/or use and draw these on a map as general areas for protection from disturbance. This will be done on the same field trip as the breeding bird surveys (need only be performed once, but both trips should be used to recon and then refine information).

o Areas with shoreline bird/waterfowl nesting will be drawn on basemaps provided by

Stewardship staff to ensure that the areas can be digitized well or a GIS shapefile will be created illustrating locations.

o Each polygon will have a unique identifying naming number on the map and in the spreadsheet.

o The contractor will record the species names of all the waterfowl, shorebird, or wading bird species in these breeding areas and make the species names into fields/columns and record the estimated number of nests for each species within the polygon drawn.

o Waterfowl/wading/shorebird surveys should be scheduled, whenever possible, to coincide with breeding bird counts to attempt to have 3 visits to the park to achieve project goals.

The deliverables will be the map graphic and an excel file (template file will be provided by the project manager) with these attributes:

● PARKCODE

● Area_num

● Date

● Area_descrip

● UTM_X

● UTM_Y

● Sp_name

● Est_nests

G. Waterfowl/Wading/Shorebird Congregation/Rafting Areas – The goal is to map key areas in and around the reservoir where birds are congregating and spatially document the numbers and species for historical purposes.

The Contractor will:

● Search for areas of concentrated waterfowl and/or shorebird congregation (on shoreline areas, sandspits, islands, rafting areas, etc…).

o These surveys will be conducted twice – once during the migratory counts and once during the breeding counts.

o This survey can and should be done in conjunction with migration and breeding survey dates.

o Areas with high use by shorebirds/waterfowl in and around the lake will be drawn on basemaps provided by Stewardship staff to ensure that the areas can be digitized well or a

GIS shapefile will be created illustrating locations.

o Each polygon will have a unique identifying number on the map and in the spreadsheet.

o The contractor will record the species names of all the waterfowl, shorebird, or wading bird species in these congregation areas and make the species names into fields/columns, and record the estimated number of individuals for each species within the polygon drawn.

The deliverables will be the graphic map and an excel file (provided by the project manager) with these attributes:

● PARKCODE

● Area_num

● Date

● Area_descrip

● UTM_X

● UTM_Y

● Sp_name

● Tot_sp

● Tot_indiv

H. Report - The contractor will write a short report for each specified project location that will include:

● Cover page with park name, survey year date, photo of park bird habitat/birds/etc…

● Table of Contents, List of Appendices, List of Tables, List of Figures

● A list of all species identified through this sampling method (lists can be the tables attached as an appendix).

● Purpose Section: Introduction, Acknowledgements, Park Area/project location description.

● Methods section (document researchers names and dates and refer to the monitoring protocol)

● Point Count Station Map with applicable park infrastructure/roads/trails/campgrounds.

● Results – for each survey performed, a section covering:

o short summary of observations o common/widespread species observed, o most numerous species observed, o least widespread species/species seen only at one station, o results by count station – total species, mean number of species, mean number of individuals

● Short discussion of o the most interesting finds/sensitive/conservation concern species,

▪ discuss Colorado Natural Heritage Program rankings; Colorado Natural Heritage

Program, Federal, State, Audubon Watchlist status; breeding/migrant status at park

(confirmed, possible, etc…).

o observation locations of sensitive/conservation concern species within the park

▪ map and table when possible o Avian habitats of special interest o the management implications (such as protect area A5, the best area for shorebird/waterfowl nesting, protect area A3, the best area of shrub nesting habitat, monitor for Brewer’s sparrow or white faced ibis breeding species because they might be breeding somewhere in the park, beware disturbance to Sandhill crane species because they might disappear, etc.).

● Conclusions section about bird habitat on the park (such as an overall value statement about that park that this is a very important and diverse area, or it’s a pretty common area and not that diverse).

● Management implications section which will document issues such as how the bird diversity relates to other areas in the region, make note of important species or breeding areas that management should pay particular attention to, or document any unusual lack of species.

● Management recommendations for the conservation of avian species and the sustaining of bird resources at the park for the enjoyment of future generations.

● Final Report will include the following as appendices:

o Count spreadsheet tables o Bird Species List o Count protocols o Metadata paragraph o Maps o Point count station locations

I. Appendices

● Bird Species List – Complete bird lists will be compiled, one for the parks and one for the SWA, if applicable (if the contractor feels that separate lists are need to accurately address the species diversity between the park, then a list for each area should be compiled). The contractor will start with any available/current bird list, include observations through this work, then use the breeding bird atlas, Audubon Christmas counts, e-bird, co-bird, personal knowledge/expertise, and any other source information to create as complete of a list as possible. County bird lists from CFO can be used as a baseline. Species will be broken down by guild, whether they are breeding or not, habitat, and special status columns. If they are migratory only then the typical months for their presence will be included.

“Likelihood to be present” column will reflect if the species was seen in the survey, and if not how likely the species is to be seen at the park. This excel sheet will be an appendix to the report. Use exactly the format provided by the project manager.

● Rare Bird Sightings List- Using the Colorado Bird Records Committee’s database

(http://www.coloradobirdrecords.org/Reports/AdHoc.aspx), eBird, input from local experts, BBS survey data, and other sources to create a list of rare birds that have been seen at the park, the observers name (when possible), location in the park (when possible), and the date of the observation.

There will also be a comments section to add any additional information. “Rare” species can be defined by a number of parameters, including species found in this report’s species of conservation concern, the Colorado Field Ornithologists “Rare Bird List”, Audubon Watch List species, and species considered locally rare by experts in the field of ornithology. The intention of this list is to provide the park with an overarching list of birds that can be used to promote bird watching in the park. A spreadsheet for documenting rare species sightings will be provided by the project manager.

● Protocol - The monitoring protocol will be provided by the project manager and follows Colorado

Breeding Bird Atlas II protocols. This protocol should be appended to the report to document the method. The protocol is intended to supply volunteers with the guidance and information needed to repeat these point counts and area counts. The contractor will make changes to this protocol as necessary to make it complete or correct and provide the corrected version.

● Mapping – The contractor will provide point locations for tasks B-D as UTM coordinates in the spreadsheets. The polygon information for tasks E & F will be provided as areas drawn on basemaps in hardcopy that are scanned as electronic jpegs and provided electronically so that they can be georeferenced and digitized to get the information in GIS. Every area drawn must have an identifying number or code to link it to the Excel tables. Each excel file will be named and formatted as indicated and will come with a short metadata paragraph in a separate text file (same name but ending in .met). Template excel files will be provided by the project manager. GPS coordinates will have full datum information provided and will be in UTM NAD83 CONUS.

● Point Count Station Location Guide – short document used to help volunteers and future surveys find point count stations.

● Literature Cited – document any references used in the compiling of the deliverables.

DUE DATES:

Site Visits:

● 2 visits between between dates identified by project manager prior to initiation of project for migratory bird observations

● 2-3 visits between dates identified by project manager prior to initiation of project for breeding bird survey, raptor nest survey, owl survey & waterfowl survey observations

● Report and Mapping Due – dates identified by project manager prior to initiation of project

PAYMENTS & PAYMENT SCHEDULE:

Please provide a budget on this work quickly to include an itemized price for each park and each task (i.e.

individual costs for each Tasks A, B, C… at ABC State Park). This budget will reference the rate provided on page 18 of the RFP form which will include travel time and rates as related to each project location.

Invoices will be allowed per deliverable and with interim payments as percentages of deliverables are completed, but all invoices will reflect the percentage of the deliverable that has been completed as related to the total project budget.

● Invoice 1: Meet/Communicate with Park and SWA staff, conduct field inventories – 50% http://www.coloradobirdrecords.org/Reports/AdHoc.aspx

● Invoice 2: Submit draft electronic deliverables – spreadsheets of point count totals, maps – 15%

● Invoice 3: Submit final spreadsheets (including point count totals & survey summary), draft

Report, and draft Appendices – 15%

● Invoice 4: Submit final Report with tables & appendices and Bird Species List – 20%

STANDARDS:

1. All documents will be delivered in both MS Word and PDF and all spreadsheets in MS Excel.

2. Mapping data will be provided in hardcopy for digitizing as needed, on a TOPO map electronic jpeg, as GIS shapefile or in a similar format pre-approved by project manager.

3. Point locations will be provided with GPS coordinates in the CPW Avian Data Spreadsheet with complete attributed information and with complete datum information.

4. Survey data will be entered into the CPW Resource Stewardship Breeding Bird Database format

(access database data entry).

5. Excel file and all maps will come with a metadata paragraph (a text file with the same name as the

.xls ending in .met) listing the project name, purpose of the project, who performed the work, when the work was performed, and equipment used (such as GPS unit).

6. GPS coordinates will have full datum information provided and will be in UTM NAD83 CONUS

Zone 13 and will be in decimal degrees.

Documents that will be provided by the Project Manager upon approval of work include:

A. ThreeLetterPARKCODE_breeding_bird_point_counts_2013.xls

B. ThreeLetterPARKCODE_migratorybreeding_bird_point_counts_2013.xls

C. ThreeLetterPARKCODE_ani_breeding_summary_table_2013.xls

D. ThreeLetterPARKCODE _ani_raptor_nests_2013.xls

E. ThreeLetterPARKCODE _ani_waterbird_nest_areas_2013.xls

F. ThreeLetterPARKCODE_ani_waterbird_congregation_areas_2013.xls

G. Bird_Survey_example_bird_list_2013

H. Colorado Breeding Bird Atlas Protocols

I. Example of metadata paragraph

J. Park Map (pdf) with ortho background, park boundary, roads, trails, campgrounds, and other infrastructure.

K. Three letter park codes

L. Colorado Breeding Bird Atlas II protocols

M. Species Names: the American Ornithologists Union 7th Edition http://www.aou.org/checklist/north/print.php http://www.aou.org/checklist/north/print.php