04_PWS_-_ALP_Forest_Management_Plan.docx

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

Animas-La Plata Project Forest Management Plan

1 SCOPE

1.1 Objective

The objective of this contract is the creation of a forest management plan (Plan) for the Bureau of Reclamation’s (Reclamation’s) Animas-La Plata Project (ALP) lands managed by the Western Colorado Area Office in southwestern Colorado near the town of Durango.

The goal of the Plan is to characterize current forest conditions and develop strategies for forest management on ALP lands to:

1) promote healthy and resilient forests;

2) enhance wildlife habitat;

3) decrease hazardous fuel loads; and

4) identify and reduce fire hazard/risk to the ALP and surrounding communities.

The Plan will be used as a reference for implementing forest management activities on ALP lands

1.2 Background and Location

The ALP is in La Plata and Montezuma Counties in southwestern Colorado. The purpose of the ALP is to implement the Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Settlement Act of 1988, as amended by the Colorado Ute Settlement Act Amendments of 2000. Lake Nighthorse, the primary feature of the ALP, was constructed in the early 2000. The City of Durango manages recreation at Lake Nighthorse through a recreation lease with Reclamation and the Animas-La Plata Operations, Maintenance and Replacement Association operates and maintains Ridges Basin Dam through a contract with Reclamation.

ALP lands around Lake Nighthorse are known to have a high wildfire hazard and risk and are adjacent to wildland urban interface and several neighborhoods. Reclamation’s main priorities at Lake Nighthorse are to:

1) protect Ridges Basin Dam and its associated infrastructure;

2) protect water quality of Lake Nighthorse;

3) protect recreational assets; and

4) provide for public safety.

Colorado Parks & Wildlife previously completed a mechanical fuels treatment north of County Road 210 and Lake Nighthorse in the BODO State Wildlife Area (see Attachment 1).

The ALP mitigation lands near the La Plata River were acquired to offset wetland and wildlife impacts from the completion of the ALP Project and primarily consists of undeveloped rangeland, pinon-juniper woodland, and riparian habitat. Reclamation’s main priorities at the mitigation lands are to:

1) provide for and enhance a diverse set of wildlife habitat; and

2) create, protect, enhance, and restore wetland-riparian habitat along the La Plata River.

2 TASKS

This Performance Work Statement addresses forest management planning for the ALP.

2.1 Complete Site Visits and Write a Forest Management Plan

The contractor will visit the ALP areas around Lake Nighthorse and the mitigation lands and gather enough field data and photographs to inform the creation of the Plan. The Contractor shall be responsible for all labor, equipment, and materials necessary to safely and efficiently collect field data and photographs. Reclamation staff will accompany and/or provide keys to the contractor for site visits to ALP lands that are closed to the public (generally everywhere except the Lake Nighthorse footprint that is managed by the City of Durango). Only existing roads are allowed to be driven on, and a utility terrain vehicle may be more practical to use than a vehicle in some areas.

The contractor will provide at least 7 days advance notice to the Contracting Officer Representative for scheduling field visits to ALP areas that are closed to the public. All field visit work must be completed between the hours of 7:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday-Friday. No work will be completed on Federal holidays or on weekends.

While site visits will be helpful to characterize current on the ground conditions, to the extent possible the contractor will use publicly available forestry, wildland fire, fuels, and other natural resources data through online data sources such as LANDFIRE, ArcGIS, federal and state agencies, and more to characterize ALP site conditions. The contractor will also use commonly used forest and wildland fire computer modeling software such as ArcGIS, Forest Vegetation Simulator, FlamMap, and more or similar products to characterize and model forest conditions and scenarios pre and post potential forest treatments. While still important to cover the entirety of the ALP, the mitigation lands generally should not be the focus of forest improvements and modeling work as part of the Plan. Rather, the focus of the Plan should be on the area surrounding Lake Nighthorse.

The Plan will encompass the entirety of the ALP (depicted in Appendix A) and describe the following subjects:

1. Property Description and Current Conditions

0. Property Location and Description

0. Topography/Slope

0. Geology

0. Climate

0. Adjacent Lands and Communities

0. Historical and Current Land Use

0. Impact on Neighbors and Surrounding Communities

0. Desired Future Conditions

1. Inventory Methods and Analysis

1. Methods

1. Analysis

1. Current Forest Conditions and Inventory

2. Current Forest Conditions

2. Inventory Unit Summaries

2. Soils

2. Insects and Disease

2. Noxious Weeds (see Attachment 2)

2. Wildlife

2. Threatened and Endangered Species

2. Access Roads and Trails

2. Wildfire Risk

1. Prescriptions and Implementation

3. Challenges for Forest Management

3. Treatment Options

3. Forest Treatment Prescriptions

The contractor will submit an electronic copy of the draft Plan to the Contracting Officer Representative for review no later than thirty (30) calendar days prior to the end of the contract’s period of performance. Reclamation will review and provide comments back to the Contractor within fourteen (14) calendar days. The contractor will incorporate relevant review comments by Reclamation into the final Plan and submit an electronic copy of the Plan as well as any relevant ArcGIS shapefiles of potential treatment areas and relevant forest management topics by the end of the contract’s period of performance.

2.2 Cultural Compliance

The contractor will complete an approximately one hour long cultural resource compliance training video in person with the Contracting Officer Representative or an appointed representative from Reclamation prior to any site visits or field work associated with the contract.

2.3 Development of Safety Plan

The Contractor is required to furnish a Safety Plan to Reclamation’s Contracting Officer Representative within 20 days of contract award and to employees assigned to task work. The Safety Plan, at a minimum, will include requirements for use of protective clothing such as protective eye wear and long sleeves, as well as a summary of safety and emergency procedures to be used in the event of insect, rodent, or reptile bites (i.e. rattlesnake bites). A good source of Reference is Reclamation’s Safety and Health Standards (https://www.usbr.gov/safety/rshs/index.html).

3 Performance Requirements Summary

4 DATA, REPORTS, AND DELIVERABLES

Deliverables associated with this contract include

5 REGULATIONS

The Contractor must comply with all applicable Federal, State, and local authority, laws and associated regulations.

The Contractor must have a valid business license. Any vehicle or equipment operators on the site must have appropriate valid operators/drivers licenses.

The Government will periodically review the progress made in the completion of Tasks and provide instructions/comments on an as-needed basis. The Government will periodically review the safety practices of the Contractor.

6 PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The contract period of performance is from Day of Award to December 31, 2026.

7 MATERIAL TO BE FURNISHED BY THE GOVERNMENT

The Contractor is responsible for providing all supplies, materials and equipment to accomplish these work items. Currently, there is no site visit planned for this requirement. However, if any offerors are interested in scheduling a site visit, they should email the point of contract identified in the solicitation.

Appendix A. Maps Map 1. ALP Lake Nighthorse and Ridges Basin Area

Map 2. ALP Mitigation Lands image1.jpg image2.jpg