The NHDES Coastal Program is the recipient of a National Fish and Wildlife Foundation National Coastal Resilience Fund FY2025 grant entitled “Coastal Watershed Resilience Plan” (CWRP). The CWRP seeks to mitigate coastal and freshwater flood risk to assets across sectors, including transportation, critical infrastructure, natural resources, economy and community within New Hampshire’s Coastal Watershed.

The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services Coastal Program is requesting proposals for consultant services to develop a Flood Hazards Assessment and Coastal Watershed Resilience Plan covering 48 municipalities across approximately 1,684 square miles, with proposals due August 31, 2026.

The consultant will serve as a member of the Core Project Team and identify 40–60 Resilience Opportunity Areas where assets share flood risk, then develop detailed action plans for 10–19 priority areas focusing on nature-based flood mitigation strategies through 2100. Deliverables include a floodprone asset inventory for nine Department of Natural and Cultural Resources properties and three Pease Development Authority harbors and ports; two-phase community engagement activities; six to ten community Resilience Opportunity Area Action Plans and four to nine state-managed action plans; a transferable framework for additional development; and a comprehensive web-based final report with interactive tools. All work must comply with Americans with Disabilities Act Title II regulations and applicable accessibility standards. Generative AI is permitted for notetaking, transcripts, and editing but requires approval for other uses.

The maximum budget is $377,000 inclusive of labor, subcontract, and all project expenses, with a suggested 10% cap on indirect costs. An additional $16,500 in engagement funds held by Great Bay Stewards is available for participant incentives, food, venue costs, childcare, transportation, and publication dissemination, but may not be used for consultant or staff time. Funding derives from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation National Coastal Resilience Fund FY2025 grant and non-federal match support from the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation Great Bay 2030 program.

The project runs through June 30, 2029, with interim reports due in February 2027, February 2028, and February 2029, and a final cumulative report due June 30, 2029. An estimated contract start date is January 2027. Evaluation criteria weight strength of proposed scope of work (35 points), relevant experience and qualifications (25 points), project schedule and budget (15 points), previous related work and references (15 points), and responsiveness to proposal requirements (10 points). Selection is not based on lowest cost; realistic and appropriate schedules with discrete work segments are favored. Interviews are estimated for September 21–23, 2026, with notification of selection by September 30, 2026.