Description: administrative and professional land trust services to implement and administer groundwater conservation programs for central curry swcd, including repi, rcpp, acep-ALE, water right lease agreements, conservation easements, groundwater monito

Central Curry Soil & Water Conservation District (CCSWCD) is soliciting proposals for administrative and professional land trust services to implement and administer groundwater conservation programs, with proposals due October 9, 2026. This is a sole-source procurement; the CCSWCD determined that Ogallala Land & Water Conservancy (OLWC) is the only qualified contractor.

The scope encompasses 21 primary service areas: originating and administering water right lease agreements and conservation easements, managing water rights acquisition, coordinating landowner transitions from irrigated to dryland agriculture, monitoring well performance and groundwater levels through January 2030, acquiring additional grant funding, conducting annual federal audits, and maintaining collaboration with federal, state, and local agencies. The programs to be implemented and administered are REPI (Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration), RCPP (Regional Conservation Partnership Program), and ACEP-ALE (Agricultural Conservation Easement Program-Agricultural Land Easements). The work is designed to preserve groundwater resources in two paleochannels in Curry County to ensure long-term water supply for Cannon Air Force Base and surrounding communities.

The CCSWCD identified specialized expertise as the central qualification driver: demonstrated experience in using conservation easements to secure groundwater resources, groundwater legal requirements, REPI/RCPP implementation capabilities, and prior administration of water right lease agreements and groundwater conservation easements with agricultural landowners in the project area. The CCSWCD conducted due diligence contacting multiple land trusts (Taos Land Trust, New Mexico Land Conservancy, The Conservation Fund, Texas Agricultural Land Trust, and Palmer Land Conservancy), all of which lacked the required combination of groundwater conservation methodology, established landowner relationships, institutional knowledge of project-specific agreements, and implementation experience.

The contract amount is $250,000 for a one-year term. OLWC holds nonprofit status with no tax liability. The City of Clovis and Curry County committed matching funds of $125,000 each for fiscal year 2027 to support the CCSWCD's administrative and professional services.