The Black Swamp Conservancy is seeking proposals for a design-build wetland, meadow and woods restoration project on the 16-acre Fox-Shank Living Laboratory in Wood County, Ohio. The Site includes about 13 acres in agricultural production and a narrow band of woods (8-20 meters wide) along Tontogany Creek.
This objective of this Project, funded by Ohio DNR with H2Ohio funds, is to design, engineer, permit, construct and plant a restoration project that will restore wetlands and riparian habitats on the Site and reduce nutrient and sediment runoff into Tontogany Creek.
The Project has the additional objectives of Otsego Schools using the restored natural habitats as a living laboratory for its K-12 schools, and the FFA using a small portion of the property as a demonstration farm.
After restoration is complete, the Conservancy will gift the Site to Otsego Schools, which will use the site as a living laboratory for students. The Schools’ administration and teachers are anticipating students using the site for educational activities like sampling restored wetlands, learning about riparian and meadow or prairie habitats, using nature as art inspiration, accessing Tontogany Creek for fish and invertebrate sampling, and much more. Additionally, the farm will demonstrate the value of using natural habitats to filter agricultural runoff.
Applicants are encouraged to submit proposals that will reduce phosphorus runoff, increase nutrient uptake, reduce sedimentation and erosion, increase wetland habitat, and improve riparian habitat.
The selected contractors or team of contractors shall furnish all necessary drawings, plans, permits, labor, facilities, materials, equipment, and construction oversight services to complete the Project scope of services as described and defined in the attached Request for Proposals, including Exhibits A through I (collectively “RFP”).
The Contractors must be able to demonstrate the successful completion of at least 4 wetland or riparian restoration projects, preferably but not mandatorily within the Western Lake Erie Basin, to be eligible to submit proposals.
Submissions, including submissions that are mailed or shipped, must be received no later than 4:00 pm, May 24, 2022. Proposals received after this date will not be accepted. The Conservancy expects to award the contract by early June 2022. Work will commence after the successful execution of a contract for design-build services between the Contractor and the Conservancy.
Questions about the RFP or Project must be emailed (no phone calls) and received by May 19, 2022. The Conservancy will distribute all questions received and its responses to those questions to all firms that have expressed an interest in submitting a proposal. There will be two scheduled question and answer periods. All questions received via email by May 9, 2022 will be answered on May 10, 2022. All questions received between May 10 and May 19, 2022 will be answered on May 20, 2022. Questions received after May 19, 2022 will not be answered.
All firms interested in submitting a proposal and being included on the question and response distribution list should notify Melanie Coulter by email at [email protected].
