Marbled Murrelet Audio Visual Surveys

2026-11-03

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife ( CDFW ) is seeking a Contractor to perform biological surveys . CDFW received a State Wildlife Grant in 2025 to develop new and improved survey techniques for determining Marbled Murrelet presence and presumed absence within coastal forest habitats in Northern California . To achieve this goal , CDFW will perform a comparison study of two separate survey methods : audio - visual ( AV ) and passive acoustic ( ARU ) surveys to assist in determining which survey method would be preferable based on survey accuracy , geographic scale , project costs , time management , and field logistics . The Contractor will perform the AV surveys , which are necessary for CDFW to perform a direct comparison with ARU surveys . Scope of Work A . Background and Objectives CDFW received a State Wildlife Grant in 2025 to develop new and improved survey techniques for determining Marbled Murrelet presence and presumed absence within coastal forest habitats in Northern California . To achieve this goal , CDFW will perform a comparison study of two separate survey methods : audio - visual ( AV ) and passive acoustic ( ARU ) surveys to assist in determining which survey method would be preferable based on survey accuracy , geographic scale , project costs , time management , and field logistics . The Contractor will perform the AV surveys , which are necessary for CDFW to perform a direct comparison with ARU surveys . The ARU surveys and comparison analysis will be performed by CDFW outside of this contract . B . Work to be Performed 1 . The Contractor will provide the following services : a ) Task 1 : Meetings i . The Contractor will be required to schedule , attend and participate in meetings with CDFW virtually in Microsoft ( MS ) Teams , Zoom or in - person at the following milestones : a . Virtual Pre - Season Meeting within ten ( 10 ) business days of contract execution . b . In - Person first field visit at each of the twelve ( 12 ) survey strata prior to conducting the 2026 AV Surveys . The field visits will be held no later than April 15 , 2026 , unless otherwise approved by the Contract Manager in writing . c . Virtual mid - season meeting ( On or about June 2026 as agreed upon by the Contractor and Contract Manager .) d . Virtual meeting to debrief the 2026 field season will be no later than September 30 , 2026 . e . Virtual Pre - Season Meeting no later than March 15 , 2027 . f . In - Person field visit at each of the twelve ( 12 ) survey strata prior to conducting the 2027 AV Surveys . The field visits will be held no later than April 15 , 2027 , unless otherwise approved by the Contract Manager in writing . g . Virtual mid - season meeting ( On or about June 2027 as agreed upon by the Contractor and Contract Manager .) h . Virtual meeting to debrief the 2027 field season will be no later than September 30 , 2027 . ii . Objectives and Deliverables : • Project planning , coordination and debriefing before , during and after each field season . The Contractor will schedule , attend and participate in each meeting . b ) Task 2 : Conduct AV Surveys i . The Contractor will conduct AV surveys during the critical breeding period for Marbled Murrelet ( April 15 – August 5 ) over a 2 - year period from 2026 to 2027 during the same seasonal timeframe each year . The Contractor will perform AV surveys during the same temporal period as ARU surveys . The ARU survey timeframe will be pre - determined by CDFW . CDFW will provide the timeframe for the pre - season meetings . The AV surveys will be performed within twelve ( 12 ) field survey locations ( Strata ; see Figure ). Strata defined under the new Pacific Seabird Group ( PSG ) survey protocol are predetermined survey areas <= 61 hectares .

California

2026-03-27