REQUEST FOR STATEMENTS OF INTEREST PIEDMONT SOUTH ATLANTIC COAST CESU NUMBER W912HZ-19-SOI-0001 PROJECT TO BE INITIATED IN FY 2019

Transcription

1 REQUEST FOR STATEMENTS OF INTEREST PIEDMONT SOUTH ATLANTIC COAST CESU NUMBER W912HZ-19-SOI-0001 PROJECT TO BE INITIATED IN FY 2019 Project Title: Identifying and Evaluating Impacts to Wetlands from the Savannah River Estuary Responses to this Request for Statements of Interest will be used to identify potential investigators for studies and analyses to identify and evaluate impacts to wetlands in the Savannah River Estuary. The project is funded by the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Savannah District and approximately $275,000 has been identified to support Year 1 of this work. Additional funding at up to $275,000 per year may be available for follow on work in subsequent fiscal years for up to 4 years after the base award for a total of $1,375,000. Background: As part of the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project (SHEP), USACE prepared a Monitoring and Adaptive Management Plan (MAMP) that outlines numerous projects and process that will be carried out to assess project-induced impacts on the environment. One project identified in the MAMP is the monitoring of marsh sites in the Savannah River Estuary, located in Georgia and South Carolina. Work was initiated in 2013 that entailed data collection, integration, and analysis of prior and new research to identify and evaluate impacts to tidal wetlands and their native flora and fauna from recent changes in coastal infrastructure. Reports and data gathered from 2014 through 2018 are posted on the USACE SHEP Monitoring Program website at Monitoring data and the data integration/analysis conducted as part of the work will be used to evaluate the physical, chemical and biological impacts over a range of marsh types: freshwater, brackish, and saltmarsh. The work will be performed primarily within the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge and will have significant benefits to the ecosystem restoration and resource benefits to the public. Data will be used to assess the effectiveness of the mitigation features that will be constructed as part of the SHEP to ensure the levels of adverse environmental effects predicted in the Environmental Impact Statement are not exceeded. Brief Description of Anticipated Work: 1 27 Sep 2018

2 The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) prepared for SHEP details potential environmental impacts that may occur as a result of the deepening project. One potential result identified in the FEIS is the conversion of some freshwater marsh to brackish marsh and some saltwater marsh into brackish marsh. Fieldwork will be conducted at 12 marsh sites in the Savannah River Estuary to identify environmental changes to flora within these tidal wetlands during the monitoring period. Field work will replicate the procedures used by Clemson University, Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology and Forest Science, Department of Forestry and Natural Resources from Clemson University s procedures follow work that was conducted by the USGS Florida Fish and Wildlife Cooperative Research Unit (FL Coop Unit) during a wetlands monitoring project in 2000/2001. The data will be combined with other SHEP monitoring data and posted on the existing SHEP monitoring website. Public Benefit: Wetlands are complex ecosystems that provide many ecological, biological, and hydrologic functions that society values. Greater scientific understanding of wetlands functions has increased the public s interest in preserving these areas. Wetlands provide habitat for fish and wildlife, and provide a multitude of ecological functions such as surge protection and biogeochemical processing, all of which have significant public value. The data gathered will benefit the public by increasing understanding of the resources that are located within the Savannah River Estuary, including the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge, a key public resource of importance to the Nation due to its unique ecological habitats. Data collected will be made available to the public through the SHEP Monitoring Program website ( The current interactive website is accessible to the public and frequently visited. Since the website was implemented in 2014 there have been over 7,800 sessions when users have actively engaged with the website. In the second quarter of FY2018 alone over 117 users actively engaged the website. Information that will be collected will expand the base of knowledge that supports current and future restoration decision-making and further refines which restoration approaches are most effective for different resources. Data input into the GIS will show how adaptive management principles can be applied to assure that the overall public interest is served well. Data will allow the public to monitor the success or need to alter management of the various environmental mitigation projects. Objectives: Objective 1: Conduct field research to document the impacts of hydrologic changes on the tidal marshes as a result of implementation of harbor deepening. This work would include 2 27 Sep 2018

3 evaluating both level of tidal flooding over various types of marshes and salinity levels in those surface waters. The salinity of waters in the root zone of the marsh vegetation would also be measured to develop a relationship between the surface flood waters and water in the plant root zone. Analyze and integrate complex datasets to provide detailed maps displaying location and values of data points, analyses of datasets including recognizing patterns, identification of trends (e.g., over time, varying flow conditions), and relationships. Objective 2: Conduct field research to document the vegetative changes that result in the tidal marshes as a result of hydrologic modifications to the Savannah River Estuary. This work would include monitoring the diversity and abundance of various wetland plant species that comprise the range of marsh communities found in the estuary. The work would cover a range of marsh types: freshwater, brackish, and saltmarsh. The results of this Objective would be combined with those in Objective 1 to develop a relationship between salinity levels and vegetative communities. Objective 3: Prepare monthly and quarterly progress reports, and an annual report(s) to include documentation of methods, software, and analyses conducted throughout the duration of the work. The recipient/awardee may be asked to present research findings and monitoring results on the web as appropriate to inform natural resource agencies and the public. Period of Performance: The Period of Performance for the base effort is 12 months from the date of the award. Site Location: The 12 marsh site monitoring locations are in the Savannah River Estuary, just north of downtown Savannah, Georgia. The sites are located in Chatham County, Georgia and Jasper County, South Carolina (Figure 1). Vendor Requirements: Vendor must be a non-federal partner of the Piedmont-South Atlantic Coast Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESU) willing to accept the negotiated CESU indirect cost rate of 17.5%. Successful applicants should have expert knowledge and work experience monitoring wetlands, particularly in estuaries. Successful applicants should have expert knowledge and work experience in tidal marsh vegetation occurring in estuaries within the southeastern United States, preferably in the environments that promulgate the Savannah Harbor area. Government Participation: 3 27 Sep 2018

4 USACE technical personnel would provide a record of similar previous studies that have been performed on wetlands in the Savannah River Estuary. District personnel would also participate in technical meetings where the results of this work are discussed with natural resource agency staff. District personnel will work collaboratively with the successful recipient/awardee throughout the period of agreement to determine appropriate field methods, evaluate data as it becomes available, and adjust study methods accordingly. District personnel may accompany researchers in the field and participate in data collection as appropriate. Figure 1. Screen Capture of 12 Marsh site locations from the SHEP Monitoring Program website. Requirements: Successful applicants should have expert knowledge and work experience monitoring wetlands, particularly in estuaries. Highly qualified candidates will have prior experience with monitoring in the Savannah River Estuary Sep 2018

5 Materials Requested for Statement of Interest/Qualification: Please provide the following via attachment to: Maximum length: 2 pages, single-spaced 12 pt. font). 1. Name, Organization and Contact Information 2. Brief Statement of Qualifications (including): a. Biographical Sketch, b. Relevant past projects and clients with brief descriptions of these projects, c. Staff, faculty or students available to work on this project and their areas of expertise, d. Any brief description of capabilities to successfully complete the project you may wish to add (e.g. equipment, laboratory facilities, greenhouse facilities, field facilities, etc.). Note: A proposed budget is NOT requested at this time. Review of Statements Received: Based on a review of the Statements of Interest received, an investigator or investigators will be invited to prepare a full study proposal. Statements will be evaluated based on the investigator s specific experience and capabilities in areas related to the study requirements. Additionally, the evaluation method and selection criteria for research and development awards must be: (1) The technical merits of the proposed research and development; and (2) Potential relationship of the proposed research and development to the Department of Defense missions. Please send responses or direct questions to: Deberay R. Carmichael U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) ERDC Contracting Office (ECO) 3909 Halls Ferry Road Vicksburg, MS Deberay.R.Carmichael@usace.army.mil Timeline for Review of Statements of Interest: Review of Statements of Interest (SOI) will begin after the SOI has been posted on the CESU website for 10 working days Sep 2018