Palo Corona Regional Park Grassland Monitoring Project 2021

The Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District (District) is requesting proposals (RFP) from qualified firms to conduct a Grassland Monitoring study at Palo Corona Regional Park during Spring 2021 and provide analysis of the data in final report by October 15, 2021. The contract may be canceled if the District determines the services to be unsatisfactory. There is no expressed or implied obligation for the District to reimburse responding firms for any expenses incurred in preparing proposals in response to this request. Materials submitted by respondents are subject to public inspection under the California Public Records Act (Government Code Sec. 6250 et set.), unless exempt. Additionally, the District reserves the right to reject any or all proposals submitted. The District reserves the right to retain all proposals submitted and to use any ideas in a proposal regardless of whether that proposal is selected. Submission of a proposal indicates acceptance by the firm of the conditions contained in this request for proposals, unless clearly and specifically noted in the proposal submitted and confirmed in the contract between the District and the firm selected. As part of the adaptive management program developed to facilitate long-term effectiveness of grasslands management strategies at Palo Corona Regional Park, monitoring protocols have been designed to evaluate progress toward the biological goals and objectives outlined in the updated Grassland Management Plan (McGraw 2010) (Attachment 1). Two monitoring protocols are described: 1. Quantitative monitoring of plant community composition and structure to evaluate effectiveness of the grazing prescriptions at enhancing native species diversity and abundance. 2. Areal extent mapping of the grasslands to monitor their persistence. Each protocol describes the systematic observation that would be used to evaluate the status of the grasslands, to detect real and biologically meaningful trends in their conditions and responses to management, and to increase understanding of the ecology of the grasslands to inform ongoing management.