Natural Resources Restoration and Management Services

The Vendor is required to provide natural resources restoration and management services that may be requested through this contract include, but are not limited to, manual and mechanical site preparation and maintenance, planting and seeding, forest stand management, wildlife and pollinator habitat enhancements and maintenance, and additional project-related support.
- Manual site preparation and maintenance
• Manual site preparation and maintenance includes tasks such as pulling, cutting, digging, application of city-approved herbicide via manual methods (e.g., backpack spray, hack and squirt, or cut stump), and pruning or general plant maintenance at sites that are being restored, that have been planted with native vegetation, or that are being managed to help prevent infestations that may negatively affect public infrastructure.
• Site preparation (“site prep”) generally applies to sites that have not yet been planted or maintained and may be completely open or may have some existing native vegetation.
• Maintenance generally applies to sites that have already been planted and will require avoiding damage to planted materials.
• Successful proposer is responsible for recognizing and preventing damage to existing native vegetation and sensitive resources on project sites and adjacent areas.
- Planting and seeding
• Seeding – spreading of seed on site by hand or hand crank spreaders using seed from approved vendors and sources and seed mixes and application rates approved by the city’s project manager.
• Seed harvest and cleaning – collection of native seed from sites indicated and approved by the city following city-approved seed collection protocols.
• Correct identification, packaging, storage, and transport of target species.
• This task may also include cleaning of seed utilizing techniques approved by the city’s project manager.
• Herbaceous plant material harvest – harvesting of herbaceous plant materials from sites as indicated and approved by the city’s project manager.
• Responsible for correct identification of materials to harvest and use of techniques that will ensure propagules will survive the harvest and subsequent planting.
• This task may also include preparing the root fragments for planting.
• Planting of bare root plants – bare root plants shall be planted using techniques, arrangements, and densities indicated and approved by the cities project manager.
• This task includes selection and preparation of appropriate planting spots within the planting area, transport of plant materials to the planting area, protection of plant materials on the project site, and inspection of plants and bags upon pickup to verify plants are in good health.
• It may also include marking planted individuals using flagging tape.
• Planting of container plants – container plants shall be planted using techniques, arrangements, and densities indicated and approved by the cities project manager.
• This task includes selection and preparation of appropriate planting spots within the planting area, transport of plant materials to the planting area, protection of plant materials on the project site, and inspection of container plants upon pickup to verify plants are in good health.
• It may also include marking planted individuals using flagging tape.
• Planting plugs, bulbs, or root fragments – herbaceous plugs shall be planted using picks, dribble sticks, hand trowels, or bare-root planting shovels at the planting density defined by the city’s project manager at the time of the planting.
• Planting depth varies by species.
• This task includes transport of plant material to the project site and may also include flagging of planting locations.
• Harvest pole cuttings – harvesting of pole cuttings from sites as indicated and approved by the city’s project manager; requires correct identification of materials to harvest and use of techniques for harvest and storage that will ensure cuttings will be viable for planting. Successful proposer shall harvest no more than one-third of a donor plant’s branches.
- Mechanical site preparation and maintenance
• Boom spray – application of an herbicide using a tractor, mule, ATV or other equipment in a volume sufficient to adequately cover all target vegetation at the site so that it is wet but not dripping.
• Herbicide, application rate, and surfactant are subject to approval by the city’s project manager.
• Flail or mow – using a tractor, bobcat or other mowing equipment to field flail or mow target vegetation.
• Loading, hauling, or herbicide application with watercraft – includes use of appropriate watercraft and experienced operator(s) to support treatment of aquatic invasive species and other restoration activities, such as transporting restoration crew members, supplies, herbicides, or city staff through or across waterways.
• Other mechanical tasks – additional mechanical site prep and maintenance tasks not listed above, including, but not limited to, roadside brushing, field haying, field tilling and discing, and field mowing between planting rows or clusters of plants.
- Wildlife and pollinator habitat enhancement services
• Installation and maintenance of beaver pond levelers to control pond stage heights and flooding, while allowing beaver to continue to build their dams higher and inhabit the area.
• Partial breaching of beaver dams to allow water level to be managed while retaining some of the habitat benefits and ecosystem services of the beaver ponds.
• Installation and maintenance of beaver deceivers to prevent culvert clogging.
• Installation of beaver dam analogs.
• Installation of turtle basking structures, large wood, or nest mounds.
• Installation of nesting platforms, owl boxes, bat houses, or other structures designed to support avian and bat species.
• Placement of large rock boulders or large wood within streams to create fish habitat.
• Creation of pollinator habitat.