Request for Qualifications: The University is seeking a Registered Professional Forester and/or environmental professional consultant team to prepare a Wildfire Vegetation Management Plan (WVMP) for the University's main residential campus and the Westside Research Park, as well as conducting environmental review in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The University's main residential campus (approximately 2,000 acres in size) is located in
Santa Cruz County, along the northern coast of the Monterey Bay, approximately 70 miles south of the
city/county of San Francisco, 30 miles southwest of the city of San Jose, and 30 miles north of the city of
Monterey. Approximately 53 percent of the main residential campus is located within the city of Santa Cruz with
the remaining acreage located within unincorporated Santa Cruz County. The surrounding area includes open
space/natural areas to the east and west of the campus, with residential uses located to the southeast, south,
and southwest, and rural residential uses to the north of the campus boundary. The campus is surrounded by
the Wilder Ranch State Park to the west, rural residential land (including the Cave Gulch neighborhood) to the
north, Pogonip City Park with residential and some commercial development to the east, and primarily
residential development with the Westlake Elementary School and two churches to the south. The main residential campus generally consists of a series of relatively level marine terraces separated by steep
slopes with an overall elevation change of approximately 900 feet from south to north. The central and lower
portions of the main residential campus are divided into thirds by two steep north-south-trending drainages
(Jordan Gulch to the east and Moore Creek to the west) and their tributaries. These and other drainages (e.g.,
Cave Gulch and Wilder Creek) have formed ravines (as much as 70 feet deep and 350 feet wide) in certain areas
of the campus. The campus landscape is also similarly varied. The main entrance to the campus contains
expansive meadows, and the lower campus areas transition from redwood forests within the central campus to
chaparral and mixed evergreen forests as the elevation increases. The 18-acre Westside Research Park is located at 2300 Delaware Avenue on the west side of Santa Cruz within
the coastal zone. The Westside Research Park was developed in 1980 and first occupied by UC Santa Cruz in
2004. It comprises three buildings, which total 126,000 square feet, and 62,000 square feet of mechanical yards.
The site also includes parking and other facilities (e.g., outdoor storage space, parcourse, courtyard, paths, and
tennis courts). In all, the Westside Research Park site has approximately 800,000 square feet of existing
improvements. The Westside Research Park is currently used by UC Santa Cruz for administrative and academic
uses.
The method of Contractor Selection has not been Determined at this time.
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