Tidal Investigations FY27 Bid Request Revised.docx

Bid Request Various Sites, MA Tidal Restoration Preliminary Field Investigations

TO: Category 1 Aquatic Habitat Restoration and Revitalization Category 1 vendors

FROM: Cristina Kennedy, Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration

RE: Ecological Restoration Technical Services Master Agreement/RFR ID #DER 2027-MSA

DATE: September 25, 2026

Consistent with the performance criteria and specifications contained within RFR ID #DER 2027-MSA, Ecological Restoration Technical Services Master Agreement, the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game’s Division of Ecological Restoration (DER) is requesting bids for technical services as described below under section III, Project Specifications for Tidal Restoration Preliminary Field Investigation Services at three sites.

DER anticipates work to commence in November 2026 for services through June 30, 2027. All draft deliverables will be due by June 1, 2027. DER reserves the right to contract for only a portion of the proposed services to accommodate budget or schedule constraints.

I. PROJECT PURPOSE AND BACKGROUND

DER is seeking applications from qualified firms to perform preliminary field investigations for three potential tidal restoration sites in the Narragansett Bay Region of coastal Massachusetts. These studies will provide DER with critical information for future ecological restoration planning including ecological, community, and climate resilience benefits. In addition, information collected will help landowners and their partners assess opportunities and constraints during the early planning phases of tidal restoration projects. Sites are known or suspected tidal restrictions caused by transportation infrastructure crossing tidal creeks, streams or rivers. Sites are within coastal wetlands, including marine or estuarine habitats (i.e., salt marsh), and brackish or freshwater habitats that are subject to tidal action on a routine basis (at a minimum, they experience water level changes due to monthly maximum spring tide levels). Selected sites are at an early stage of development and/or decision making.

DER has selected three sites this fiscal year under a separate Request for Responses (see site descriptions below in Section II). Note, contracts will be funded through and managed by DER. Questions must be submitted to DER, directly, as the authorized contracting agent. Bidders must refrain from separately contacting the site owners for site information relative to this bid.

The selected bidder will work with DER, site owners and partners to gather and review past information, collect field data which may include survey work (topographic and bathymetric), tidal studies, wetland resource delineation and subsurface borings, and produce existing conditions plans, and a technical report summarizing field investigations results, discussion of restoration benefit, site constraints, potential restoration options, and recommended next steps.

II. PROJECT LOCATIONS

The following is a brief description of the three selected sites including their location, general information and any known site details as described in the town applications to assist bidders with their response. It is expected that the selected bidder will verify the provided information as part of their work.

· Dublin Street Culvert, Labor in Vain Creek, Town of Somerset

· Site Coordinates: 41.76760058, -71.1341238

· Closest Street Address: 174 Dublin Street, Somerset

· North Atlantic Aquatic Connectivity Collaborative (NAACC) Tidal Stream Assessment Data: https://naacc.org/naacc_display_crossing_ts.cfm?tsId=ts221

· The culvert is on Labor in Vain Creek, a tributary to the Taunton River.

· The culvert is in poor condition, restricts tidal flow, and causes nuisance flooding. This is a tidal site with salt marsh and brackish vegetation upstream of the site.

· The South Street culvert, downstream of the site, was recently replaced in 2019 with a larger opening.

· The Somerset Marsh Tidal Restoration Project completed in 2010 by the Town and DER is upstream of the site.

· Old Providence Road, Palmer River, Town of Swansea

· Site Coordinates: 41.77223, -71.282962

· Closest Street Address: 331 Old Providence Road, Swansea

· There is no NAACC Tidal Stream Assessment data for this site.

· The bridge is the first potential restriction along the Palmer River and was rebuilt in 2007. A 570-foot earthen berm on the eastern side may act to restrict tidal flow.

· The bridge is in a low-lying area with known flooding issues. The Town is considering removal of the bridge due to flood risk to the surrounding neighborhoods.

· Swansea Water District Desalination Plant (owned and operated by the Swansea Water District) is on east side of site.

· There is an upland berm that runs north of bridge, a potential fill removal opportunity.

· The Town of Swansea has a separate Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Grant to advance marsh migration and coastal resilience planning along the Palmer River, the selected bidder should expect to coordinate with the contractor on that project to ensure there is no duplication of effort and to share information.

· Mason Street Culvert, Rocky Run Brook, Town of Rehoboth

· Site Coordinates: 41.7824, -71.274325

· Closest Street Address: 131 Mason Street, Rehoboth

· NAACC Tidal Stream Assessment Data:

· https://naacc.org/naacc_display_crossing_ts.cfm?tsId=ts217.

· Culvert on Rocky Run Brook, about 700 feet upstream from the main stem Palmer River.

· The culvert is in poor condition and potentially restricts tidal flow into the upstream system.

· The site is freshwater tidal, with the potential for future salt marsh migration with increased salinity.

III. PROJECT SPECIFICATIONS

Scope of Services The objective of this phase is to conduct preliminary field investigations to identify the key issues and challenges involved in tidal restoration at the sites and, in some cases, to expand on work previously completed. DER has presented a general outline of tasks thought to be required at this time, however DER may revise the task components during contract negotiation based on site-specific needs. DER welcomes variations in this approach, as appropriate. Using the Scope of Work template (Attachment 1), deliverables should be clearly identified under each task/sub-task.

Bidders should assume approximately $50,000 is available for each site. Bidders should focus their proposal on providing the maximum value for that amount. Bidders are requested to provide a single scope of work and fee proposal for a single site. DER will develop three site-specific scopes of work during the contact negotiation phase with the selected bidder (i.e., there will be a separate contract for each site). If there are specific tasks/sub-tasks that the bidder would like to suggest for a particular site (based on site-specific information provided in Section II above) please flag which site the task/sub-task is for and provide a budget line for this task/sub-task. DER will assume that any tasks/sub-tasks that do not call out a particular site are proposed for all sites.

DER requires that all deliverables will be provided in editable and final formats including (but not limited to) models, AutoCAD files, Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PDFs, etc. DER requires all raw data files.

Task 1.0: Project Management & Coordination

Provide a cost for coordination with DER, site owners and partners to prepare for the site visits, meetings to discuss information needs, and other project management needs. DER, the site owner, and identified project partners must be included on all project communications.

A kickoff meeting and a site visit with DER, the site owner, and project partners is required. The kickoff meeting may be virtual or combined with the site visit if feasible. At the kickoff meeting the selected bidder will discuss any site access permissions that may be needed to conduct field investigations and coordinate with landowners to obtain needed permissions.

Deliverables:

· Kickoff Meeting Minutes (pdf)

· Memo that lists private properties and confirmation of permission to conduct field work (pdf) Task 2.0: Data Review, Site Visit, and Field Data Collection

Review existing site information and reports to become familiar with site, past work, site constraints, and restoration opportunities. Conduct a site visit(s) sufficient to inform data collection needs and existing conditions plans development. The site visit(s) should include a site reconnaissance level of detail necessary to identify the issues, opportunities, and constraints with regard to tidal restoration. Bidders will be responsible for securing access permission to any abutting properties they deem necessary (bidders can assume that permission for access to the tidal crossing/primary transportation infrastructure has been secured as part of the site selection process). Data collection activities may include (but are not limited to) the following activities.

· Compile and review existing information;

· Photographic documentation;

· Targeted topographic and bathymetric survey to develop existing conditions base mapping contours and elevations of critical points for the project site, completed and/or stamped by Massachusetts professional land surveyor (supplemented with available LiDAR and GIS data as needed), critical points should include spot elevations of creek bank and vegetation transitions upstream and downstream of restriction;

· Tidal study to investigate degree of restriction and tidal levels upstream and downstream of the crossing. Loggers must be deployed 30 days minimum and measure water level, temp and salinity. Logger elevations must be surveyed for conversion of water level to feet NAVD88.

· Targeted wetland and regulated resource area identification for conceptual design planning; and

· Subsurface borings as applicable (the selected bidder is expected to obtain any needed permissions and coordinate with the municipality or state if a publicly owned crossing).

Deliverables:

· Digital copies of all written materials obtained and reviewed (native format).

· Shapefiles and other GIS data used to assess the site (native format).

· Site data and labeled photos obtained through field investigation (native format).

· Boring logs and soil sample analysis results (PDF format or other native format as applicable)

· Survey stamped by Massachusetts professional land surveyor (PDF and CAD as applicable)

· Survey and bathymetry Points (GIS, CAD and PDF format or other native format as applicable)

Assumptions:

· Sub-surface borings are not expected to be necessary for the Old Providence Road site in Swansea as the intent is to investigate bridge removal rather than replacement, but borings may be necessary for the two road crossings in Somerset and Rehoboth.

· The bidder should propose a sub-surface investigation task that is sufficient to support future geotechnical analysis for the design of a culvert replacement structure at a road crossing. This may include 1-2 borings adjacent to the existing culvert. Bidder should assume basic soil analyses including laboratory testing of gradation analyses.

· The bidder can assume that borings will be conducted on municipal property (road).

· DER expects survey work that is sufficient to document existing conditions including documenting vegetation transitions and wetland/regulated resource areas that may be impacted by tidal restoration work. DER expects the bidder to propose the level of survey needed to meet these needs, but does not expect the level of survey to be detailed enough for modeling or advanced design at this stage (i.e., bidder may assume additional survey may be needed at a future phase of the project).

· Documentation of existing conditions (i.e., survey of vegetation transitions, wetland resource assessments) should be limited to areas directly upstream and downstream of the tidal restrictions at each site. It is not expected that saline to freshwater transitions be documented within the entire river/stream, the intent is to understand existing conditions and potential resource area impacts of tidal restoration.

· When referring to “Vegetation transitions” DER is referring to the importance of documenting vegetation transitions between different wetland plant species community types, in particular salt marsh communities (high marsh versus low marsh) or transition from salt marsh to freshwater or upland vegetation. Documenting these vegetation transitions and elevations of vegetation can help support restoration planning. This is separate from the need to survey any wetland delineation/regulated resource areas.

· For the tidal study, bidders should assume a minimum of two logger locations, one upstream and one downstream of the site.

Task 3.0: Field Data Collection Technical Memo and Existing Conditions Plan

Prepare a technical memorandum summarizing the field investigation findings and recommended approaches for habitat restoration. The technical memorandum will include:

· Summary of existing materials reviewed;

· Summary of all data collection efforts performed including survey, mapping, tidal study and bathymetry, etc.;

· Description of site characteristics and conditions including ecological impairment, any site constraints, known historical resources or other site-specific issues;

· Description of surrounding infrastructure concerns and constraints (i.e., culverts, bridges, retaining walls, utilities, buildings, etc.) and associated restoration challenges;

· Summary of any rare species or other sensitive species that may impact planning/design;

· Existing Conditions Plan which includes tidal crossing locations, relevant surrounding infrastructure, location and type of nearby utilities, assessor parcel lines, mapped wetland resource areas, contour lines, tidal logger locations, tidal datums, boring locations, and the limits of the topographic and bathymetric surveys, wetland and other regulated resource areas etc.;

· Restoration Design recommendations including Concept Sketches as applicable;

· Discussion of ecological restoration benefits, any project constraints, and recommended next steps.

· Photos, figures, and tables as necessary to support the requested information.

Bidders will submit draft deliverables to DER and Partners by June 1, 2027 and address one round of comments. Bidders will schedule a virtual meeting with DER, Site Owners and Partners following distribution of draft materials to discuss the field data collection results and findings.

Deliverables (Draft Deliverables are due no later than June 1, 2027):

· Draft and Final Field Data Collection Technical Memorandum (Word and PDF formats)

· Draft and Final Existing Conditions Plan Completed and Stamped by a Professional Engineer (CAD and PDF formats)

· Draft deliverable Review Meeting Minutes (pdf)

Assumptions:

· The bidder should assume that restoration design recommendations will be high level and that any conceptual designs included in the technical memorandum will be considered “sketches”, not fully detailed designs that include crossing dimensions.

IV. BID

Please provide a bid including a Scope of Services to meet the project purpose, description and requirements as outlined above and in keeping with the terms as specified in RFR ID #DER 2027-MSA, Ecological Restoration Technical Services Master Agreement. Associated project costs and personnel assignments must be consistent with the fee schedule and terms the RFR and the bidders Category 1 Master Agreement contract. Please contact Kacey Ruderman at Kacey.Ruderman@mass.gov or call at 857-278-4400, if you have any questions about this.

Bidders are requested to provide a scope and fee proposal for a single site expecting that DER will develop three site-specific scopes of work based on the bid response, if selected.

The bid should be formatted according to the accompanying vendor response template (Attachment 1), use the budget template (Attachment 2) as a guide, and must include the following:

· Project scope including deliverables for each task (please use attached bid template). Please submit Scope of Work in Word.

· Specific budget, broken down by task, personnel, etc. (please use attached budget template as a guide). Please submit Budget in excel.

· Project schedule by task and month.

· List of personnel and their rate category who will specifically be working on this project.

Note that DER reserves the right to reject any and all bids, and to solicit additional proposals from other vendors to ensure the best value is obtained for the services requested. DER also reserves the right to interview respondents prior to selecting a suitable consultant.

V. SELECTION CRITERIA

Specific evaluation criteria will be based on overall value and will include the following:

· Demonstrated experience with tidal restoration projects, including familiarity with coastal ecology and sea level rise implications for salt marsh restoration and migration;

· Demonstrated understanding of, and well-planned approach to, the tasks outlined above and overall needs of the project;

· Appropriate allocation of qualified staff and level of effort to scope tasks;

· Proposed timeline and schedule meets bid request and project needs, and;

· Overall value;

Duration of Contract:

DER anticipates execution of three contracts (for each site) to a selected vendor in November 2026 for services through June 30, 2027. All draft deliverables for DER review will be due by June 1, 2027.

Site Visit No site visit will be held for this procurement.

Q/A All questions related to the bid must be submitted through COMMBUYS. DER responses to questions will be posted in COMMBUYS.

Deadline for submission of written questions: October 9, 2026 at 4:00 pm Responses to questions from DER: October 16, 2026 at 4:00 pm Deadline for bid submission: October 23, 2026 at 4:00 PM EST

Department of Fish and Game (DFG)

Division of Ecological Restoration (DER) Department of Fish and Game, Division of Ecological Restoration 100 Cambridge Street • 6th floor • Boston, Massachusetts 02114 • www.mass.gov/der • (617) 626-1540

Issued: March 21, 2014 image1.png