The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department (VFWD) is seeking the services of a qualified engineering team with experience in environmental and/or civil engineering to provide bid management and construction oversight services and carry out the Scope of Work outlined below. All materials and documents, whether preliminary or final, provided in the Scope of Work shall become the property of the VFWD. Spring of 2025 the VFWD received a Watersheds United Vermont (WUV) Grant funded by the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, administered by Watersheds United Vermont, for implementation of a floodplain restoration project in Jeffersonville. This proposed project is located at Dorothy Smith Access Area off Route 108 North in Jeffersonville, owned, and managed by the VFWD. The VFWD is continuing its partnership with the Lamoille County Planning Commission for project coordination and grant management support services. This project will restore riparian habitat and floodplain access at the Dorothy Smith Access Area by reducing impervious surface along the parking lot, removing gravel built up on the floodplain, revegetating the floodplain, and maintaining river access via a walking path. This project will provide floodplain access, enhance flood resiliency, and reduce sedimentation and stormwater runoff into the Lamoille River. The Access Area is located upstream of the confluence with the Brewster River. This site has historically experienced streambank erosion, sedimentation, and nutrient loading, especially near the Fishing Access Area. This site was identified as a priority in the 2021 Cambridge Stormwater Master Plan and recognized as an erosion hot spot. Floodplain restoration on this Vermont Fish and Wildlife parcel will provide storage for flood water, ice, and debris. Located immediately upstream of the Route 108 bridge, this parcel provides a crucial location for ice, debris, and sediment to settle out, to reduce sedimentation inputs into the Lamoille and Brewster River. The proposed floodplain cut/restoration area represents a volume of 470 cubic yards over an area of 11,500 square feet. The excavation depth ranges from 0.5 - 2.2 feet. No change is to take place to the riverbank below OHW. The existing site is largely covered in gravel and impervious surface, hindering floodplain function, riparian vegetation, and causing sedimentation and nutrient loading into the Lamoille River. Improving floodplain access and function in this location will reduce sedimentation inputs into the Lamoille and Brewster River. This restoration project will yield a .17-acre reduction in impervious surface along the existing Access Area parking lot and increase vegetation while providing a natural disconnection location for stormwater runoff. See attached 100% design plans and memo prepared by SLR International Corporation.
