Habitat Restoration at River Bluffs Open Space

Location:	Colorado
Posted:	Feb 24, 2026
Due:	Mar 27, 2026
Agency:	Larimer County
Type of Government:	State & Local
Category:	F - Natural Resources and Conservation Services
Solicitation No:	P26-04
Publication URL:	To access bid details, please log in.

Attachment Preview

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP)

RFP #P26-04

Habitat Restoration at River Bluffs Open Space - Fossil Creek Phase

RFP SUMMARY:

To consider contracting with one (1) Architect/Engineer firm (Consultant) to provide ecological

restoration design, development construction drawings, construction permitting, schematic design

options, design development, construction documents, and other related services, as needed, for

the River Bluffs Open Space Restoration and Resiliency Project – Fossil Creek phase.

A PRE-PROPOSAL CONFERENCE to familiarize vendors with the scope of work will be held on March 11,

2026 at 11:00 AM MT. Please arrive early and park at the River Bluffs trailhead, located at 6370 E County

Road 32 E, Windsor, CO

(google.com/maps/place/River+Bluffs+Open+Space/@40.486084,-

104.9610869,804m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x876eb23ef192fe4d:0xb6f50e2d461bf674!8m2!3d40.486084!4d-

104.958512!16s%2Fg%2F11cmyth2bt?entry=tts&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDEyOC4wIPu8ASoASAFQAw%3D%3D&skid=c161ccea-bff6-4218-a632-

11b686ba6cba).

This pre-proposal meeting will include a site-tour and will last approximately one (1) to two (2)

hours. Attendees should dress in weather-appropriate clothing and shoes as this meeting will be

outdoors. Please be sure you have reviewed this Request for Proposal prior to this pre-proposal

meeting. Vendors are requested (not required) to attend and participate in the meeting.

*** THIS WILL BE THE ONLY OPPORTUNITY TO VIEW THE SITE WITH COUNTY STAFF ***

** NO OTHER MEETING WILL BE CONDUCTED **

QUESTION DEADLINE: March 17, 2026 @ 10:00 a.m. (MT)

All questions regarding this solicitation must be emailed to the Contact Person identified below. If you do not

receive a confirmation email of receipt, please call the Contact Person to verify receipt of your questions. No

questions will be accepted after the date and time referenced above. All questions received will be answered

via Addendum only.

DEADLINE FOR SUBMITTALS: March 27, 2026 @ 2:00 p.m. (MT)

The Board of Larimer County Commissioners will only be accepting proposals electronically submitted via the

Rocky Mountain E-Purchasing System (BidNet, BidNet Direct) portal, up to the date and time referenced

above, at which time they will be recorded, but not publicly opened on behalf of the Natural Resources

Department.

BIDNET PORTAL / RFP OFFICIAL WEBSITE:

To submit your proposal and view official solicitation documents and addenda only available on the BidNet

portal, use the following link: https://www.bidnetdirect.com/colorado/larimer-county/

CONTACT PERSON:

Purchasing Agent Les Brown, brownxld@co.larimer.co.us, 970-498-5954

NOTE: Unauthorized contact with a County employee other than the Contact Person listed above or

Purchasing Manager regarding this RFP may result in disqualification of your Proposal.

Page 1 of 12

1. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR PROPOSERS:

1.1 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Disclosure:

Portions of this solicitation may have been prepared or modified with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

technologies. All such content has been reviewed, verified, and approved for accuracy and compliance by the

Purchasing Agent prior to issuance.

1.2 Cooperative Use

Other governmental entities may piggyback on the award of this solicitation, assuming the award vendor is

amenable, and should contact Larimer County Purchasing for any necessary procurement documents. The

entity will deal directly with the award vendor concerning the placement of Purchase Orders, freight charges,

contracting and disputes, invoicing, and payment. Larimer County will not be held liable or responsible for any

liability, claims, costs, damages, demands, actions, losses, judgments or expenses incurred by the vendor or

any government entity relating to such use.

1.3 Equal Opportunity Employer (EEO) / Disadvantaged Business Opportunities:

Larimer County, in accordance with Federal and State laws, is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not

discriminate. Larimer County strongly encourages the use of small and minority firms, women's business

enterprises, and labor surplus area firm services.

Larimer County hereby notifies all Proposers they will be afforded full and fair opportunity to submit a Proposal

in response to this RFP and they will not be discriminated against on the basis of age 40 and over, race, sex

(including pregnancy), color, religion, national origin, disability, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender

identity, gender expression, military or veteran status, or any other applicable status protected by Federal,

State, or local law in consideration for award.

1.4 Payment:

Payment for work performed or goods sold to Larimer County can be expected within 30 days after receipt of

the invoice and satisfactory acceptance by the Department receiving the service or goods (unless otherwise

stated and agreed to by County).

1.5 Proposal Consideration:

Larimer County reserves the right to reject any and or all proposals, to further negotiate with any and/or all

qualified proposers and to waive informalities and irregularities in proposals received, and to accept any

portion of the proposal if deemed to be in the best interest of Larimer County to do so. If, in the sole judgment

of the Board of County Commissioners, the proposals are substantially equal, the Board may grant the contract

to companies located in Larimer County, however this is not applicable in the case that Federal funds are

used.

1.6 Proposal Preparation:

Proposers will not be compensated for generating, producing, or duplicating any proposal materials associated

with this RFP. Proposals must be furnished exclusive of any Federal, State, or Local taxes; Larimer County is

tax exempt.

1.7 Proposal Submission:

Proposers must be registered with BidNet in order to submit a proposal; registration is free. Larimer County

strongly recommends proposers register well in advance of the submittal deadline to ensure they have

adequate time to upload and submit their proposal.

It is the sole responsibility of the Proposer to ensure all required Proposal documents are submitted through

BidNet by the submission deadline. Proposals will be time-stamped by BidNet upon receipt; BidNet does not

allow for uploading or submitting Proposal documents after the Proposal submittals deadline has passed, so

allow adequate time to upload and submit your Proposal prior to the deadline. Larimer County will not accept

uploads that are “saved” but not “submitted”. To verify that a Proposal has been submitted successfully,

Page 2 of 12

Proposers may contact BidNet Support, or verify, via the Proposal Management tab in the Proposer’s account,

that the documents are not in “Draft” status.

Proposers are required to submit one (1) non-redacted proposal. All parts of the proposal should be

combined and submitted as one (1) single .pdf file; proposals comprised of multiple separate files are

not acceptable and your proposal may be rejected.

By submitting a proposal, the proposer agrees they may not rescind their proposal on or after the closing date

and time identified in the RFP or as modified by addendum. No delivery will become due or be accepted until

an agreement has been completed either in the form of a formal executed contract, or a purchase order issued

by the Purchasing Manager of Larimer County. Prices and terms will remain in effect until a contract has

been executed.

1.8 Public Records:

Proposers may choose to also provide one (1) redacted .pdf proposal (as one single file), excluding any

information that is not subject to disclosure under the Colorado Open Records Act (“CORA”), such as trade

secrets, privileged information and confidential commercial, financial, geological or geophysical data exempt

from public disclosure under C.R.S. §§ 24-72-204(3)(a)(IV). Statements that the entire proposal is confidential

will not be honored. After the Notice of Award has been issued, all information submitted in response to this

request for proposal (RFP) may be publicly disclosed if required under the CORA. If provided, the redacted

electronic copy will be used to satisfy CORA requests. Proposers that do not provide a redacted electronic

copy will have their non-redacted electronic copy used to satisfy CORA requests. Larimer County will

endeavor to keep the non-redacted proposal, separate and apart from the redacted proposal subject to the

provisions of CORA or Order of Court.

1.9 Reasonable Accommodations:

Per the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Larimer County will provide reasonable accommodation to

qualified individuals with a disability who need assistance. Services can be arranged with at least seven (7)

business days’ notice. Please email the Contact Person listed on the page 1 or call Relay Colorado

711. “Walk-in” requests for auxiliary aids and services will be honored to the extent possible but may be

unavailable if advance notice is not provided.

1.10 Regulatory and Legal Compliance Requirements:

No vendor awarded a solicitation will be federally debarred. Such debarment will be checked through the

System for Award Management, at www.sam.gov.

All businesses, organizations, and individuals contracting with Larimer County must comply with Title II of the

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended. For more information on these requirements and to read

the full Title II text, please go to the following web page: https://www.ada.gov/ada_title_II.htm.

The Keep Jobs in Colorado Act (§ 8-17-101, et. seq., C.R.S.) requires that contractors who work on a public

works project financed in whole or in part by the state, counties, school districts, or municipalities of Colorado,

meet the 80% Colorado labor requirement on that public works project, as defined in § 8-19- 102(2), C.R.S.

See https://cdle.colorado.gov/dlss/labor-laws-by-topic/job-postings-and-hiring/keep-jobs-in-colorado-act for

more information regarding this Act, which applies to Public Works projects only. The definition of

Public Works along with other “Frequently Asked Questions” about this Act may be found at:

https://cdle.colorado.gov/sites/cdle/files/Keep%20Jobs%20in%20Colorado%20FAQs%20October%202020%2

0accessible.pdf

The Proposer certifies that by submitting an offer, neither the contractor nor subcontractors, the organization

nor its principals are suspended or debarred or otherwise excluded from procurement by the Federal

government and do not appear on the Excluded Parties List System (EPLS) maintained by the General

Services Administration (GSA).

Page 3 of 12

2. BACKGROUND:

In 2004, River Bluffs Open Space (RBOS) was acquired by the Larimer County Natural Resources Department

(LCDNR) to protect a section of the Lower Poudre River, extend the Poudre River Trail, and provide public

recreational access. The City of Greeley holds a conservation easement on the property in perpetuity, which

prevents further development of the property other than agricultural production and public access facilities.

In 2018, LCDNR oversaw the design, implementation, and monitoring of a large-scale restoration

project along the Poudre River at River Bluffs Open Space. The project has been highly successful due to

utilizing natural river processes and natural materials to establish microhabitats for improved biodiversity, while

accommodating natural flow regimes for long-term performance and flood resilience.

Fossil Creek flows into the Poudre River from the west and was previously re-aligned and channelized to

create an irrigated hay field, which altered its natural flow and compromised the ecological integrity of the

riparian areas in the open space. In 2024, LCDNR contracted with an environmental engineering firm to

develop a

conceptual restoration design for Fossil Creek and the surrounding area at RBOS, including agricultural fields

that will no longer be irrigated for crop production, see Exhibit A - Conceptual Restoration Design.

3. PROJECT OVERVIEW:

Larimer County is seeking to contract with an Architectural/Engineering firm (Consultant) to develop final

construction plans for realigning Fossil Creek to its historic channel and to reconnect it to its floodplain. The

project design will employ a variety of restoration methods and techniques to improve the creek’s water quality,

enhance flow, and create a healthy riparian corridor at River Bluffs Open Space in Windsor, Colorado.

River Bluffs Open Space is in Larimer County near the Town of Windsor, CO (40.485574N. -104.961401W).

For additional information on River Bluffs Open Space, please visit

https://www.larimer.gov/naturalresources/parks/river-bluffs

The Colorado Water Conservation Board awarded Larimer County a Watershed Restoration & Recreation

Water Plan grant (Exhibit B - Grant Award Letter CMS #202666) to create the final design for a restoration and

re-channelization project at River Bluffs Open Space.

The final project design will focus on improving habitats creating wetlands and promoting natural riparian and

ecological processes. By realigning Fossil Creek to its historic channel, this will facilitate floodplain restoration

across a large area of the current upland agricultural field. The realignment will provide an added benefit of

connecting into the Grantee’s 2019 restoration efforts, ensuring perennial flows to these previously restored

areas and increase the likelihood of returning to beaver meadow habitat over time. Beaver activity has been

observed along this reach of the Poudre River, which is a positive sign that beavers may return once this

iteration of the restoration is complete.

The primary objectives of this project are to:

• Design the realignment of Fossil Creek to its historic location and reconnect it to its floodplain.

• Design a wetland along Fossil Creek between the Poudre River and East County Road 3 for improved

habitat and water quality.

• Design floodplain enhancement to encourage natural riparian and ecological processes..

• Design Fossil Creek to tie into the Grantee’s 2019 river restoration project.

4. QUALIFICATIONS:

Qualifications, at a minimum, include the following and should be documented explicitly in the Consultant’s

proposal:

1. Consultant must have Architect(s)/Engineer(s) with current Colorado state license(s).

2. Consultant must have completed a river restoration project, similar in scale and scope to our project, within

the past five (5) years.

Page 4 of 12

3. Consultant must have experience and successes using bio-stabilization techniques on a project of similar

size.

4. Consultant must have experience securing and keeping current regulatory permitting.

5. Consultant must have experience developing a maintenance and monitoring plan to help ensure

restoration success.

6. Consultant should have experience working with grant-funded projects.

5. SCOPE OF WORK:

The Consultant shall, at a minimum, provide, perform, and/or furnish the following:

1. Project Management and Meetings

The Consultant shall coordinate the work of the Consultant Project Team, document progress, provide

communication with the County Project Team, and present project results including the following work

items:

1.1. The Consultant’s Project Manager shall be the primary point of contact and will coordinate the work

effort, resources, communications, document production, and billings on behalf of the Consultant.

1.2. The Consultant shall conduct a project kickoff meeting with the County Project Team, including a site

visit where work will be performed to thoroughly review existing conditions and site needs.

1.3. The Consultant will attend meetings with the County Project Team to discuss work tasks and solicit

input. Other key Consultant team members shall participate in-person or via teleconferencing as

necessary.

1.4. The Consultant shall attend, facilitate, and provide presentation materials for up to three (3) staff,

board and/or public meetings, and will assist in explaining/presenting the project and addressing

questions and concerns.

1.5. The Consultant shall propose a schedule for and facilitate/lead regularly scheduled meetings with

County Project Team.

1.6. The Consultant shall attend and contribute to all Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) meetings and

any additional meetings arranged by the County Project Team.

1.6.1. The TAC, which may include representatives from the City of Greeley, the Town of Windsor,

and the Coalition for the Poudre River Watershed and other stakeholders, will meet 1-2 times

throughout the process to provide comments and recommendations on draft and final construction

plans, the maintenance and monitoring plan, and other project tasks as necessary.

1.7. The Consultant shall work closely with the County Project Team, communicating regularly via email,

phone, during meetings, and at the project site.

1.8. The Consultant shall prepare time schedules for final design and construction documents.

1.9. The Consultant shall present draft and final construction drawings and design specifications.

1.10. The Consultant will provide the County Project Team 48-hour notice of any activities which may

impact public use of the trailhead and trail system in order to allow the County, at their discretion, to

either close the property to the public for a short time period or otherwise manage the property for

public safety and use.

1.11.

Given this property is open to the public at both a trailhead and a trail, Consultant will be

courteous and professional in all interactions on-site with the public.

1.12.

All public inquiries should be directed to the County Project Team.

2. SITE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT DOCUMENTS

The Consultant shall prepare a full and complete set of construction contract documents for the

project. The Consultant shall provide the following as part of this task:

2.1. Design Process

Develop plans and specifications for County Project Team to review and provide comments. At each

review step, the County Project Team will consolidate comments into one (1) package and forward to

Consultant for review.

2.2. Architectural/Engineering Design

Produce Architectural/Engineering plans for project. This process will require close coordination with

existing County Project Team.

2.3. Develop Pre-Construction Information

Page 5 of 12

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

Due Date	Number	Title	Documents	Contact
2026-03-27	P26-04	Habitat Restoration at River Bluffs Open Space - Fossil Creek Phase	Bid Doc	Les Brown, Purchasing Agent brownxld@larimer.org 970-498-5954

Habitat Restoration at River Bluffs Open Space - Fossil Creek Phase

Attachment Preview

See also