2025 Milltown LiDAR Acquisition

The State of Montana's Natural Resource Damage Program (NRDP) is issuing a Limited Solicitation for LiDAR acquisition services at the Milltown Restoration Site near Missoula, Montana. The contract seeks a qualified contractor to provide comprehensive geospatial data collection services, specifically LiDAR, geo-rectified color imagery, and bathymetric LiDAR for an approximately 1,500-acre site near Bonner, which includes about 3 miles of the Clark Fork River channel upstream of its confluence with the Blackfoot River. The evaluation of bids will be conducted using a 100-point system, with 50 points allocated to project cost (with the lowest bid receiving full points) and 50 points for project schedule. Bidders are required to submit two separate lump sum prices: one for standard LiDAR and geo-rectified color imagery, and another for bathymetric LiDAR. The solicitation was released on 3/28/2025, with responses due by 4/11/2025 at 2:00 PM MDT, and requires completion of data collection in early spring 2025, with final deliverables to be submitted by July 15, 2025. The contract number is JUS-LimtSol-2025-0267 (NRDP Contract 600405), and interested parties can contact Meranda Flugge at Meranda.Flugge@mt.gov or +1 406-444-0229 for additional information.

While no specific set-aside designations or restrictions on bidder types were explicitly mentioned in the documentation, the solicitation appears to be open to qualified geospatial data collection firms with expertise in LiDAR and bathymetric mapping services. The contract will be awarded to the most competitive bidder meeting the technical specifications and evaluation criteria. No incumbent vendors were identified in the provided materials. The solicitation suggests that the project is part of a broader restoration effort at the Milltown site, potentially requiring integration with existing environmental monitoring or restoration infrastructure. Although a specific budget range was not disclosed, the requirement for two separate pricing submissions for LiDAR and bathymetric services indicates a comprehensive and potentially significant investment in geospatial data collection. The project's scope and technical requirements suggest that bidders should have sophisticated LiDAR acquisition capabilities, advanced mapping technologies, and experience with environmental restoration site documentation.