SCDRFP26101: 2026 Maintenance Northwest

Request for Proposals

SCDRFP26101

February 2026

Restoration Maintenance

- Northwest Snohomish County

Contents

Important Dates

Release Request for Proposals	February 19, 2026
Site Visits (schedule details below)	February 23-March 10, 2026
RFP submission deadline	March 16, 2026 @ 2:00 PM PDT
Submission review	March 16 - 23, 2026
Selected contractor notified	March 23, 2026
Anticipated project start date	No sooner than May 1st, 2026
Anticipated Contract period	May 1 – September 30, 2026

Disclosure of Proposal Contents

All proposals will be treated as confidential documents until the selection process has been completed. Once the selection process has been made, all proposals will become a public record. Under Washington state law, RCW42.17.320, any information submitted with a response is a public record subject to disclosure unless a specific exemption applies.

If a contractor desires to keep portions of its proposal confidential, the confidential information so claimed must be identified in writing at the time the proposal is submitted. The contractors must clearly identify those portions with the word “Confidential” printed on the top right-hand corner of the page. In addition, contractors must provide a written explanation for the basis of the claim, including the reasons why the information is confidential and a certification that the information has not been released to the public and is not publicly available elsewhere. Statements identifying the entire document as confidential, or which do not specifically identify which information is claimed as confidential and provide an explanation for the claim are not acceptable for this purpose.

If a proposer submits information clearly marked proprietary or confidential, Snohomish Conservation District (SCD) will consider a proposer’s request for exemptions from disclosure. However, SCD will make a decision regarding disclosure based upon applicable laws. It is the proposer’s obligation to defend any legal challenges seeking to obtain said information at its sole expense and proposer agrees to indemnify and hold harmless SCD, its agents and employees, from any judgment or damages awarded against SCD in favor of the party requesting the materials. SCD shall incur no liability due to release of information from a properly labeled “proprietary” or “confidential.”

General Information

This solicitation is provided by the Snohomish Conservation District (SCD) to hire qualified individuals to provide restoration project site maintenance and noxious weed control of Conservation District-sponsored restoration project sites.

It is anticipated that up to $95,000 will be available for this opportunity.

Eligible Applicants

Any organization or entity meeting the following criteria is eligible to submit a bid:

a) Has the capacity and experience necessary to carry out the tasks outlined in this RFP is eligible. This includes state agencies, local and tribal governments, non-profit organizations, institutes of higher education, graduate researchers, and private businesses or contractors;

b) Any firm, association or corporation, or any person in a controlling capacity or any position involving the administration of federal, state or local funds is not currently under suspension, debarment, voluntary exclusion, or a determination of ineligibility by any agency; has not been suspended, debarred, voluntarily excluded or determined ineligible by any agency within the past three (3) years; does not have a proposed debarment pending; has not been indicted, convicted or has not had a civil judgment rendered against said person, firm, association or corporation by a court of competent jurisdiction in any matter involving fraud or misconduct with the past three (3) years;

and

c) Any licensed individual providing services has not had their license denied, revoked or suspended in the past three (3) years.

Bidder Responsibility Criteria

Before award, the Bidder must meet the following bidder responsibility criteria to be considered a responsible bidder.

● Have a current Washington Unified Business Identifier (UBI) number;

● Have a Washington Employment Security Department number, as required in Title 50 RCW;

● Have a Washington Department of Revenue state excise tax registration number, as required in Title 82 RCW.

Incurring Costs

SCD is not liable for any cost incurred by a Bidder in the process of responding to this Bid, including but not limited to the cost of preparing and submitting a response, in the conduct of a presentation, in facilitating site visits or any other activities related to responding to this Bid.

Site Visits

Site visits for RFP26101 Northwest Snohomish County, RFP26102 Southwest Snohomish County, and RFP26103 Stormwater Wetland Park near Haller Park will take place at the dates and times below. Potential bidders should RSVP to Ariana Winkler, awinkler@snohomishcd.org.

Project sites may not be visited without Snohomish Conservation District staff. Most sites are located on private property and access will not be provided to bidders outside of the scheduled site visits.

February 23, 2026

9:45am - Davis

10:30am - Haller Park

11:15am - Pearce

12:15pm - Jennings

February 24, 2026

9:15am - Moga

1:00pm - Chambers-Cushman & Days

3:00pm - Filbert & Olson

March 9, 2026

12:45am - Steffen & McClain

2:15pm - Coman

3:00pm - Williams

3:45pm - Hare & O’Keefe

March 10, 2026

10:30am - Peters

11:15am - Arlington Christian School

Potential bidders may carpool with SCD Staff. Meet at the District office, 528 91st Ave NE, Lake Stevens 98258:

February 23, 9am (anticipated return 1:00pm)

February 24, 9am (anticipated return 10:15am - Moga only)

February 24, 12:45pm (anticipated return 5pm - Chambers-Cushman, Filbert, Olson)

March 9, 12:15pm (anticipated return 4:30pm)

March 10, 10am (anticipated return 12pm)

Project Scope

It is the intent of these specifications to describe the work needed to perform non-native, invasive weed control (maintenance) on established riparian and wetland restoration project sites. Any variance from the specifications or standards of quality must be clearly pointed out in writing by the bidder.

Categories of work:

Mowing:

Deck mower and/or handheld brushcutter to mow vegetation in and around restoration plantings for proper growth of restoration plantings. May include vegetation such as blackberry species and grass species.

Reed Canarygrass Control:

May include mowing or stomping down grass around plantings to create space for proper growth of restoration plantings.

Blackberry removal:

Manual removal of blackberry roots from a planting area for proper growth of restoration plantings.

Invasive removal:

Manual removal of ivy and holly, including root systems for proper growth of restoration plantings.

Herbicide application:

Application of herbicide on select weed species (blackberry species, knotweed species, yellow flag iris, reed canarygrass, purple loosestrife, English holly, or poison hemlock) for proper growth of restoration plantings. Contractor must have at least one crew member present with a valid WSDA Herbicide Applicators license with an Aquatics endorsement.

Task Description, By Site

1. Chambers-Cushman & Days

Address: 48.014556, -122.032611, Russell Road, Snohomish, WA 98290 & 1511 Russell Road, Snohomish WA 98290

Work Categories: Blackberry removal, reed canarygrass control, herbicide application

Timeline: Work must be completed before the end of the contract/ September 30th, 2026

Description:

Contractor will manually remove blackberry from the two neighboring 4-acre plantings, the Buffer Area B area on the Chambers map and the entire area on the Days map, on the west side of the Pilchuck River. Focus will be on blackberry interspersed around planted trees and shrubs. Secondary focus will be any remaining blackberry plants not within 4ft of native trees and shrubs.

Contractor will control reed canarygrass at least twice during its growing season around native trees and shrubs. Reedcanary grass focus areas encompass less than one acre combined across the two sites.

Contractor will perform herbicide treatment on approximately 1 acre of knotweed spp. interspersed in the two planting areas. Water is not available onsite and contractor will need to source water for herbicide mixing and application. Glyphosate will be recommended. Native plantings will be occurring nearby, so special care needs to be taken to avoid off target damage. 

Contractor will be required to park close to and cross pasture where cows may be present.

2. Hare & O’Keefe

Address: 20320 10th Pl SE Snohomish, WA 98290

Work categories: blackberry removal, reed canarygrass control

Timeline: Work must be completed before the end of the contract/ September 30th, 2026

Description: Continued work removing blackberry from the project area. Blackberry is to be cut with brushcutters where it is thick or removed with hand tools where brushcutters are unnecessary. Only small areas need brushcutting. Blackberry roots are to be dug up.

Reed canary grass is to be stomped away from plantings at the end of the growing season to prevent it from crushing plants. The canary grass needs to be manually pushed away from plants well enough that there is open space next to the root collars of plants to prevent vole chew.

3. Jennings

Address: 6915 Armar Rd, Marysville, WA 98270

Work categories: reedcanary grass control, herbicide application

Timeline: Work must be completed before the end of the contract/ September 30th, 2026

Description: Contractor will control reedcanary grass throughout approximately three acres of riparian buffer at least twice during its growing season. Focus will be around recently planted trees and shrubs.

Contractor will perform herbicide treatment on one patch of knotweed. Native plantings will be occurring nearby, so special care needs to be taken to avoid off target damage. Water is not available onsite and contractor will need to source water for herbicide mixing and application.

The site is primarily reedcanary grass mats so caution should be used when traversing the site.

4. Pearce

Address: 6410 300th St NW, Stanwood, WA 98292

Work categories: Reed canarygrass control

Timeline: Work must be completed before the end of the contract/ September 30th, 2026

Description: Contractor will control reedcanary grass throughout approximately three acres of riparian buffer at least twice during its growing season.

5. Davis

Address: no recorded address, 48°16'07.6"N 121°53'01.2"W

Category: Mowing, Blackberry Removal, Herbicide Application

Timeline: Work must be completed before the end of the contract/ September 30th, 2026

Description: Contractor will control blackberry on the 1.2-acre site through a combination of mowing, manual removal, and herbicide (as needed). The planting is installed in rows with at least 5ft spacing between rows to accommodate a walk-behind brush mower or small tractor with mower attachment. The site is mostly flat and dry. Some plants recently installed and contractor will have to be careful not to damage seedlings.

6. Arlington Christian School

Address: 2425 200th St NE, Arlington, WA 98223

Work categories: Reedcanary grass control, blackberry control, herbicide application

Timeline: If we do a full herbicide application, an application in May for blackberry and an application in August for reedcanary grass would be recommended. Poison hemlock should be sprayed in the spring before it bolts - probably March or April. All work must be completed before the end of the contract/ September 30th, 2026

Description: Contractor will control reedcanary grass and blackberry throughout the entire two acre riparian buffer at least twice during its growing season plus poison hemlock herbicide application once. This site is in the maintenance phase, so work will be performed mostly with hand tools with potential for herbicide application depending on results of last year’s treatment and vegetative extent in spring 2026. Contractor should also perform maintenance on the access path including brushcutting blackberry and spraying blackberry regrowth and poison hemlock.

7. Peters

Address: 23106 Jordan Rd, Arlington, WA 98223

Work categories: Blackberry control, herbicide application

Timeline: Work must be completed before the end of the contract/ September 30th, 2026

Description: This is a 15.1 acres site that began restoration in 2023. Blackberry control may include brushcutting, grubbing, and herbicide application across 8 acres, though most of the work will likely be manual removal of blackberry and its root systems. Blackberry is sparse and short in most areas. Blackberry is interspersed in some areas with established salmonberry, elderberry, and dogwood, so attention to detail during brushcutting and herbicide application are required to avoid off-target damage to native plants. RCG control with herbicide should be performed twice, once in May and once in August, in life circles around plants on about 1.5 acres of the site.

Project Consideration Notes
The contractor will provide crew labor, transportation, equipment, and tools to complete project activities. 

SCD reserves the right to negotiate final project elements with successful contractors. Final award amount and scope may differ from what is described based on SCD's needs. SCD reserves the right to reject all quotes and make no award under this solicitation, or award less than the full amount of funding available, or award to multiple contractors.

SCD will accept quotes from contractors that include only a selection of the sites (e.g. quotes/bids for only four of the available sites, or only one site, etc.)

SCD will provide additional site maps, project photos, and other project details requested by the contractor. 

Contractors do not have permission to visit the sites outside of scheduled site visits. These are privately owned properties and access will be granted through SCD.

Environmental Compliance Notes
Snohomish Conservation District or landowners are responsible for obtaining all permits required for this work, including a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Aquatic Noxious Weed Control permit for herbicide applications near waterways. SCD will provide copies of permits to Contractors, although no permits are currently required for the project work outlined in this RFP other than the Aquatic Noxious Weed Control permit.

All project sites are subject to state and/or federal Cultural Resources Consultation (Executive Order 21-02 or Section 106 process of the National Historic Preservation Act, as well as Archaeological and Historic Preservation and discovery of remains laws and guidance. Each project site has an Inadvertent / Unanticipated Discovery Protocol, which will be provided to successful bidders during contracting. Snohomish Conservation District is responsible for any tribal notification before ground disturbance. Contractors will be responsible for watching a short training video from the Department of Ecology, knowing and following the IDP/UDP, and having the IDP/UDP on-site during project work. Contractors must halt work immediately and contact Snohomish Conservation District if a potential discovery is made during project activities.

Deliverables

Upon completion of contracted work, the contractor will provide the following deliverables:

1. Before and after photos, with at least two photos before and two photos after work is completed.

2. A report and/or an annotated map showing estimated maintained area in terms of acreage and number of treatments. The map may be a hand-annotated printed or digital map of the project map provided by SCD.

3. All reports and documents shall be provided in digital format (a scanned or photograph of a hand-annotated map is acceptable).

Timeframe

Please note the timeline considerations for the projects. If no timeline is noted, the timeframe for work is the same as the entire project period from May 1- September 30.

Exact starting dates are dependent on the contractor’s schedule.

The contractor will notify SCD of the planned dates of maintenance at least one week before the first day of work on site.

Selection Criteria

Factor	Weight Given
1. Budget	10 %
1. Ability to complete all the tasks in the SOW	35 %
1. Service provider’s familiarity and experience working on Washington State non-native weeds and invasive vegetation 2. Ability to take on multiple projects	35 % 20 %
Total Criteria Weight	100%

Minority, Women, and Veteran-Owned Businesses

Snohomish Conservation District encourages participation by minority and women-owned business enterprises certified by the Office of Minority and Women’s Business Enterprises (OMWBE); and veteran-owned businesses certified by the Department of Veteran’s Affairs (DVA). Please indicate in your proposal if your company is a OMWBE or DVA certified.

Funding Information

Budget

Up to $95,000 is available for this project. This includes all the tasks and deliverables described above in the Project Scope. Please include all costs when generating a budget.

All discussions of award funding level, scope, and project implementation schedules are preliminary until contracts are finalized. The contractor assumes full risks for any costs incurred prior to the execution of contracts.

SCD reserves the right to negotiate final project elements with successful applicants. Final award amount and scope may differ from what is proposed based on the needs of the program. SCD reserves the right to reject all proposals and make no award under this solicitation, or award less than the full amount of funding available.

Source of Funding

An agreement will be issued from SCD to the selected contractor and will be subject to the terms and conditions from the originating grants from Washington State Conservation Commission and Washington State Department of Ecology.

Method for Reimbursement

A fixed price contract will be issued with defined deliverables. Contractors will be reimbursed upon completion of each deliverable as agreed to in the contracted Statement of Work.

Application Submittal

All proposals must be submitted through the online submission form no later than March 16, 2026 @ 2:00 PM PDT.

Project Schedule: Propose an outline of tasks, products, and project schedule identifying key milestones to show completion can be met by deadline.

Budget: Provide budget information based on the proposed outline of tasks, products, and schedules.

List of Completed Similar Projects: provide a list of at least one, and not more than three, similar projects completed by the bidder or by individuals on the bidding team. Projects should be similar in scope (tasks, products, and size). Include a brief description of the project activities, size, location (county or city), and the hiring agency or organization (if it is not a project sponsored by the bidder).

Minority, Women, and Veteran-Owned Businesses Certification: Please indicate in your proposal if your company is a OMWBE or DVA certified.

Application Review Process

A selection committee will review and evaluate submissions based on proposed approach, budget, and relevant experience. If the committee is unable to select a single contractor, SCD shall arrange Zoom-based Q&A sessions with the 2 or 3 leading vendors. The outcome of those sessions can be used for the final decision.

Proposals will be rejected as non-responsive if they do not meet the intent of this solicitation.

APPENDIX A: PROJECT MAPS

Map 1: Chambers-Cushman & Days

Map 2: Hare & O’Keefe

Map 3: Jennings

Map 4: Pearce

Map 5: Davis Hedgerow Planting Project

Map 6: Arlington Christian School

Map 7: Peters