SOW_Shorebirds_Barrier_Island_Final_1.16.15.pdf

SURVEY FOR SHOREBIRDS

MISSISSIPPI COASTAL IMPROVEMENTS PROGRAM

Barrier Island Restoration Project Cat Island

SCOPE OF WORK

Purpose. This Scope of Work provides the description of services required to survey and monitor piping plover, red knot, and other shorebirds utilizing Cat Island off shore of Harrison County, Mississippi, for approximately seven months after award of this contract. This time period covers the non-breeding season for plovers and Red knot to monitor and quantify the level of use along Cat Island.

1. Objective. The objective of this effort is to support the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), Mobile District’s barrier island restoration project by conducting Piping plover, Red knot, and other shorebird/waterbird monitoring as directed below.

2. Description of Work.

Survey/Monitor:

Bird monitoring surveys shall be conducted weekly (during the dawn or dusk time frames) from the date the contract is awarded to the end of May 2015. The bird monitor shall focus on Piping plover, and Red Knot but also include any other observed shorebirds/water birds along the northern and southern tips of Cat Island and the eastern shoreline of Cat Island as shown on the enclosed map. Surveys shall be conducted by traversing the length of the areas and visually inspecting using binoculars or spotting scope for the presence of shorebirds and their behaviors. The monitoring shall focus specifically from the vegetation line to the water’s edge and shall specifically include the northern and southern tips of Cat Island, and along the eastern shoreline. Monitoring includes the attributes indentified on the enclosed attribute table including but not limited to bird identification, counts, habitat use, behavior observed, and GPS locations of observed birds using the beach areas of Cat Island.

Qualified professionals with a minimum of two years of shorebird/habitat survey experience in coastal Mississippi shall conduct the required field work.

Qualifications of the professionals used for monitoring shall be submitted to the Corps, Mobile District Environmental Compliance Manager prior to award.

Criteria utilized to evaluate those qualified professionals will be based upon the following:

1. Project examples demonstrating two (2) years of experience monitoring

Piping plover, Red Knot, and other observed shorebirds/water birds in coastal Mississippi. Professional monitors must have examples and/or experience demonstrating ability to collect data required in below 2 through 6.

2. Long range identification ability for Piping plover, Red Knot, and other observed shorebirds/water birds, utilizing binoculars or spotting scope, should a marine vessel be required for monitoring purposes.

3. Equipment accessibility for weekly offshore barrier island monitoring requirements.

4. Experience to identify Piping plover, Red Knot, and other observed shorebirds/water birds by sight including eggs of nesting species. Experience with maintaining various species counts, identifying shorebird habitats and noting particular species usage, and observing behavior and vocalization.

5. Experience with data entry (Excel) and mapping (ArcGIS and GPS).

6. Experience with following comprehensive protocols.

The following data shall be included in the survey results:

a. Presence and non-presence of Threatened and Endangered Species are required to be noted;

b. Presence of other observed shorebirds/water birds shall be recorded;

c. Piping plover, red knot, and other shorebirds/water birds locations shall be identified with a Global Positioning System (GPS – decimal degrees preferred);

d. Habitat features used by piping plovers, red knots, and other shorebirds/water birds when seen (i.e. intertidal, fresh wrack, old wrack, dune, mid-beach, vegetation, other);

e. Landscape features where by piping plovers, red knot, and other shorebirds/water birds are located (i.e. Gulf of Mexico shoreline, inlet spit, tidal creek, shoals, lake-side sand flats, ephemeral pools, other);

f. Substrate used by piping plovers, red knots, and other shorebirds/water birds (i.e. sand, mud/sand, mud, algal mat, other);

g. Behavior of by piping plovers, red knots, and other shorebirds/water birds (i.e.

foraging, roosting, preening, bathing, flying, aggression, walking, courtship, etc.);

h. Color-bands seen on by piping plovers, red knots, and other shorebirds/water birds ; and

i. All information collected should be incorporated into an electronic database.

3. Contractor Responsibilities. The Contractor shall provide all equipment, materials, transportation and personnel required to accomplish the work described herein. The areas to be surveyed are located approximately 12 miles offshore and are only accessible by boat. No onsite housing is available. The Contractor shall provide all professional and technical services required to perform this service. The Contractor shall be responsible for accomplishing all work in a timely and professional manner with appropriate quality control. A quality control/quality assurance plan including a shorebird monitoring protocol must be submitted. Any work deemed inadequate or non-conforming will be corrected by the Contractor as necessary to comply with the contract requirements at no additional cost to the Government. The Contractor shall be responsible for obtaining the necessary permission(s) and permits from the National Park Service to perform work within park boundaries, mostly along the southern portion of Cat Island.

The POC for the NPS is Jolene Williams at (228) 230-4132. Necessary permissions to access the other portion of Cat Island to be monitored will be obtained by the Corps, Mobile District. If an ATV or other vehicle is needed to cover large project areas, the vehicle must be operated at a speed <6 mph, shall be run at or below the high-tide line, and care taken not to harm or harass any current nesting shorebirds.

4. Deliverables. The Contractor will provide monthly reports to the Corps after each monitoring event no later than the 5th day of the following month. Within 30 days of completion of the project, the Contractor shall prepare a summary report of all the data collected. The Contractor shall also include, as part of the summary report, any problems encountered during the survey period. The summary report shall be due to the Corps, Mobile District, no later than the following month after completion of the contract. All data shall be provided in an approved electronic format/database which will be specified by the Corps prior to the first survey. Descriptions of the quality control/quality assurance process for the data must be documented and submitted. Submit all piping plovers, red knots, and other shorebirds/water birds survey results (including electronic datasheets, any field datasheets, maps, and electronic data) to the Mobile District Corps of Engineers, Planning and Environmental Division, Attn: Linda Barnett. Negative data (i.e., no plovers seen) shall also be reported. The contractor will coordinate as required with the MsCIP Technical Advisory Group for any required interpretation of the submitted data.

5. Period of Services. The period of service for the contract will run from contract award and will expire on July 31, 2015.

6. Release of Information. The Contractor nor its representatives shall release any data, sketch, report, or other material of any nature obtained under this contract without specific written approval of the Corps, Mobile District prior to the final contract date.

7. Technical POC. (Project Environmental Compliance Manager)

Department of the Army Mobile District, Corps of Engineers

Linda Barnett P.O. Box 2288 Mobile, AL 36628

(251) 694-3786 Phone linda.t.barnett@usace.army.mil mailto:linda.t.barnett@usace.army.mil