Forestry and Parks - Request for Proposal - Permanent Sample Plot Measurement Backlog – Whitecourt Area

The Province maintains a network of permanent sample plots (PSPs) within the Forest Protection Area of Alberta to monitor the growth, health and mortality of trees and stand-level volume growth or decline. This data is fundamental to the calculation of the sustainable timber supply, through building timber volume vs. time relationships directly, or supplying the core data for more sophisticated forest growth models. PSP data is also extensively used in calibrating inventory assessments, and for research in forest biometrics, stand dynamics, wildlife habitat, climate, disease, and insect dynamics. To ensure the integrity of the PSP program is maintained, the Province requires the measurement of plots In the Whitecourt area in accordance with the GOA PSP Manual as amended from time to time. Measurements of the plots should proceed in the general order listed (i.e. complete plots in the Swan Hills first, then move southwest, ending west of Whitecourt. It is not essential that all plots listed be completed – this will depend on the bid price and production rate relative to the department budget. However, it is essential that plots in one area be completed before moving on to the next. Several additional new plot establishments may be requested by the department in the area, and it is understood these may reduce the number of existing plots measured. All measurements must be completed and the final invoice submitted by March 15, 2025 to allow sufficient time for quality control before fiscal year-end. The structure of the contract will be a fixed hourly rate inclusive of all expenses. The budget is set at $100,000. Proponents must bid their hourly rate per crew, and estimate how many plots they plan to complete for $100,000 following the order of plots as listed in the detailed plot specifications list attached to this RFP. The average cost per plot will be the key financial evaluation criterion; however, invoicing must be by number of crew-hours and price per crew-hour. The successful Proponent must adhere to their proposed production rate unless access, tree count, tag loss, or other conditions are different than the information provided in this RFP. Any changes to conditions must be documented with photos and by on-going email discussions with the department, to explain reduced production. The successful Proponent shall supply personnel to fulfill three (3) key roles: • Project Manager • Crew Lead(s) • Field Surveyor(s) The same person may fulfill multiple roles; however, for safety a minimum of two (2) field personnel (a crew lead and a field surveyor) per crew is mandatory. Some plots will have trees that have lost tags and must be re-tagged with the correct tag number, using their location, species and approximate size to determine the missing tag (stem maps outlining such information will be provided). Plots will be accessible by vehicle, ATV and/or on foot, as outlined in the provided Plot specifications spreadsheet. Access details may change due to recent industrial activity. All known access or measurement challenges are noted in the comments on the plot specifications list and should be considered in estimating how many plots could be done under the fixed budget and under these conditions. Prior to Services commencing, one (1) day of mandatory training will be provided to the Contractor by the Province. The project manager and all crew leads (one (1) required per crew) must attend this training in order to be qualified to undertake fieldwork. It is highly recommended that the field surveyors attend as well. Ongoing communication with the Province will ensure the success of this project. A common data format is required. To maintain the strict requirements of this format, promote data quality through immediate feedback, and to facilitate field and office QC, use of the Forcorp Solutions’ Android-based data collection App will be required. Access to the App will be provided at no cost to the successful contractor; however, the contractor will need to supply at least two rugged Android-based devices to run the App (one per crew and at least one spare). The department’s PSP measurements manual, posted on the APC website with this RFP, must be followed for measurement specifics. Note that this project also requires submission of critical plot metadata (access details, regeneration plot vegetation, topography, ecosite, plot damage) by digital photos and on paper maintenance sheets. There are three types of forest PSPs maintained by the Branch which will be measured in this project: older Alberta Forest Service (AFS) style plots with either one or four clustered plots, primarily in older natural origin stands; juvenile to mid-aged Stand Dynamics System (SDS) plots (in post-harvest and a few fire-origin stands); and our newest configuration, Forest Management Branch (FMB) PSPs. All Branch PSPs contain tagged trees with subplots nested within to measure smaller trees efficiently. These trees are re-measured roughly every 5 to 25 years (occasionally longer) for survival and growth. A 2 to 10 ha protective buffer (perimeter of 500-1400 m) of blue-banded and flagged trees surrounds the plot and, with a few exceptions noted in the plot specifications table provided with this RFP, requires renewal at each measurement. The SDS PSPs were designed to efficiently sample stands from the early juvenile to the mature stage with a nested regeneration and sapling subplot design. The AFS PSPs have similarly nested sapling subplots, though formerly tallied small regeneration with no tagging. One of the required services is to establish new regeneration plots in the AFS PSPs so that all GOA plot systems have the same structure. Additionally, several of the plots in this project have a sapling subplot too small to fit the required regeneration plots. The sapling plot will need to be expanded to a full quarter of the main plot in these. No age and top height assessment (see the GOA PSP Manual) will be required in any of these plots. The FMB-style plots are smaller-area versions of the SDS plots with minor differences in tag numbering. If excessive damage is found in any PSP (fire, harvest, windthrow), the department may require establishment of a FMB PSP over the damaged AFS or SDS plot. If additional suitable sites are found to establish several new PSPs, they will also follow the FMB-style plot protocol. Any new plots and seven existing plots require high precision GPS points, either at plot centre, or plot centre plus the buffer corners. See the GOA PSP Manual for details on how to collect accurate GPS points. Plot-specific maintenance services required are outlined in the GOAPSPSpecsWC2024_25.xlsx spreadsheet accompanying this RFP. Access details, tree counts and comments on known challenges are provided on this spreadsheet as well. All plots will require the standard tree measurements outlined in the GOA PSP manual. a) Related Project Documents The following items are provided on the Alberta Purchasing Connection website as additional supporting documents for this RFP: 1) The GoA PSP manual (PDF); 2) A brief description on how to use Forcorp’s Plots App for data collection (PDF) 3) An Excel format specifications table of plot locations, plot characteristics (age, composition, time since last measurement, tree count) and extra plot maintenance services (sapling expansion, new regeneration plots, GPS points, age/top height assessment). 4) Excel resume tables for entering personnel education and experience.