Contractor for Habitat Rehabilitation – Terlingua Creek, TX

Proposals will be considered by the American Bird Conservancy (ABC), the Río Grande Joint Venture (Rio Grande JV), and partners for rehabilitation of riparian vegetation along Terlingua Creek in Brewster County, Texas, upstream of Big Bend National Park.

Terlingua Creek and other tributaries are the dominant hydrologic features of the arid Chihuahuan Desert landscape and serve the vital function of moving water, nutrients, and sediment throughout the watershed. Protecting and maintaining these natural resources through restoration will make them more resilient to the negative consequences of climate change by promoting channel aggradation and increasing the depth and extent of the riparian aquifer. The work solicited in this request for proposals will contribute to enhancing riparian and aquatic habitat health, diversity, and resilience and ensure that the ecosystem services human and wildlife communities depend upon are sustained.

Background Information:
On behalf of the Rio Grande JV, ABC is soliciting proposals for riparian habitat rehabilitation along Terlingua Creek in Brewster County, Texas, as described below. ABC is a non-profit 501c3 that conserves native birds and their habitats throughout the Americas. This is done by safeguarding the rarest species, conserving and restoring habitats, and reducing threats while building capacity in the bird conservation movement.

The Rio Grande JV is a binational conservation partnership that supports the strategic, science-based conservation of birds and other wildlife, their habitats, and the ecosystems upon which they and we depend on the Chihuahuan Desert, Tamaulipan Brushlands, and Gulf Coast Prairie Bird Conservation Regions in Texas and northern Mexico. Through collaborative partnerships, the Rio Grande JV seeks to provide scientific and technical support, coordination, and communication to natural resource managers and the broader Rio Grande JV community to conserve birds and address ecosystem threats and stressors. For a map of the Rio Grande JV geographic area, visit: http://www.rgjv.org/aboutus.html.

Rehabilitation of riparian habitat along Terlingua Creek is a priority of the Rio Grande JV. This project is part of larger effort being led by the Rio Grande JV and our partners to rehabilitate the health and functioning of the Terlingua Creek watershed for wildlife and people, including several completed, on-going, and planned riparian and grassland improvement projects on public and private lands.

Terlingua Creek is a perennial stream that is a tributary to the Río Grande in Texas, flowing from its headwaters on private land across Big Bend National Park. Historical accounts of perennial and intermittent streams within the Big Bend region indicate many were lined with large stands of cottonwood and willow. Prior to widespread mining and agricultural activities in the area, Terlingua Creek was described as a “bold running stream, studded with cottonwood timber and…alive with beaver.” The work solicited in this request for proposals is desperately needed in this region as the riparian forest has not regenerated after mining and agricultural activities during the late 19th and early 20th centuries required harvest of timber for fuel and structural material. We hypothesize that the old riparian forest provided the nursery conditions necessary for cottonwood and willow recruitment by reducing hydrologic forces during high flows. Once the forest was gone, normal annual flows were sufficient to scour young plants and prevent recolonization. Terlingua Creek has been slow to recover as it is now characterized by little evidence of beavers, few cottonwoods, alkali sacaton, and abundant salt cedar. We are changing that with funding and expertise from the National Park Service's Southwest Border Resource Protection Program and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Partners for Fish and Wildlife program and other partners.

Purpose and Objectives:
Small areas of restoration can have a large impact both upstream and downstream by creating a protected, nursery environment that will allow natural regeneration of riparian forest to occur. We are requesting proposals to reforest approximately 6 acres in Terlingua Creek upstream of Big Bend National Park on private land (see Figure 2). Despite the degraded condition of the riparian zone along the creek, it is still considered an area of great significance as its remaining intact riparian forests provide important ecosystem services for people and habitat for many aquatic and riparian species. The cumulative effects of this project and similar projects on-going and planned for this watershed will create and enhance riparian and aquatic habitat for rare and declining species, such as nesting yellow-billed cuckoos (Coccyzus americanus; Federally listed, threatened), common black hawks (Buteogallus anthracinus), gray hawks (Buteo plagiatus), Mexican stonerollers (Campostoma ornatum), and roundnose minnow (Dionda episcopa). In addition, by reducing sediment transport to the Río Grande, riparian reforestation along Terlingua Creek will improve habitat of the Federally listed, endangered Río Grande silvery minnow (Hybognathus amarus) by decreasing the sediment surplus that, together with invasive plant species, leads to increased channelization of the mainstem of the Río Grande.

This project recognizes the critical resource value of riparian forests and has two primary objectives:

1. Establish willows (Salix spp.) in areas where conditions are favorable;

2. Where riparian vegetation already exists, plant larger native tree species of willow and cottonwood to improve wildlife habitat and increase the deposition of gravel and the storage capacity of the riparian aquifer.

Project Performance Period:
The period of performance will be from the date of the contract (estimated late November) through April 30, 2018, when the final report is due. Planting of riparian vegetation is most effective when done at the lowest water levels of the year. In the project area, this is usually January and February when precipitation is lowest. Field work associated with this project will be implemented between January 2, 2018 and March 15, 2018.
Project Coordination:
Throughout the project, the contractor will work in close collaboration with the Rio Grande JV Coordinator and the Project Team including the landowner, the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, to gather information to support delivery of the work and make decisions about project site use and planting methodologies and design. The contractor may consult directly with government officials and other experts, as needed. However, the contractor shall report to and receive direction from the Rio Grande Joint Venture Coordinator (or designate).

The Rio Grande JV Coordinator will forward draft deliverables to the project team and (possibly) other experts, for their review and comment. The Rio Grande JV Coordinator will arrange teleconferences with the contractor and the project team, and other experts on an as-needed basis at mutually agreeable times. The goal of these meetings will be to kick off the project, present the products, and assess progress on the project.

Scope of Work:
The methodology to be used for harvesting and planting riparian vegetation was developed by conservation partners at Big Bend National Park and was tested and refined after lessons learned on similar projects. Work will complement and resemble riparian restoration work that has been completed in the upper and lower reaches of Terlingua Creek, to include:

1. Site reconnaissance and use plan;
2. Planting methodology and design;
3. Harvesting and plant material preparation;
4. Planting of riparian vegetation; and
5. Project reporting.

Download pdf of full job description (click)

View supporting documents:

Willow Pole Harvest Data (click)
Rio Grande Harvestable Willow Pole Survey (click)

Application and Point of Contact:
To apply, please review the full request for proposals and submit the required application materials no later than 5:00 PM CDT on November 12, 2017, to: Aimee Roberson, Rio Grande JV Coordinator, at aroberson@abcbirds.org. The subject line should read: “Terlingua Creek Riparian Rehabilitation Proposal,” Proposals submitted after this deadline will not be considered. Questions about this solicitation may also be directed to Ms. Roberson at this email address.