Jefferson Land Trust is currently seeking a wetland consultant or scientist to help us develop a Wetland Health Assessment that will provide information necessary to make decisions about how best to steward our protected wetlands.
Regular monitoring of current conditions and habitat health is critical to our stewardship of the special places we protect. Over the past few years we have created forest and stream ecological health assessments to help staff determine if current conditions are consistent with long-term Preserve management goals and desired future conditions. We would like to further inform our ongoing stewardship work by developing a wetland health assessment protocol.
In consultation with Jefferson Land Trust, the successful contractor will develop or adapt a wetland health assessment protocol that can provide Jefferson Land Trust staff with the information necessary to make management decisions about wetlands under our care, including by identifying any possible habitat health concerns, desirable features, features that are missing, or ways in which hydrology may differ from historic conditions.
If you’re interested in working with Jefferson Land Trust on this project, please provide information about your relevant experience, a cost estimate to conduct this work, and an anticipated timeline for project completion.
Click here for a printable pdf of the full request for proposals (RFP) or review the details below.
Proposals should be submitted by email to Carrie Clendaniel, Preserve Manager, no later than midnight on December 1, 2021. Email to: cclendaniel[at]saveland.org. Questions? Please call Carrie at (360) 379-9501 ext 109.
Jefferson Land Trust is a non-profit land conservation organization based in Jefferson County, Washington. Our mission is to help the community preserve open space, working lands, and habitat forever. We conserve land through permanent conservation easements as well as through direct ownership and management. For those lands we own, we work with community members to care for the land. The Land Trust’s Preserve portfolio includes 26 permanently protected Preserves encompassing over 740 acres in east Jefferson County, from the Quimper Peninsula and Port Townsend to the Duckabush River. In general, our land management goals center around increasing diversity and protecting water quality.
Regular monitoring of current conditions and habitat health is critical to our stewardship of these special places. Over the past few years we have created forest and stream ecological health assessments to help staff determine if current conditions are consistent with long-term Preserve management goals and desired future conditions. Those assessments have directly informed management decisions, for example by highlighting a need for increased downed wood on the forest floor.
We are currently seeking a wetland consultant or scientist to help us develop a parallel Wetland Health Assessment that will provide information necessary to make decisions about how best to steward our protected wetlands.
• In consultation with Jefferson Land Trust, develop or adapt a wetland health assessment protocol that can provide Jefferson Land Trust staff with the information necessary to make management decisions about wetlands under our care, including by identifying any possible habitat health concerns, desirable features, features that are missing, or ways in which hydrology may differ from historic conditions
• The assessment must be suitable for use primarily on forested freshwater wetlands, but may also be used to assess the habitat health on sedge-dominated wetlands, and some open water wetlands of one half to 4 acres in size
• The assessment must be applicable to wetlands of a half to 4 acres in size, which are situated within habitat Preserves that range from 5 to 165 acres in size
• The assessment must be relatively rapid – ideally 2-3 wetlands could be assessed per day depending upon travel time and wetland size
• The assessment protocol must be achievable by staff and select volunteers who have a basic knowledge of local plants/wildlife/noxious weeds, but no wetland-specific knowledge
• OR the assessment must include training materials to help staff and volunteers learn to identify key plants or features
• Testing of the wetland health assessment protocol with Jefferson Land Trust staff at Snow Creek Forest Preserve (forested wetlands associated with Snow Creek) and Chai-yahk-wh Preserves (cattail-dominated wetland not associated with a creek)
• Training Land Trust staff and select volunteers in how to use the protocol
• Providing a final, formatted protocol that meets the needs above, as well as the assessment data from the Snow Creek Forest and Chai-yahk-wh Preserve testing sites
The successful contractor must demonstrate:
• An understanding of wetland ecology and existing commonly accepted monitoring practices
• Relevant experience in wetland ecology and specifically wetland monitoring and health assessment
• An understanding of Jefferson Land Trust goals and capacity
If interested in working with Jefferson Land Trust on this project, please provide information about your relevant experience, a cost estimate to conduct this work, and an anticipated timeline for project completion.
Proposals should be submitted by email to Carrie Clendaniel, Preserve Manager, no later than midnight on December 1, 2021. Email to cclendaniel[at]saveland.org. Questions? Please call Carrie at (360) 379-9501 ext 109.
As a nonprofit, community-based conservation organization, we also welcome in-kind services and support, which we can use to match grant funds.
