RFP Conservation Implementation Plan

Location:	North Carolina
Posted:	Aug 28, 2026
Due:	Sep 18, 2026
Agency:	State Government of North Carolina
Type of Government:	State & Local
Category:	B - Special Studies and Analyses - Not R&D R - Professional, Administrative and Management Support Services
Solicitation No:	454-RFP-09182026a
Publication URL:	To access bid details, please log in.

Solicitation Number:	454-RFP-09182026a
Project Title:	RFP Conservation Implementation Plan
Description:	Chatham County is seeking proposals from qualified consulting firms to prepare an implementation plan for achieving the remaining conservation goals established in the 2017 Comprehensive Plan, Plan Chatham. The consulting firm will utilize the newly released Conservation Dashboard to highlight the components of Plan Chatham that have not been achieved and develop a detailed implementation plan that focuses on feasibility, recommended steps, and funding strategies. In addition, the consultant will build a conservation prioritization mapping tool that assists in determining high-priority conservation areas in the County. Firms submitting proposals must have proven track record in preparing implementation plans with government entities. The project is expected to take no more than 12 months. The selected consultants will be required to provide a specific timeline for all tasks.
Opening Date:	9/18/2026 5:00 PM
Posted Date:	8/29/2026
Status:	Open
Department:	COUNTY OF CHATHAM


Solicitation Number * 454-RFP-09182026a	Department COUNTY OF CHATHAM	Status Reason Open
Opening Date 2026-09-18T17:00:00.0000000	Posted Date * 2026-08-28T19:52:25.0000000Z	Primary Commodity Code Environmental planning
Mandatory Conference/Site Visit — —	Special Instructions Please refer to bid document for additional details.	Solicitation Type * RFP
Owner Michele Peluso
Description Chatham County is seeking proposals from qualified consulting firms to prepare an implementation plan for achieving the remaining conservation goals established in the 2017 Comprehensive Plan, Plan Chatham. The consulting firm will utilize the newly released Conservation Dashboard to highlight the components of Plan Chatham that have not been achieved and develop a detailed implementation plan that focuses on feasibility, recommended steps, and funding strategies. In addition, the consultant will build a conservation prioritization mapping tool that assists in determining high-priority conservation areas in the County. Firms submitting proposals must have proven track record in preparing implementation plans with government entities. The project is expected to take no more than 12 months. The selected consultants will be required to provide a specific timeline for all tasks.

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Request for Proposals

Chatham County Conservation Implementation Plan

Introduction

Chatham County is seeking proposals from qualified consulting firms to prepare an

implementation plan for achieving the remaining conservation goals established in the 2017

Comprehensive Plan, Plan Chatham. The consulting firm will utilize the newly released

Conservation Dashboard to highlight the components of Plan Chatham that have not been

achieved and develop a detailed implementation plan that focuses on feasibility, recommended

steps, and funding strategies. In addition, the consultant will build a conservation prioritization

mapping tool that assists in determining high-priority conservation areas in the County. Firms

submitting proposals must have proven track record in preparing implementation plans with

government entities. The project is expected to take no more than 12 months. The selected

consultants will be required to provide a specific timeline for all tasks.

Purpose

Plan Chatham, the County’s 2017 comprehensive plan, establishes a vision and goals for the

future growth of the County. Among those vision and goals are significant strides towards

further conservation efforts. County leaders worked alongside a Steering Committee, topic

specific focus groups, and the community in establishing goals to ensure that natural resources

and the benefits they provide are preserved, while encouraging sustainable and equitable growth.

Though Plan Chatham has created an invaluable roadmap to guide the County in policy decisions

and work towards a sustainable future, no central method existed for coordinating and tracking

progress towards achieving the outlined goals.

Chatham County is at a critical point in its history. The County has experienced exceptional

commercial and residential growth in recent years while also trying to balance the goals of Plan

Chatham in order to maintain a rural lifestyle and preserve natural resources. The County harbors

49 rare, threatened, or endangered species, 13 impaired bodies of water, and a growing concern

over groundwater availability for agriculture which are impacted by new development.

This project will focus on a plan for achieving the components of the Comprehensive Plan that

relate to conservation. When this proposal references “components” of Plan Chatham, it refers to

the various categories that the overarching goals of the Comprehensive Plan are broken down

into: Plan Elements, Big Ideas, Recommendations, Policies, etc. The County has researched and

selected consensus-based metrics for tracking progress towards the conservation components of

Plan Chatham and utilized those metrics to create an online, public dashboard that displays the

progress towards these goals.

Coordination of this project will be led by the Project Manager from the Chatham County

Planning Department with key input from the Chatham County Conservation Working Group

(CWG), a collection of appointed staff from different departments who contribute to

conservation efforts.

The goals of this project will be to utilize the new dashboard in identifying what conservation-

based components of the Comprehensive Plan have yet to be achieved, establish implementation

strategies that are feasible, establish consensus among County departments regarding

responsibilities and timelines for these strategies, determine capacity needs for full

implementation, and provide funding avenues to complete these next steps. As part of this

project, the consultant will also develop a conservation prioritization mapping tool. This tool will

assist with Plan Chatham’s Natural Resources Element, specifically the “Big Idea” of

permanently protecting an additional 20,0000 acres in the County by 2040. This portion of the

project would rank parcels based on a variety of factors that could include but are not limited to

proximity to other perpetually conserved areas, other protected or managed areas, Natural

Heritage Program Natural areas, species, habitat, or other relevant elements.

Community Brief

Chatham County has a population of 85,111, is approximately 707 square miles, and contains

five municipalities: Pittsboro, Siler City, Goldston, Cary, and Apex. The County is located in the

Triangle region of North Carolina and is adjacent to three metropolitan centers: Raleigh,

Durham, and Chapel Hill. The proximity to these metropolitan centers and the Research Triangle

Park has influenced and fostered growth in northeastern Chatham County, specifically along the

US 15/501 corridor. The County also contains three major highways listed in the NC Department

of Transportation’s Strategic Transportation Corridors Plan (US 1, US 421, and US 64) and is

situated within commuting distance of the Piedmont Triad Region.

Chatham County's growth has been emerging rapidly over the course of the past decade. The

recent growth has been heavily influenced and accelerated by residential developments. Chatham

is also seeing commercial growth, with industry and infrastructure increasing in the County and

surrounding areas. These large-scale projects will create the need for more housing and services.

Chatham County has abundant natural resources with three major rivers, the Haw River, the

Deep River, and the Rocky River, that converge in the southeastern corner of the County to form

the Cape Fear River. The majority of the 47,000-acre B. Everett Jordan Lake, and the

surrounding US Army Corps federal protected land, is located in the eastern side of the County.

Agriculture is a major component of Chatham County’s land use, accounting for 33% of total

employment and primarily located in the rural western side of the County.

Scope of Work

The following tasks encompass the project’s scope for Chatham County’s Conservation

Implementation Plan:

Task I – Project Initiation & Implementation Framework

The purpose of Task I is to establish a coordinated and effective planning process, familiarize the

consultant with the Conservation Dashboard & associated metrics, confirm project expectations,

and determine which unfinished dashboard components will be pursued. This will keep County

staff aware of the consultant’s timeline, intentions, and scope of work. The task includes an

opportunity for the consultant to receive input from the CWG about which unfinished

components should be carried out.

In Task I, the contractor will:

1) Conduct an introductory meeting (virtual) with project staff in the Chatham County

Planning Department to kick off the project and discuss the project background, goals,

scope of work, project timeline & schedule, communication protocols, mapping needs,

and expectations.

2) The contractor will review all existing dashboard components, performance metrics, and

associated documents.

3) The contractor will go through the components provided and their associated metrics that

have not been completed. They will determine if these components are still feasible, align

with County goals, and any implementation gaps.

o Conduct 1 meeting (virtual) with the Chatham County Planning Department to

finalize components.

o Conduct 1 meeting (virtual) with the CWG to build consensus around unfinished

components and metrics, overarching implementation strategies, and departmental

responsibilities for the goals.

4) Develop a preliminary implementation framework that outlines how recommendations

will be prioritized and organized.

5) Develop a preliminary mapping framework that outlines the steps and methodologies

needed to build a conservation prioritization mapping tool.

Task I Deliverables:

A) Project Management & Communication Plan

B) Summary of existing dashboard assessment

C) List of incomplete components and metrics and the consultant’s determination on if these

will be pursued based on the meetings with the Chatham County Planning Department,

CWG, and the consultant’s own experience.

D) Preliminary implementation framework describing the consultant's proposed

methodology for prioritizing implementation actions.

E) Preliminary conservation mapping framework describing the consultant's proposed

methodology for building a conservation prioritization model(s).

Task II – Research, Design, & Draft an Implementation Plan and Mapping Tool

Task II focuses on developing a comprehensive implementation plan for the County's remaining

strategic goals. The contractor will research best practices, evaluate the feasibility of achieving

metrics, determine timeframes and importance of components, establish implementation

schedules, identify the departments responsible for each metric, provide funding options for

larger goals, and organizational capacity needed to achieve the County’s conservation goals. In

addition, the consultant will research best practices for a conservation prioritization mapping

tool, begin modeling in ArcGIS, and draft a preliminary report and model(s).

In Task II, the contractor will:

1) Feasibility, Capacity, and Funding Planning – The contractor will review the dashboard

and determine the needs of County departments for carrying out implementation

strategies. The contractor will:

o Research best practices for implementing remaining goals.

o Determine if metrics can be achieved in short, mid, or long-term and what steps

are needed for each.

o Create a schedule of completion for each metric.

o Determine which departments are involved for each metric.

 Conduct 1 meeting with the Chatham County Planning Department to

determine this.

o Conduct interviews/small group meetings with CWG members and their

Department Heads to determine capacity needs for implementation (staff,

funding, programs, resources, etc.). 13 departments are involved in the CWG, and

the contractor will determine the best format for these meetings (one department

at a time vs. groups of two, etc.). Based on findings in Task I interviews with all

13 may not be needed. Meetings will be virtual.

o Compile notes and summaries from the meetings.

o Determine funding strategies for larger long-term goals (e.g. Natural Resources

Big Idea – Perpetually protect an additional 20,000 acres of land by 2040).

o Conduct 2-3 meetings with the program manager to provide updates on work

(virtual).

2) Draft Implementation Plan – The draft implementation plan shall include at a minimum:

o Prioritized Implementation Matrix

o Recommended implementation actions for each unfinished dashboard component

o Priority ranking for each implementation action

o Recommended implementation schedule

o Staffing and organizational capacity needed for implementation

o Funding needs and potential sources

o Key implementation milestones

o Performance indicators or measures

o Risks and implementation barriers

o Monitoring and reporting framework or guide

o Each implementation recommendation shall clearly identify the corresponding

Conservation Dashboard component and metric(s) it supports

3) Develop a draft conservation prioritization mapping tool that outlines methodology and

modeling criteria.

o Conduct 1-2 meetings (virtual) with the Program Manager, Chatham County GIS

Department, and, if needed, nonprofit and/or government stakeholders to review

modeling criteria and receive input.

Task II Deliverables:

A) Draft Implementation Plan Shall Include:

a. Executive Summary

b. Prioritized Action Matrix

c. Departmental Responsibilities

d. Capacity Assessment

e. Funding Strategies

f. Implementation Framework or Guide

g. Monitoring and Reporting Framework

B) Draft Conservation Prioritization Mapping Tool shall include:

a. Report with sections including Background, Data Preparation, Methodology,

Model Criteria, Model(s), and Results.

C) Meeting Summary Memorandum: Documentation summarizing all project meetings that

include findings and recommendations.

Task III – Final Implementation Plan and Conservation Prioritization Mapping Tool

In Task III the contractor will develop a final, comprehensive implementation plan that integrates

implementation strategies with departmental responsibilities, capacity needs, and next steps. The

contractor will also develop a final conservation prioritization mapping tool and report. The

process includes presenting the draft plan to the CWG as well as a presentation of the final plan

to the Chatham County Board of Commissioners.

In Task III, the contractor will:

1) The contractor will present a draft Implementation Plan and Conservation Prioritization

Mapping Tool:

o Conduct 1 meeting (virtual) to present the draft final plan and mapping tool to the

CWG to solicit feedback and build consensus around implementation

responsibilities.

o Conduct 1 meeting (virtual) with the Program Manager, Chatham County GIS

Department, and, if needed, nonprofit and/or government stakeholders to explain

how to run the model for future use and solicit feedback.

o Revise the Draft Implementation Plan based on CWG and Project Manager

feedback.

o Revise the Draft Conservation Prioritization Mapping Tool based on Project

Manager, Chatham County GIS Department, and stakeholder feedback.

2) The contractor will present a Final Implementation Plan and Conservation Prioritization

Mapping Tool:

o Recommend an implementation management framework that enables departments

to coordinate implementation, monitor progress, update metrics, and report

progress over time.

o Develop an implementation action matrix in an editable and user-friendly format

that County staff can use to assign responsibilities, monitor progress, or other

management tools. This could include ArcGIS integration with Conservation

Dashboard, if appropriate.

This is the opportunity summary page. It provides an overview of this opportunity and a preview of the attached documentation.

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RFP Conservation Implementation Plan

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