SOURCES SOUGHT
C -- Meeks Creek Watershed Ecosystem Assessment
- Notice Date
- 5/1/2003
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- Contracting Office
- Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, R-5 IBET Province, Eldorado N.F., 100 Forni Road, Placerville, CA, 95667
- ZIP Code
- 95667
- Solicitation Number
- RFP-IBET-03-03-116
- Archive Date
- 6/17/2003
- Point of Contact
- Kathy Griffin, Contracting Officer, Phone 530 621-5295, Fax 530 621-5258, - Carrol Jagger, Procurement Assistant, Phone 530 621-5232, Fax 530 621-5258,
- E-Mail Address
-
kgriffin@fs.fed.us, cjagger@fs.fed.us
- Description
- For technical information contact Jim Howard 530/573-2657. The Lake Tahoe Basin is one of this country?s most unique ecosystems. The Lake Tahoe Basin has become one of the most intensively studied and managed landscapes in the nation. The United States Congress has passed legislation and provided funding to support a massive interstate and interagency effort to restore and maintain this invaluable resource. The USDA Forest Service, Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) is working cooperatively with other land management and regulatory agencies and the public to systematically identify and prioritize restoration opportunities in the Basin. It is the LTBMU?s goal to conduct comprehensive ecosystem assessments of Basin sub watersheds, and from the knowledge gained in those assessments, develop restoration plans that achieve the greatest balance between healthy, diverse natural ecosystems and the human activities they support. The LTBMU is seeking SF-254s and SF-255s from qualified consultants to provide professional services for a comprehensive ecosystem assessment and long-range restoration plan for the Meeks Creek watershed. The project area is located in El Dorado County on the west shore of Lake Tahoe and is accessible from US Highway 89, thirteen miles north from the city of South Lake Tahoe (Figure 1). PROJECT SITE DESCRIPTION The Meeks Creek watershed covers 8.8 square miles. It is a narrow, glaciated watershed approximately seven miles long. Underlying bedrock is primarily granodiorite of the Sierra Nevada Batholith. The upper two thirds of the watershed lies within the Desolation Wilderness. The lower one third of the watershed was inundated by lake level rises of the Pleistocene era. This once inundated portion of the watershed is now characterized by a wide, flat valley bottom formed by deposition of sediments into the historic bay. There are several lakes in the upper watershed within the wilderness boundary. Elevations range from 6230 feet at Lake Tahoe to 9300 feet at the headwaters. About ninety five percent of the watershed is under Forest Service ownership with about five percent, near the lake, under mixed ownership. The main components of this project are: 1. Geomorphology - Geologic and geomorphic analysis describe watershed morphological characteristics created by climate, glaciation, faulting, landslides, land management etc. that impose physical controls on the geomorphic function of the ecosystem - determine the pre-Euro-settlement, pre-Comstock, and pre-fire-suppression conditions and the natural processes related to these conditions - Time series aerial photo analysis of watershed changes from 1939 to present - analyze channel dimension and pattern, sediment transport dynamics, reaction of watershed to floods of record, etc - Fluvial geomorphology analysis - describe system stability under current climatic regime - General watershed hydrology and channel hydraulics. Determine the influence of groundwater, surface flow, and lake level on wetland function 2. Limnology Bathymetric survey of lagoon/marina. Conceptualization of departure from pre-human-disturbance bathymetry. Investigation of aquatic chemistry. Estimates of diurnal, seasonal, and annual nutrient flux from marina to lake. Inventory and assessment of marina aquatic biology. Assessment of lagoon/marina sediment and water column contamination, biological availability and potential mobility of contaminants. Hydrogeomorphic classification to determine wetland physical, chemical, and biological function and relationships to ecosystem and landscape processes. Integrated Benthic Index to establish aquatic biological function as an indicator of watershed health, for use as a baseline for future monitoring of watershed ecosystem recovery 3.Forest Health - Assessment of stand dynamics (health, structure, species composition) -Compilation of historic aerial photography, ground photography and historic documentation of forest conditions - Logging History - document the spatial and temporal account of logging activities - assess historic logging methodologies and objectives and their impacts on stand dynamics (health, structure, species composition) - assess logging impacts on large wood recruitment to the fluvial system - Assessment of fire fuels conditions (stand density, pathology, mortality) 4. Soils and Vegetation ? Compilation of latest available information on watershed soils ? Compilation of latest available information on watershed vegetation (including all existing data on rare and sensitive species) 5.Fire History - Assessment of the pre-human-disturbance fire regime - History of fire as a management tool - Impacts of fire exclusion on ecosystem processes - 6.Wildlife Inventory, Dynamics, and Habitat - Collection of all existing data (BE/BAs) that will support planning of future restoration projects in the watershed - Assessment of primary wildlife habitat types and functional processes that maintain dynamic equilibrium in species abundance and diversity Qualitative analysis of terrestrial and aquatic species communities? interrelationships with each other and their habitats and how those interrelationships have been affected by human disturbance - Assessment of beaver activity and its fluvial geomorphic and biological role in the ecosystem - Human Infrastructure ? Transportation - Supplementary to a general inventory of transportation infrastructure, a focused assessment of the HWY 89 bridge and its impact on fluvial geomorphic function and ecosystem processes. -Utilities, -Land Ownership, -Recreation --A thorough account of current and traditional recreation activities connected to the watershed, an overview of planned recreation developments, a detailed accounting of the Forest Service special use permit for the Meeks Bay Marina (cost/benefit analysis of the permit, public interest in marina operations, risk assessment of operation changes and/or improvements). -Cultural Interests --Compilation of all existing information on Heritage Resources that will support future planning of restoration projects in the watershed. Thorough description of the Washoe Tribe?s goals for desired conditions 7. RESTORATION PLAN - A thorough description of desired conditions developed through analysis of pre-human-disturbance conditions and interaction with watershed stakeholders during the Ecosystem Assessment - A long-range restoration plan that will achieve desired conditions established in the Ecosystem Assessment - A set of proposed actions that meet the goals of the long-range restoration plan - Technical documentation that justifies and supports proposed actions and selected alternatives in the NEPA process - Cost/benefit analyses of proposed actions, alternatives to proposed actions (either generated in the NEPA process or identified by LTBMU Restoration Staff), and no action alternatives that assist the LTBMU Forest Supervisor in making informed management decisions -Biddable, certified-engineer-stamped designs and specifications for selected restoration projects. The statement of work for the assessment /design contract includes: 1. USFS coordination -A USFS Restoration Aquatic Biologist will be part of the consultant?s assessment/design team from assessment through conceptual design to final design. There will be bimonthly coordination with the restoration group, as needed, regarding the progress and status of the project and related issues through meetings or personal communications.2.Watershed Ecosystem Assessment - A professional report that summarizes all analyses and conclusions described in the Components of the Assessment section above, and any other analyses developed during contract negotiation and/or during the assessment phase of the contract and agreed upon by both USFS Restoration Staff and the contractor. 3. Watershed Restoration Plan - A professional report that includes all components in the Components of the Restoration Plan section above, and any others developed during contract negotiation and/or during the assessment and/or restoration plan phases of the contract and agreed upon by both USFS Restoration Staff and the contractor. 4. Environmental and technical documents. All studies and plans necessary for the development of NEPA documents. 5. NEPA coordination- Contractor will coordinate with USFS and a NEPA team when necessary to provide technical support for project planning. 6.Conduct all studies and/or research necessary to determine and/or support project design. This includes, but is not limited to, a thorough and complete site inspection, collection, compilation, assessment, and analysis of topographic survey data, stream channel data, limnological data, riparian data, wildlife data, and forest health data. A fluvial geomorphological analysis of the project area shall be performed to determine appropriate channel configurations/channel types, aquatic habitat types, floodprone/floodplain configurations, floodplain connectivity, channel bar size and shapes, streambank shapes, instream large wood structure and spacing, and wetland and meadow conditions. An evaluation will be conducted of the factors causing existing stream channel erosion and loss of aquatic ecosystem components in order to mitigate future erosion from those sources and create a properly functioning stream channel and aquatic ecosystem. 7.Preparation of project design plans. Project designs shall emphasize the use of passive watershed or bioengineering methods and approaches. Design plans shall be stamped and signed by a civil engineer registered in California. Final plans shall be detailed to the degree necessary that they can be used for construction drawings (main sheets at 1:40 scale) and shall include, at a minimum, a cover sheet, location map, legend, abbreviation list, general notes, plan and profile sheets, cross sections, details, temporary erosion control, land capability, revegetation, bioengineering techniques, land disturbance calculations, soil excavation quantity calculations, and instream structures. Plans shall also show location of construction and maintenance access and haul roads. The project report shall include at a minimum project introduction, problem and project need descriptions, project goals and objectives, proposed improvements, hydrologic and hydraulic analysis with findings and recommendations, alternatives considered, and a construction cost estimate.8.Contract documents. - This includes technical specifications that shall include at a minimum description of bid items and materials specified, quantity takeoff, order of work, types of equipment to be used, and procedures for diversion of the stream and/or dewatering. Projects shall have the ability to be constructed in phases, and the contract documents shall reflect this. Consultant shall also provide a final engineer?s construction cost estimate for each phase and the project in total. 9. Design/Construction drawings. Provide reproducible, stamped, and signed original final plans for bidding purposes and electronic file of the final plans. 10.Monitoring plan. Consultant shall develop a monitoring plan for watershed recovery that includes constituents for stream channel morphology, wetland function, aquatic biology, fish and wildlife habitat, nutrient flux to the lake, and erosion and sedimentation. The contractor will be evaluated in terms of: (1) Professional qualifications necessary for satisfactory performance of required services; (2) Specialized experience and technical competence in the type of work required, including, where appropriate, experience in energy conservation, pollution prevention, waste reduction, and the use of recovered materials; (3) Capacity to accomplish the work in the required time; (4) Past performance on contracts with Government agencies and private industry in terms of cost control, quality of work, and compliance with performance schedules; (5) Location in the general geographical area of the project and knowledge of the locality of the project; (6) Demonstrated competence in the areas of ecosystem assessment, ecosystem restoration project planning and design, knowledge of applicable codes and regulations for restoration work in forests, streams, and riparian areas of the agencies involved in the Lake Tahoe Basin. Proposals shall be evaluated based on the thoroughness, clarity, and quality of the material presented with emphasis on relevant experience, project staffing, proximity to the site, understanding of the project, and knowledge of the watersheds of the Lake Tahoe Basin. The estimated value of the construction work resulting from this contract is $1-4 million. Please submit your SF-254 and SF-255 to the USDA Forest Service, IBET Province, Eldorado National Forest, 100 Forni Road, Placerville, CA 95667 Attn: Acquisitions. Room 230. They are due by close of business (4:30 pm) on June 2, 2003. The SF-254 and SF-255 are available on the internet at http://www.gsa.gov - click on Federal Forms.
- Place of Performance
- Address: USDA Forest Service,, Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit,,
- Zip Code: 96150
- Zip Code: 96150
- Record
- SN00315899-W 20030503/030502073552 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps.gov Link to This Notice
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