CONSERVATION BANK PURCHASE OF PANTHER HABITAT UNITS FOR THE ARTHREX PROJECT AT SOUTHWEST FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (RSW)

Lee County Port Authority (hereafter “Authority”) requests bids from interested parties qualified to provide the goods and/or perform the services described herein. The Authority reserves the right to extend the date and time the bids are due at the sole discretion of the Authority when deemed to be in the best interest of the Authority.

The Authority is soliciting competitive bids from interested and qualified Conservation/Mitigation Bankers to furnish the Panther Habitat Units to serve as habitat compensation for the Arthrex Project at Southwest Florida International Airport.

All services to be provided or performed must be in full accordance with the requirements of the RFB and any agreement entered into with the Authority.

All questions and/or requests for clarifications for this project are to be submitted through OpenGov. Responses must be submitted in OpenGov, prior to the deadline for submission. Bidders are responsible for taking all necessary steps to ensure that their response is uploaded before the due date and time. The Authority is not responsible for technology and/or any other issues that cause the RFB submission deadline to be missed.

Background

SCOPE OF WORK
Impacts to Florida panther habitat resulting from the Arthrex Project has resulted in the Authority’s need for 443 Panther Habitat Units (PHUs) as assessed under the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Department Services (USFWS) Florida Panther Habitat Assessment Method under USFWS Technical Assistance request 2025-0148202.

However, formal Section 7 consultation may be initiated in the future for this project, which would be reviewed under a new Section 7 application number that is unknown at this time.If applicable, wood stork habitat compensation that comes with the purchase of PHUs, should be noted on the bid schedule. However, wood stork habitat compensation associated with PHUs will not be considered when determining the low bid.

If for any reason, the Authority is unable to, or elects not to, use the credits for the Project, the Authority reserves the right to transfer any purchased credits to a future Lee County Port Authority project, upon written notification to the Bidder and at no additional cost to the Authority.

PHUs will be bid and awarded on a per unit basis and the Authority reserves the right to purchase more or less units at its sole discretion based on the unit prices submitted in the bid.

Project Details

• Reference ID: RFB 26-0039LB
• Department: Development - Planning & Environmental Compliance
• Department Head: Alicia Dixon (Department Director)

Important Dates

• Questions Due: 2026-03-18T21:00:00.000Z

Meetings & Milestones

Evaluation Criteria

• Important Instructions for Electronic Submittals —

  The Lee County Port Authority is accepting electronic bid submissions. Bidders shall create a FREE account with OpenGov Procurement by signing up at https://procurement.opengov.com/signup. Once you have completed account registration, browse back to this page, click on "Draft Response", and follow the instructions to submit the electronic bid.

• Summary —

  Lee County Port Authority (hereafter “Authority”) requests bids from interested parties qualified to provide the goods and/or perform the services described herein. The Authority reserves the right to extend the date and time the bids are due at the sole discretion of the Authority when deemed to be in the best interest of the Authority.

  The Authority is soliciting competitive bids from interested and qualified Conservation/Mitigation Bankers to furnish the Panther Habitat Units to serve as habitat compensation for the Arthrex Project at Southwest Florida International Airport.

  All services to be provided or performed must be in full accordance with the requirements of the RFB and any agreement entered into with the Authority.

  All questions and/or requests for clarifications for this project are to be submitted through OpenGov. Responses must be submitted in OpenGov, prior to the deadline for submission. Bidders are responsible for taking all necessary steps to ensure that their response is uploaded before the due date and time. The Authority is not responsible for technology and/or any other issues that cause the RFB submission deadline to be missed.

• Timeline —

  Release Project Date:	March 3, 2026
  Question Submission Deadline:	March 18, 2026, 5:00pm
  Response Submission Deadline:	April 2, 2026, 2:00pm
  PUBLIC OPENING OF BIDS (Non-Mandatory):	April 2, 2026, 2:00pm meet.google.com/uuw-zbgo-omh or dial: (US‬) US) +1 931-683-2765‬ PIN: ‪767 662 466‬#‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

• Scope of Work or Project Details —

  Please see the Attachments section for specifications and attachments.

• Project Contact —

  Larene Brubaker

  Sr. Procurement Agent

  11000 Terminal Access Road, Suite 8671

  Fort Myers, FL 33913

  Email: lebrubaker@flylcpa.com

  Phone: (239) 590-4614

• Procurement Contact —

  Larene Brubaker

  Sr. Procurement Agent

  11000 Terminal Access Road, Suite 8671

  Fort Myers, FL 33913

  Email: lebrubaker@flylcpa.com

  Phone: (239) 590-4614

Submission Requirements

• I certify that I have read, understood and agree to the terms in this solicitation, and that I am authorized signatory who has the legal authority to make the bid and bind the company. (required)
• The Bidder is to enter the number of KFCB - Short Hydroperiod bank credits offered for sale. If the Bidder does not have KFCB - Short Hydroperiod bank credits, the Bidder shall enter “0” or “N/A”. Entering a “0” or “N/A” will not affect the Total Base Bid. In addition, the number of KFCB - Short Hydroperiod bank credits available by the Bidder will not be considered when determining the low Bidder. (required)
• The Bidder is to enter the number of KFCB - Long Hydroperiod bank credits offered for sale. If the Bidder does not have KFCB - Long Hydroperiod bank credits, the Bidder shall enter “0” or “N/A”. Entering a “0” or “N/A” will not affect the Total Base Bid. In addition, the number of KFCB - Long Hydroperiod bank credits available by the Bidder will not be considered when determining the low Bidder. (required)
• PART B: SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS AND REQUIREMENTS (required) —

  Please acknowledge Bidder has reviewed and acknowledged the SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS AND REQUIREMENTS as stated in Part B in the RFB.

• PART B.01: MINIMUM QUALIFICATION (required) —

  Please acknowledge Bidder has reviewed and acknowledged the MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS as stated in Part B in the RFB.

• PART C: SCOPE OF WORK (required) —

  Please acknowledge Bidder has reviewed and acknowledged the SCOPE OF WORK as stated in Part C in the RFB and any additional attached files included with this RFB in OpenGov.

• PART D: INSURANCE, INDEMNIFICATION AND BOND REQUIREMENTS (required) —

  Please acknowledge Bidder has reviewed and acknowledged the INSURANCE, INDEMNIFICATION AND BOND REQUIREMENTS as stated in Part D in the RFB.

• BID GUARANTY AND BOND REQUIREMENTS (required) —

  Please acknowledge Bidder has reviewed and acknowledged the BID GUARANTY AND BOND REQUIREMENTS as stated in Part E in the RFB.

• BID BOND (required) —

  Please acknowledge Bidder has reviewed and acknowledged the BID BOND REQUIREMENTS as stated in Part E in the RFB to which the Bidder understands the Bidder is to upload a copy of the bid bond, certified check or cashier’s check as part of their bid submission AND then deliver the original, signed and sealed bid bond or check within five (5) calendar days from the bid submission due date.

• FORMS_RFB 26-0039LB FORM 1 - BIDDERS CERTIFICATION (required) —

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

• FORMS_RFB 26-0039LB FORM 2 -OFFICIAL BID FORM (FOR REFERENCE ONLY) (required) —

  Bidder understands that Form 2, as provided within the RFB document, is for reference only. Bidders are to enter their official bid pricing in OpenGov.

• FORMS_RFB 26-0039LB FORM 3 - LOBBYING AFFIDAVIT (required) —

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

• FORMS_RFB 26-0039LB FORM 4 - PUBLIC ENTITY CRIMES CERTIFICATION (required) —

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

• FORMS_RFB 26-0039LB FORM 5 - SCRUTINIZED COMPANIES CERTIFICATION (required) —

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

• FORMS_RFB 26-0039LB FORM 6 - LOCAL PREFERENCE AFFIDAVIT (2-page form) (required) —

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

• FORMS_RFB 26-0039LB FORM 7 - AFFIDAVIT OF COMPLIANCE (required) —

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

• FORMS_RFB 26-0039LB FORM 8 - BID BOND (required) —

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

• BID BOND - Copy of Bid Bond (required) —

  Bidder is to upload a copy of the bid bond, certified check or cashier’s check as part of their bid submission.

• Bidder understands that each conservation/mitigation bank must possess a valid federal habitat conservation bank instrument. (required)
• Bidder understands that the Bidder must provide a copy of the USFWS approval and, if not provided, the bid may be considered nonresponsive. (required)
• The Bidder must provide a copy of the USFWS approval and, if not provided, the bid may be considered nonresponsive. (required) —

  The Bidder must provide a copy of the USFWS approval and, if not provided, the bid may be considered nonresponsive.

• Bidder understands that the Bidder must include copies of their current mitigation/conservation bank credit ledger for PHUs. (required)
• Current mitigation/conservation bank PHU ledger. (required) —

  Bidders must include copies of their current mitigation/conservation bank credit ledger for PHUs. 

• Bidder understands that the Bidder's conservation/mitigation bank(s) must have at least 443 PHUs available at the time of bid and at the time of sale. (required)
• Separate Cost Proposal (required) —

  Confirm that your fee proposal is not attached in your Proposal and is attached separately here.

• How would you prefer to receive vendor pricing? (required)
• Evaluation Committee? (required) —

  Will there be an evaluation committee to review the proposals and score them based on weights and multiple criteria?

• Procurement and/or Project Contact —

  Select the information you would like display.