Request for Proposals (RFP)
Stillwater River Basin Master Study
Stillwater County, MT

1. Purpose of RFP
Stillwater County seeks proposals from qualified, interdisciplinary teams to complete a basin-wide master study for the Stillwater River and its major tributaries (including East and West Rosebud). The study will:

• Document 2022-style flood, erosion, and sedimentation hazards;
• Quantify current and future riverine risks (including post-fire and debris-flow scenarios);
• Prioritize action areas and develop concept-level, grant-ready mitigation projects that protect life safety, critical infrastructure, working lands, and community lifelines; and
• Deliver a practicable implementation and funding plan aligned to state and federal grant programs.

A central success criterion is a clear, defensible prioritization that focuses on sediment accumulation, coarse bedload, and channel migration hazards along with related threats to property, roads/bridges, utilities, and irrigation systems.

2. Scope of Work
The County expects the selected team to deliver the following tasks and products. Offerors may propose refinements that maintain intent while improving value.

Task A. Project Management & Quality Assurance (PM/QA)

• Detailed Project Management Plan (PMP) with schedule, risk register, and communications plan.
• Monthly status reports; cost-to-complete; action logs.
• Data governance and reproducibility (documented models, metadata, versioning).
• Deliverables: PMP; monthly reports; meeting notes; final closeout report.

Task B. Basin Characterization & Data Assembly

• Compile LiDAR/DEM and 2-D terrain; hydrography; land-use/land-cover; recent wildfire burn scars; critical facilities and lifelines.
• Develop a consolidated asset and exposure inventory (transportation, utilities, irrigation, public facilities).
• Deliverables: GIS basemap and geodatabase; technical memo (methods, sources, gaps).

Task C. Hydrologic & Hydraulic (H&H) Analysis

• Calibrate a distributed rainfall-runoff model to the June 10–13, 2022 event using available gage and climate records.
• Simulate 2-, 10-, 50-, 100-, and 500-year flow scenarios including rain-on-snow and post-fire conditions.
• Produce depth, velocity, and hazard grids suitable for consequence analysis and project screening.
• Deliverables: Model files; calibration summary; flow-frequency curves; depth/velocity rasters; tech memo.

Task D. Geomorphic & Sediment Assessment

• Field reconnaissance of avulsions, bank failures, debris/large-wood jams; map erosion hotspots and sediment sources/sinks.
• Develop a reach-scale sediment budget and narrative of channel dynamics (migration, incision, aggradation).
• Deliverables: Erosion-hotspot atlas (maps + photos); sediment budget; geomorphic assessment memo.

Task E. Risk & Consequence (Loss) Analysis

• Overlay hazard grids with assets to estimate annualized damages, life-safety exposure, critical-facility downtime, and agricultural impacts.
• Generate benefit-cost inputs (event damages, depth-damage curves, frequencies) to support project screening and future grant applications.
• Deliverables: Risk heat maps; tabular results; BCA input workbook; methods memo.

Task F. Mitigation Alternatives & Concept Development

• Co-develop a long-list of structural and non-structural measures; screen via multi-criteria analysis.
• Prepare 30% concept-level drawings and Opinions of Probable Cost (OPCs) for shortlisted concepts, emphasizing fixes for sediment-driven hazards (e.g., set-back revetments, bar/side-channel reconnection, debris-jam management, bridge retrofits, targeted elevations).
• Deliverables: Alternative screening matrix; 30% concepts; OPCs; permitting and constructability notes.

Task G. Stakeholder & Public Engagement

• Engagement plan with roles, goals, and equity considerations.
• Facilitate at least three public workshops (upper Stillwater, East Rosebud, West Rosebud) plus targeted briefings (USFS, MDT, ranchers, utilities).
• Provide a public-facing participation portal (story map, surveys) and maintain a comment log.
• Deliverables: Engagement plan; materials; workshop summaries; comment log; web-ready content.

Task H. Prioritization, Implementation & Funding Plan

• Score candidate projects using weighted criteria (life-safety, critical infrastructure protection, BCR potential, feasibility/permitting, multi-benefits, partner readiness).
• Bundle projects into Tier 1 (0–3 yr), Tier 2 (3–5 yr), Tier 3 (5–10 yr) portfolios with sequencing, permitting path, and match strategy.
• Prepare grant-ready fact sheets and a 5-year capital program linked to FEMA BRIC/FMA, DNRC, NRCS, and other sources.
• Deliverables: Prioritized action plan; grant calendar; project fact sheets.

Task I. Final Documentation & Data Package

• Administrative Draft Master Study; Revised Draft; Final Master Study (searchable PDF + native formats).
• GIS package (FGDB/GeoPackage), models, and metadata; reproducible scripts/notebooks where used.
• Executive Summary and public summary sheets suitable for boards and community distribution.
• Deliverables: Final report; data/model package; executive/public summaries.

3. Proposal Requirements (Organization & Content)
Submit one (1) signed original PDF and one (1) redacted PDF for public release. Proposals shall not exceed 30 pages (excl. covers, tabs, resumes, forms).

1. Cover Letter (1 page): Commitment to 18-month schedule and not-to-exceed budget.
2. Project Understanding & Key Issues (2–3 pages): Basin context; sediment/channel migration challenges; data gaps.
3. Technical Approach & Work Plan (6–10 pages): Methods by task; QA/QC; modeling platforms; field strategy; engagement plan; risk management.
4. Team & Capacity (3–5 pages): Org chart; role matrix; availability; Montana and Rocky Mountain riverine experience.
5. Relevant Experience (3–6 pages): Up to 6 similar watershed/basin master plans with scope, budget, dates, client contact, and outcomes (prioritization and concept development emphasized).
6. Schedule (1–2 pages): Gantt with key milestones and staffing plan.
7. Cost Proposal (separate attachment): Task-level fixed prices and loaded hourly back-up; assumptions; optional services.
8. References: Please include no more than three (3) client references for similar work performed in the past five (5) years.
9. Forms: Signed certifications; exceptions; required insurance.

Public Records: All submittals are subject to the Montana Public Records Act. Indicate any proposed redactions in the redacted PDF.

4. Budget Framework (for Offerors)

The County’s total budget ceiling for plan development is $230,000. Proposer should develop and submit their budget not-to-exceed this amount. Offerors must submit a detailed, task-based Proposed Project Budget and Milestone Schedule as a component of their proposal.

Your submittal must include:

• A fixed price by task (with brief assumptions), summing to a not-to-exceed total of $230,000;
• A milestone schedule that identifies each deliverable, the associated payment amount, and the planned completion month;
• Any optional/alternate services priced separately; and
• Key cost assumptions (data collection, travel, field time, subcontractors).

Please use (or adapt) the following template table in your Cost Proposal attachment:

The County may invite top-ranked firms to interviews and/or request BAFOs. The County reserves the right to award without discussions.

Project timeline:
Project start: March 2026
Project completion: December 2026
Project delivery: January 2027

Completed Proposals may be submitted to:
Stillwater County – Attn: David Stamey – Stillwater County DES
Via mail: PO Box 795 Columbus, MT 59019
Via email:

Submissions are due before the COB on Friday 23 January 2026