Purchase Order INL17PX01555

BACKGROUND: THE PROJECT AREA ENCOMPASSES 13,500 ACRES OF BLM-MANAGED PUBLIC LAND ALONG KANAB CREEK AND ASSOCIATED DRAINAGES. PROJECT ACTIVITIES WOULD ONLY OCCUR IN THE RIPARIAN ZONE WHERE TAMARISK AND RUSSIAN OLIVE ARE PRESENT (APPROXIMATELY 806 ACRES). KANAB CREEK FORMS THE BOUNDARY LINE BETWEEN COCONINO AND MOHAVE COUNTIES, ARIZONA AND PROJECT ACTIVITIES WOULD TAKE PLACE IN BOTH COUNTIES. THE NORTH END OF THE PROJECT AREA IS APPROXIMATELY 8.6 MILES SOUTHWEST OF FREDONIA, ARIZONA. INCLUDED ARE 21.6 MILES OF KANAB CREEK AND APPROXIMATELY 21 MILES OF EPHEMERAL DRAINAGES: BITTER SEEPS WASH, BULRUSH WASH, ROCK CANYON, GUNSIGHT CANYON, WATER CANYON, AND SEVERAL SMALLER UNNAMED DRAINAGES. MUCH OF THE KANAB CREEK RIPARIAN CORRIDOR HAS BECOME DOMINATED BY NON-NATIVE TAMARISK (TAMARIX SP.) (ALSO REFERRED TO AS SALT CEDAR) AND RUSSIAN OLIVE TREES (ELAEAGNUS ANGUSTIFOLIA}. TAMARISK IS A SHRUB OR TREE THAT GROWS IN DENSE STANDS AT SPRINGS, PONDS, AND ALONG RIVERS AND STREAMS. TAMARISK, INTRODUCED INTO THE U.S. IN THE 19TH CENTURY AS AN EROSION CONTROL AGENT, SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE WEST AND HAS CAUSED MAJOR CHANGES TO RIPARIAN ECOSYSTEMS. THIS PROLIFIC NON-NATIVE DISPLACES NATIVE VEGETATION AND INCREASES FIRE FREQUENCY AND SEVERITY. TAMARISK SPREADS BY SEED AND CAN PROPAGATE FROM BURIED OR SUBMERGED STEMS. IT CAN REPLACE OR DISPLACE NATIVE WOODY SPECIES, SUCH AS COTTONWOOD, WILLOW, AND MESQUITE, WHICH OCCUPY SIMILAR HABITATS, ESPECIALLY WHEN TIMING AND AMOUNT OF PEAK WATER DISCHARGE, SALINITY, TEMPERATURE, AND SUBSTRATE TEXTURE HAVE BEEN ALTERED BY HUMAN ACTIVITIES SUCH AS DAMS OR WATER DIVERSION. MONOTYPIC STANDS OF TAMARISK GENERALLY HAVE LOWER WILDLIFE VALUES COMPARED TO STANDS OF NATIVE VEGETATION. RUSSIAN OLIVE, WHILE NOT AS AGGRESSIVE AND DISRUPTIVE AS TAMARISK, CAN DISPLACE NATIVE VEGETATION, ESPECIALLY WHERE IT GROWS IN MONOTYPIC STANDS. THE PURPOSE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO REMOVE TAMARISK AND RUSSIAN OLIVE SHRUBS AND TREES TO FACILITATE NATIVE PLANT RECOVERY, REDUCE FIRE RISK, AND IMPROVE RIPARIAN ECOSYSTEM FUNCTION. SCOPE OF WORK. THIS CONTRACT WOULD REQUIRE PERSONNEL TO REMOVE TAMARISK AND RUSSIAN OLIVE AT VARIOUS SITES ALONG A 21.6-MILE STRETCH OF KANAB CREEK FROM THE KAIBAB-PAIUTE RESERVATION/BLM BOUNDARY IN THE NORTH TO THE CONFLUENCE WITH SNAKE GULCH IN THE SOUTH, AND POSSIBLY ALONG SHORT SECTIONS OF SIDE DRAINAGES AS DEEMED NECESSARY. ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING METHODS WOULD BE USED FOR REMOVAL, DEPENDING ON THE AGE OF INDIVIDUAL STEMS, THE DENSITY OF STANDS, AND THE DEGREE OF INTERMINGLING WITH NATIVE VEGETATION. HAND-PULLING: PERSONNEL COULD HAND PULL SMALLER SHRUBS AND STEMS FROM THE GROUND. HAND TOOLS, INCLUDING PICKS, PULASKIS, AND SHOVELS MAY BE USED TO LOOSEN THE SOIL SURROUNDING THE LARGER PLANTS AND THEN THE ENTIRE ROOT SYSTEM WOULD BE REMOVED. BASAL-BARK: THIS TREATMENT WILL PRIMARILY BE USED ON IMMATURE TREES UNDER ONE YEAR IN AGE AND UP TO 3 METERS TALL. PRIVATE CONTRACTOR EMPLOYEES UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF A PERSON CERTIFIED BY BLM'S COURSE 9000-1 WILL APPLY TRICLOPYR- GARLON 3A (NEAR WATER) OR GARLON 4 (AWAY FROM WATER ON TERRACES) - USING HAND-APPLICATORS TO THE BASE OF THE TREE AT MANUFACTURER-RECOMMENDED RATES. CUT-STUMP: THIS TREATMENT WILL PRIMARILY BE USED ON MATURE STEMS. SHRUBS AND TREES ALONG THE BANKS AND ON THE TERRACES WOULD BE CUT OR LOPPED AT OR NEAR GROUND LEVEL AND HERBICIDE WILL BE APPLIED WITHIN A FEW MINUTES OF CUTTING. CREWS WILL USE CHAINSAWS, HAND SAWS AND/OR LOPPERS. PRIVATE CONTRACTOR EMPLOYEES UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF A PERSON CERTIFIED BY BLM'S COURSE 9000-1 WILL APPLY TRICLOPYRGARLON 3A OR GARLON 4 (DEPENDING ON DISTANCE FROM WATER) - USING HAND-APPLICATORS TO THE CUT STEMS AT MANUFACTURER-RECOMMENDED RATES. CUT MATERIAL WILL BE SCATTERED IN THOSE AREAS WHERE ONLY SMALL AMOUNTS OF MATERIAL WERE TREATED. IN AREAS OF HEAVIER CONCENTRATIONS, CUT MATERIAL WILL BE CUT INTO SMALLER PIECES TO FACILITATE HANDLING. THE CUT MATERIAL WILL