PRRIP Request for Proposal: Habitat

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PRRIP - ED OFFICE FINAL 05/20/2008 134 OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE 135 In coordination with the ED Office, the selected contractor will design and implement a study of 136 foraging activity of least terns and piping plovers along the central Platte River valley. Recent 137 central Platte River surveys by the Program indicate that most tems and piping plovers nest at 138 privately-owned sandpits, though nesting did occur on riverine habitat in 2007. Least terns and 139 piping plovers are mobile species that can cover large distances and access to riverine azeas can 14o be diflicult. Though most recent nesting activity has occurred on sandpits, increased river 141 nesting is expected and birds are regulazly observed foraging in the river. Thus, it is assumed the 142 selected contractor will need access to riverine areas and proposals should address how that 143 access will be achieved. The selected contractor will be required to work with the ED Office to 144 review past information about tem and plover nesting loca.tions and to develop and secure 145 written access agreements with sandpit (may require mine safety training) and river land owners 146 before finalizing the study methodologies and initiating the foraging study. In addition, the 147 selected contractor will report to the ED Office as to the location of nesting birds found while 148 implementing the study. The selected contractor will be responsible for providing all equipment 149 and sufficient manpower to complete their study design, including a four-wheel-drive vehicle to lso access many of the areas least terns and piping plovers nest and possibly an airboat to monitor 151 bird activities on the river. 152 153 LINK TO PRIORITY HYPOTHESES 154 The purpose of the foraging habits study is to help determine if prey base availability limits least 155 tern and piping plover populations on the central Platte River. T'he study and its inferences will 156 be linked to the testing of several priority hypotheses in the Program's Adaptive Management 157 Plan (AMP), with emphasis on: 158 159 • T2 - Tern productivity is related to the number of prey fish (<3 inches) and fish numbers 160 limit tern production below 800 cfs from May-September. 161 • T2a - Flow rates influence the number and species diversity in tern prey base (fish). 162 • P2 - Plover productivity is related to the number of suitable macroinvertebrates and 163 macroinvertebrates limit plover production below 800 cfs from May-September. 164 165 Many covariates influence tem and plover use and productivity on the central Platte, and the 166 foraging study may not fully address the AMP hypotheses listed above. Proposals should 167 address the ability of the study results to help provide inferences as to the priority hypotheses, 168 the potential need for additional reseazch, and the ability of the proposed methodologies to 169 isolate the effects of foraging habits on productivity from other influences such as predation and 17o human disturbance. 171 172 METHODOLOGIES 173 Proposals submitted in response to this RFP should include details about proposed study 174 methodologies. Because terns and plovers are mobile and have been observed leaving sandpit 175 nests to forage at more distant river sites, it is possible that the foraging study will require some 176 level of data collection through telemetry, banding, or other mark-recapture methods. Submitted Page 4 of 6