1. Statement of Need

The Minnesota Land Trust (the “Land Trust”) is seeking one private contractor (“Contractor”) to create baseline documentation reports for purposes of completing conservation easement projects across Minnesota.

2. Background

The Land Trust is a private, non-profit corporation that protects and restores Minnesota’s most vital natural lands in order to provide wildlife habitat, clean water, outdoor experiences and scenic beauty for generations to come. The conservation easements held by the Land Trust are perpetual interests in real property that impose restrictions on the use and development of the property to protect wildlife habitat, water resources, and/or scenic heritage.

The Land Trust currently holds over 755 conservation easements protecting more than 84,000 acres and over 550 miles of shoreline habitat. The Land Trust conducts land protection work within 11 conservation program areas across Minnesota and completes conservation projects in these areas using funding in large part awarded through the State of Minnesota’s Outdoor Heritage Fund and Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund.

A critical step in the conservation easement process is the creation of the baseline documentation for a new easement.  Baseline documentation provides background information against which the property is monitored and evaluated over time to determine if there has been a violation of the terms of the easement. The Land Trust must adhere to standards for accredited Land Trusts as well comply with the requirements of our public grants.  As our easement work has grown, we are seeking to outsource a portion of our baseline work. The selected Contractor must adhere to these same high standards. Applicants should be familiar with the technical requirements of a baseline and the experience in developing technical documents, field work, map creation, and maintaining GIS files to help in completing conservation easements to advance these initiatives and meet grant deliverables.  

3. Scope of Services

Geographic Areas of Work

The selected Contractor will provide baseline documentation reports complete associated field work across Minnesota. The Contractor is expected to physically visit assigned properties as part of their work.  Properties will be located within these priority regions:

• Southeast Minnesota Blufflands
• Twin Cities Metro Area
• Sauk River Watershed
• Hardwood Hills of Central Minnesota
• West-central Minnesota’s Prairie Pothole Region
• Anoka Sand Plain Ecoregion
• Prairie Coteau and Minnesota River Valley of Southwest Minnesota
• Mississippi Headwaters Region
• St. Croix River Watershed
• Northeast Minnesota

Contract Duration

The length of the contract will be based on the level of experience related to the field of conservation easements and prior work experience in conjunction with the Land Trust.

Expected Deliverables and Workload:

The Contractor will be assigned specific properties and will deliver baseline documentation reports that accurately document the condition of the property at the time the conservation easement is granted. Baseline documentation reports will resemble this example.

The deliverables are generally described below, including but not limited to the following:

• Complete an average of 4 to 6 baseline documentation reports per month during the contracted year.
• Conduct site visits to assigned properties, communicating with the landowner to schedule the visit.
• Collect field data including: GPS points, tracks, and photos of natural communities, environmental concerns, and manmade features such as trails, roads, fences, buildings, and other improvements.
• Document properties through the production of GIS maps and pertinent technical information from a variety of sources and records.
• Produce written baseline documentation reports that contain information such as:
  • Location of the property;
  • Description of the surrounding area and the context in which the property is located;
  • An overview of the natural features, vegetation or land cover, water features, and flora and fauna associated with the property;
  • Natural history and land use history, including current uses of the property;
  • Locations of existing and future roads, trails, buildings, fences, and other improvements.
• Work that is submitted and any associated expenses must adhere to the record-keeping requirements of the Land Trust.

Land Trust Onboarding

At the beginning of the contract period, the Land Trust will provide training on its processes and templates in order to meet the requirements for conservation easements and publicly-funded activities. 

Requirement:

Minimum requirements include:

• Experience with baseline documentation that demonstrates strong technical writing skills and solid scientific knowledge of and field experience with landscapes and natural resources of Minnesota.
• Demonstrated proficiency with developing mapping information and creating descriptive and informative maps.
• Comprehensive professional liability insurance for the duration of this agreement with a minimum of $1,000,000 in coverage.
• Willingness to comply with the Land Trust’s standards for documentation.
• A respectful approach to communications with Land Trust staff and landowners.

4. Time & Effort

This contract is a reimbursable time and expense contract. The Land Trust expects to select one Contractor by June 1, 2025, and all Contractors will be notified at that time. The final contract scope, award amount, and duration will be based on grant funding available and criteria set forth earlier in this RFP. Any change to the contract will be subject to the approval of the Land Trust, may require an amendment to the contract, and will depend on necessity, availability of grant funding, and quality of work exhibited by the Contractor. Contractor must submit monthly invoices that include the detail of hours spent per project and any expenses incurred with appropriate documentation. The Land Trust will reimburse all reasonable travel expenses and will pay the IRS rate for associated mileage.