EPRO2021-011 - EPRO2021-011 Harbours Ecological Inventory and Rating

The Capital Regional District ("CRD") invites detailed proposals from consultants to conduct an intertidal and backshore Harbours Ecological Inventory and Rating of the five core area harbours of the capital region.

Background
In 1999 the Capital Regional District (CRD) contracted a consultant to conduct an ecological inventory (backshore and intertidal) of Esquimalt and Victoria harbours, Portage Inlet, the Gorge Waterway and Esquimalt Lagoon. A subtidal survey of the same harbour areas was also completed as a separate contract. This data was incorporated into the online Harbours Atlas, at the time an innovative use of new Geographic Information System (GIS) technology. Data was also used to classify and rank shorelines for their ecological value and vulnerability to development pressure.

The CRD intends to update the ecological inventory (i.e. biological and physical features) and ecological ratings of the backshore, intertidal and subtidal areas of the five harbour areas in order to provide updated spatial data to meet the needs of municipal partners and community user groups. The updated data will be displayed in the CRD Harbours Atlas. In support of this, the CRD hired a consultant in 2019 to conduct a pilot study to test three remote sensing methodologies to determine the most accurate, economically efficient, and repeatable method to update the ecological inventory in the backshore and intertidal zone. Orthophotography was determined to be the most practical and economical technology. The CRD collected 4 cm resolution, 4-band Red-Green-Blue (RGB), Near Infrared (NIR) low tide, orthophoto imagery in July 2020 to be used for the updated inventory. This scope of services includes an intertidal and backshore inventory and is based on the results of the 2019 pilot study. The subtidal invent