Amendment 002_SiteVisit_QandA_20220812.pdf

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF

CONTRACT

1. CONTRACT ID CODE PAGE OF PAGES

1 6

3. EFFECTIVE DATE 5. PROJECT NO. (If applicable)2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NO.

002 08/12/2022

4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NO.

1074280

6. ISSUED BY CODE 363N 7. ADMINISTERED BY (If other than Item 6) CODE

USDA-FS- Procurement & Property Services National Procurement Operations Stewardship Contracting Branch

Email: mark.phillipp@usda.gov

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR (No., street, county, State, and ZIP Code) (X) 9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NO.

Potential Offerors

12363N22Q1030

9B. DATED (SEE ITEM 11)

07/18/22

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NO.

10B. DATED (SEE ITEM 13)

CODE FACILITY CODE

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers is extended, is not extended.

Offers must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended, by one of the following methods:

(a) By completing Items 8 and 15, and returning 01 copies of the amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted;

or (c) By separate letter or telegram which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE OF YOUR ACKNOWLEDGMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment you desire to change an offer already submitted, such change may be made by telegram or letter, provided each telegram or letter makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA (If required)

13. THIS ITEM APPLIES ONLY TO MODIFICATIONS OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS,

IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

(X) A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN

THE CONTRACT ORDER NO. IN ITEM 10A.

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES (such as changes in paying office, appropriation date, etc.) SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER (Specify type of modification and authority)

E. IMPORTANT: Contractor is not, is required to sign this document and return * copies to the issuing office.

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION (Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible. 12363N22R4001, Amendment 002, Freeland Stewardship IRSC

1. This amendment is to provide responses to questions that were asked on the Site Visit tour on Tuesday, August 2, 2022.

2. Response date for the RFQ has NOT changed and RFP is still due on August 22, 2022 at 5:00 p.m. MDT.

Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in Item 9A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and in full force and effect.

15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER (Type or print) 16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER (Type or print)

Mark T Phillipp Contracting Officer

15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR 15C. DATE SIGNED 16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 16C. DATE SIGNED

(Signature of person authorized to sign) (Signature of Contracting Officer)

NSN 7540-01-152-8070

Previous edition unusable

30-105 STANDARD FORM 30 (REV. 10-83)

Prescribed by GSA

FAR (48 CFR) 53.243

mailto:norma.windle@usda.gov

Amendment No. 002, 08/12/2022 12363N22Q4030 Freeland Stewardship IRSC Black Hills National Forest

Solicitation Number 12363N22Q4030 Amendment 002- Questions and Answer from Site Visit on August 11, 2022

Q1- What is the Timber Subject to Agreement volume?

A1- Timber Subject to Agreement (TSA) is additional wood product(s) that is available for removal but is not mandatory in the solicitation. If the Contractor would like this material, they can bid on the product(s) they want to add in the bid form. They do not have to bid on all TSA, they can choose which products they would like. If a bid is made on TSA and the Contract is awarded with TSA opted for, the TSA would then become part of the final Contract. The TSA volume for Freeland IRSC can be found on page 3 of the Solicitation.

Q2- Is meadow enhancement considered Timber Subject to Agreement for all units or only within commercial units?

A2- TSA is available within commercial units. For service units that include meadow/prairie enhancement or pre-commercial thinning which are outside of commercial units and add on volume may be negotiated after award on a case-by-case basis.

Q3- Will there be commercial volume within meadow enhancement units? Can that volume be removed and utilized?

A3- There are meadow/prairie enhancement treatments within commercial units. All volume which meets utilization standards and occur within commercial units is available for removal. If the meadow/prairie enhancement is outside of a commercial unit, the wood is not available for removal.

Q4- How will the slash be treated within meadow enhancement areas, masticate/chip and scatter? Can this slash be piled? Can the slash be removed as a product such as biomass/chips?

A4- The technical specifications for service work (Appendix A) state that trees will be mechanically thinned and masticated. If there are areas where slash piles already exist due to product removal, the Contractor may propose an alternative means of disposing slash in their technical proposal. All of the residual slash within cutting units can be utilized by the Contractor to the fullest extent.

Q5- Within meadow enhancements areas immediately adjacent to commercial units, can I pile slash from meadow enhancement to existing topwood piles created from commercial harvest units?

A5- Alternative means of slash disposal can be proposed by the Contractor if the proposed activities accomplish the desired result of pine removal from meadows/prairies.

Q6- What items will be considered mandatory service work? Will these items only exist within commercial units?

A6- Mandatory service items are described in the Solicitation, Appendix A, and are displayed on the Contract Area Map – Service Items. They include pre-commercial thinning with mastication, pine encroachment removal with mastication, road reconstruction, and temporary road work. Mandatory service work occurs throughout the entire Contract Area, not just within commercial units.

Amendment No. 002, 08/12/2022 12363N22Q4030

Q7- Will road reconstruction, maintenance, and rolling dip installation be considered a service item?

A7- Any road reconstruction is considered a service item and will be considered a lump sum bid item.

The road maintenance costs associated with this Contract has been accounted for within the timber product appraisal process and in the minimum acceptable offer price.

Q8- What are the specifications for temporary road closures adjacent to OHV trails both within meadows and forested locations?

A8- Specifications for temporary road closures adjacent to OHV trails can be found in Appendix A.

They include rock closures across the width of temporary roads (12 feet) that lie within meadows and slash closures across the width of temporary roads, for a length of 100 feet and 18 feet deep, within forested areas. There are 17 boulder closures and 10 slash closures, as identified on the Contract Area Map – Service Work. If temporary roads which are requested by the Contractor and approved by the Forest Service differ from what is proposed, and if these temporary roads intersect with the OHV trail system, a determination will be made at that time which type of closure is most appropriate.

Q9- How were the meadow enhancement units established? How old was the data used to establish?

A9- Prescriptions for all sites were determined by a Certified Silviculturist. The Forester who prepared the Contract and the District Fuels Specialist prioritized non-commercial vegetation service work by proximity to private property and along major travel routes. Meadow enhancement delineation was narrowed down further via NAIP aerial imagery and ground-truthing. The primary NAIP imagery used was from 2016 and was, at the time of determination, the best quality data available in terms of resolution. The 2016 data was compared to more recent imagery (up to 2020) and it was determined by the Forester that there was not a noticeable difference in forest composition, abundance, or disturbance that would justify the sacrifice of resolution and detail that is exhibited in the 2016 imagery.

Q10-If data used to establish was outdated, where will the boundary of the enhancement units be? The dripline of existing stand or a virtual boundary?

A10- The Forester is confident about the boundary that was defined for non-commercial vegetation work outside commercial units. However, if any discrepancies exist or if there is any confusion about where the boundary lies, the Contractor shall only be obligated to work within the virtual boundary as it is represented in the Contract Area Map – Service Work.

Q11-How are the boundaries discernable on the ground for: commercial units, non-saw units, and mandatory/optional service work units?

A11- See C2.301# - Cutting Unit Boundaries within Appendix B for a description of how commercial and non-saw units are identified on the ground. Boundaries for service work outside of commercial or non-saw units are virtual. Not all boundaries are discernable, and it is recommended that the Contractor use mapping apps (such as Avenza), GPS devices, range finders, and/or flagging to determine where virtual boundaries lie. If a Contractor is uncomfortable in determining a boundary, flagging can be performed by the Forest Service on a case-by-case basis.

Amendment No. 002, 08/12/2022 12363N22Q4030

Q12- Is there removable product in service units outside of commercial units? What will be the slash treatment for those units? Can the slash be machine piled or added to an existing slash pile within a commercial unit?

A12- No. See questions 2 & 3 regarding product removal. See questions 4 & 5 regarding slash treatment.

Q13- Does the contract state a tolerance for virtual boundaries? Can the contract be amended to add a ½ chain (33 feet) tolerance for all units with virtual boundaries?

A13- The Contract does not state a tolerance for virtual boundaries. The Contract will be amended to permit an Allowable Contract Tolerance of 33’ on either side of the virtual boundary, except where shared discernable boundaries exist or if adjacent to the Contract Area Boundary or another awarded contract area, a private landowner, or Areas to Protect (ATPs). If a Contractor is uncertain or uneasy about a virtual boundary, the Contractor can request the Forest Service to flag the boundary on a case-by-case basis.

Q14- Please explain the 4”-24” round wood specifications. If round wood is opted for will roundwood be required to remove and utilize or can it be machine piled?

A14- Within cutting units that contain sawtimber and non-saw material, small roundwood are all green trees not identified as leave trees (C2.351#, C2.356# – Appendix B) between 4-4.9” DBH or all green trees not identified as leave trees but do not have an 8-foot straight piece suitable for boards or poles between 5”-24” DBH, that could be used for other purposes such as chipping, firewood, etc.

Within cutting units that contain non-saw material only, small roundwood includes all green trees not identified as leave trees between 4-4.9” DBH or all green trees not identified as leave trees but do not have an 8-foot straight piece suitable for poles between 5-8.9” DBH)

Q15- Will additional service work be added to the contract as funding becomes available?

A15- Service work that is not identified in Solicitation, Appendix A, or the Contract Area Map – Service Work, will not be added to the Contract. If Optional Service work pre-identified in the aforementioned documents is bid upon, that work may be added if funding becomes available within the life of the Contract.

Q16- If all mandatory and optional service work is complete before the end of the contract term, will the contract be closed out or will the contractor be held until the contract term expires?

A16- If all agreed upon work is completed before the contract end-date, the contract may be closed early.

Q17- Can you explain why the DBH is different between non-saw within commercial units and non-saw only units?

A17- The commercial units were the first units to be established within this project. We typically offer non-saw material within our contracts down to a 7” DBH and so that’s how these units were marked.

There was interest expressed by potential bidders that there may be a market for smaller diameter material. For consistency, we kept our commercial units which contained saw and non-

Amendment No. 002, 08/12/2022 12363N22Q4030 saw material at 7” DBH minimum for mandatory non-saw material. We still wanted to make the smaller stuff available, and so it is offered as TSA, is unmarked, and is designated by spacing. We added the non-saw only units at a later time and decided to offer the full array of non-saw material as mandatory product. Non-saw only units are a small subset of our units, representing only about 10% of the total commercial acreage.

Q18- What is the normal operating season for this contract?

A17- The normal operating season is anytime not operationally restricted. See Appendix B, C6.312#

Q19- What timing restrictions are in place for this sale?

A19- Reference Appendix B, C6.312#

Q20- Is there sale operation restriction and/or hauling restrictions to protect nesting raptors?

Can service work occur within units with a sale operation restriction?

A20- Harvest and service restricted units are shown on the Contract Area Maps and listed in C6.312#. Reference C5.12# for hauling restrictions.

Q21- Can the Forest Service wildlife biologists authorize a waiver for the sale operation restriction if the nest is inactive? Will this need to be in the form of a written request to the

COR?

A21- Contractors can make a request to the project COR or Sale Administrator that timing restricted units be checked for active nests and restriction waived on a case-by-case basis. This canl be documented by the COR or Sale Administrator.

Q22- Who will be administrating the contract? Will there be different administrator for the different mandatory and optional service items?

A22- The project will be administered by an experienced COR and Sale Administrator. Trainee COR’s may be used as inspectors to gain experience. No guarantee can be given that the COR and/or Sale Administrator will remain the same thorough the life of the Contract.

Q23- Can hauling occur on weekends?

A23- Reference C5.12# for haul restrictions. Weekend haul restrictions are in place during periods of high recreational use.

Q24- Is road maintenance and other service work items authorized during weekends?

A24- There are no restrictions for these activities on the weekend

Q25- Can pine encroachment slash, within commercial units, be piled if designated as mastication?

A25- Yes, if proposed by the Contractor in their technical proposal and accepted during the evaluation process than it can be agreed to.

Q26- Will traffic control and safety signs be required to be posted while service work is being performed?

A26- Yes, see Clause 39 of the solicitation

Amendment No. 002, 08/12/2022 12363N22Q4030

Q27- Can you explain the non-saw spacing?

A27- Refer to Appendix B, C2.351# for spacing requirements. This results in an average spacing of 12-18’ between leave trees.

Q28- In non-saw units how will sawtimber factor into spacing requirements?

A28- Sawtimber trees will be used in spacing

Q29- There seems to be a large component of sawtimber within non-saw units, why were these units not designated as commercial units?

A29- The sawtimber within the stand is of much better quality than the non-saw trees. The desired future conditions of the stand are to retain good quality trees as a future seed source.

Q30- Can round wood greater than 8.9’ DBH be removed from non-saw units?

A30- No, the diameter limit for all products within non-saw only units is 8.9”.

Q31-For the optional service work, are those all outside cutting units?

A31- Yes

Q32- Is the Forest Service providing the boulders required for Item 5, Temporary Road Closure?

A32- No, this will be a Contractor sourced item

Q33- Is there a performance specification for rolling dips that need to be constructed?

A33- Yes, requirements described in Appendix C, T-805 should be referenced.

Q34- If I don’t want the Timber Subject to Agreement, will that effect my chances?

A34- Refer to Clause 52 on evaluations, it states that technical factors are equal to price. Best proposal for the best price to get us the best end results is who will get the award. But we do want to encourage all product and as much FUEL to be removed as possible. Just because they say they will take TSA does not guarantee them award nor does it exclude any Contractor, as bidding on TSA is not required.