Habitat Feature Assessment of North Dartmoor SSSI

North Dartmoor, covering over 13,400ha, contains one of the largest areas of upland semi-natural habitat in southern Britain and is particularly important for western blanket bog and mixed valley mire communities. The requirement of this contract is to: 1) collect data on designated habitat features blanket bog and valley bog, wet heath, acid grassland and sub-alpine dwarf shrub heath across all units of North Dartmoor SSSI; 2) provide a supporting unit commentary to inform feature condition assessments for each unit; 3) record pressures affecting the SSSI features; and 4) capture vegetation data to assess winter grazing pressure. This data will give Natural England an understanding of designated habitat feature condition across the area of SSSI assessed, as well as an understanding of variation in condition within the SSSI and management pressures which may be influencing condition. The results will be used by Natural England to undertake a Common Standards (CSM) assessment of the condition of the features of the SSSI and an assessment of impacts of winter grazing.

Additional information: To apply for this opportunity you must submit your quotation meeting the requirements detailed in the Request for Quotation (RFQ) attached. Your response must be sent to david.hazlehurst@naturalengland.org.uk by 12 midday on 08/12/23.

If you have any clarification questions linked to this opportunity or the procurement process please submit these via email to david.hazlehurst@naturalengland.org.uk. Please note that, unless commercially sensitive, both the question and the response will be circulated to all tenderers.

PLEASE NOTE:

If you do not have access to iPads and NESS, Natural England can provide the survey form through Field Maps, and can provide temporary accounts for this. A tablet/smart phone will be required in order to download and use the app. Failing that, NE can provide excel forms for you to fill out, paper would be an further option but the records would require typing up afterwards.