A002_Plumas IRSC - Site Visit Notes.docx

Amendment 002 ITEM 1 Site Visit Tour Q&A (9/15/22)

· If there are no locations for landings, what do we do with material? Are landings pre-determined by USFS? Contractor proposes landings and COR will approve them where no resource concerns are present. COR and operator can work on a case-by-case basis to find places to place material and if no good location exists, material can be felled and bucked and left in place per agreement.

· Can we cross the road with tracked equipment? We need to protect the chip sealed or paved roads as much as possible and any new damage would have to be fixed. Crossing the road carefully on tires or rubber mats or in the graveled spots is fine.

· Does contractor need to provide a cultural monitor? At award, the contractor will be provided a map with all cultural protections (controlled areas) on it. COR and contractor will work around these areas, and if needed USFS archaeology personnel will provide on- site help with protection measures and working around sites.

· What is the spec for the flagged drainage areas? Will be addressed in Appendix A Amendment 002. Equipment is not to enter those areas, so hazard trees can be felled and bucked and left in drainages. It is a similar treatment for areas with slopes over 35 percent. Get material to lay flat as possible in contact with ground. Avoid jack-strawing logs. Contour falling is preferred for drainages and steep slopes but there are some places where trees will have to be felled straight downhill.

· Is there a maximum pile or deck size? No maximum height. Fire folks prefer to burn larger piles instead of multiple piles. Minimum Pile height: Piles of vegetative material will have a minimum height of 6 feet. If multiple smaller piles are within 250 feet horizontal distance of each other, larger fire lines can encircle multiple piles.

· What size is the required fire ring around piles? What distance does it have to be from green trees? An eight foot fuelbreak shall be cleared of all but fine material around each Machine Pile and an 18 inch wide fireline shall be cleared to mineral soil around the outer ring of the fuelbreak. Fire line will not contain any substantial quantities of dead, vegetative material. If multiple smaller piles are within 250 feet horizontal distance of each other, larger fire lines can encircle multiple piles. In areas where there is a potential for burning material to roll, firelines, including those for Machine Piles, shall be trenched on the downhill side of each pile to adequately prevent material from crossing firelines. Piles shall be located to minimize damage to residual, live trees (at least 75 feet from the boles of live trees) when piles are burned.

· In Silver Lake (unit 10) for example does someone expect us to long line logs out without all the streamside areas? No, material can be cut and left on the ground.

· Can we bridge trees across drainages? We want to avoid this and fall away from drainages and contour fall. If the only way to get tree on ground is down into the drainage, we need to buck that section to get it on ground.

· Will we have a COR and inspector to work with us to see we are on right track with the specs.? Yes, FS COR or GTM (inspector) will be there in the beginning a lot and throughout to answer any questions and work issues out early.

· Will the campgrounds be closed during the operations? Yes, we can get them closed during operations for safety.

· Unit 15 has no operations on weekends or holidays? Yes, that is correct.

· If the road getting to the unit has dangerous trees that need to be cut can we cut it even if not in unit? Yes, any tree that is deemed a safety hazard for operations getting into units, they can be felled and left on ground.

· Let’s say we are awarded unit1, do we need to Buck and sort.? No, not on the FRRD side. Just cut and stack. No processing or sorting is required. Operator can sort if they want to remove logs, subject to agreement for removal on FRRD. On the Mt Hough and Beckwourth units, processing and sorting of logs over 20 inch dbh is required with standard log lengths.

· It was noted by contractor that there will be more trees dead by next year. We suggested adding that factor into their quotes.

· Several contractors asked about lifting time restrictions for such things as fire precautions when the work site has lower potential to burn. Other forests including the Tahoe National Forest have a standing C level on interior burned units. Contractors may propose waivers to fire precautions and FS will make the decision on a case-by-case basis. No assurances that FS will agree to waivers to restrictions at this time. It was noted that bringing extra fire equipment like skidgeons and dozers will increase waivers being granted.

ITEMS 2 & 3 Site Visit Tour (9/20/22) Questions:

· Can extra time be granted into next season for mandatory units if there is lost time due to weather? Yes. If there is lost time due to Acceptable Delays for weather (i.e., Mandatory Items not completed before wet soil operating restrictions) or other “acts of god”, then additional time may be granted without considerations.

· Is there road maintenance associated with this IRSC and are there required deposits for surface replacement costs? Road maintenance specifications are described in Appendix C, but are only commensurate with use if contractors elect to remove material under Timber Subject to Agreement. There are no required deposits for surface replacement costs for this contract.

· Are boundaries for units or leave trees designated? Boundaries are not flagged or painted. It is up to the Contractors to determine which trees can hit the road. The contract states that cutting shall be done at a tree-length away from the roadway not 1.5 tree lengths (as we have typically done in the past on prior roadside hazard tree mitigation projects). Individual trees are also not designated, but the COR and GTM’s can help contractors interpret designated timber under C2.353# (designation by damage) and potentially assist in designating individual leave trees if necessary to increase production in areas where PCLK/PCVK is difficult to determine.

· Are operations permitted over the snow? Operations are permitted over the snow if the ground is frozen and soil compaction isn’t an issue. Specifications for this is described in C6.315#. Snow removal (plowing of roads) is permitted as long as 6” minimum snow depth is kept along roadways and there isn’t irreparable damage being done to resources or improvements (C5.35#).

· Are we required to remove all timber from units if we are interested in Timber Subject To Agreement (TSTA)? No, you are not bound to remove all the timber from a particular unit or Award. TSTA amounts and prices will be negotiated with the CO prior to award and can also even be done after award. Material can be removed as sawlogs, chips, or both. The FS understands that market conditions fluctuate often so it would be wise to reach out to local facilities to see if there is interest in possibly removing some product from this IRSC. It is in the government’s best interest to remove as much fuel as possible from this project, so I highly encourage you all to consider this in your proposals and technical approach.

· Are we expected to cut hazard trees from spur roads coming from the unit? No, you are only required to cut trees that will hit the roadway of identified treatment units. You are required to cut hazard trees adjacent to your landings or other areas due to safety concerns to be OSHA compliant. It is contractor responsibility to identify and mitigate trees that are hazardous to their operations that are not already identified to be treated.

· Does the fuels department realize that there are going to be thousands of trees left in the EEZ’s and in areas that are over 35% slope? Yes, the FS knows what the end-results will look like. The end-result objective is to abate the hazard trees and mitigate the fuels while protecting all forest resources and improvements. Fuel disposal/removal is secondary to that, but still very important.

· At what point are we required to remove material from EEZ areas? Are we expected to reach into them and skid trees out along roadways? Or possibly reach in and remove material from the perimeters of the EEZ areas that aren’t along roads? Appendix A -Amendment 002 will address this question with revised specifications.

· How is SCAT-18” within 50’ of roadways possible in EEZ’s and other areas that are 35% or greater slope? Can you amend the contract so that it states this so that us Contractors are held to impossible and unreasonable requirements please? No, contract will not be amended for this. Appendix A is clear that Scat 18” will only be required for areas where majority of TSA products are being removed rather than piled/decked. This will not be required in EEZs and slopes greater than 35%.

· In areas over 35% slope, do we have to limb trees as well? Appendix A only states that trees shall be bucked. The contract does not specify that trees shall be limbed in areas that are 35% or greater, therefore it is not required. Appendix A states that trees shall be “bucked” so that the boles are in contact with the ground.

· What do we do if there isn’t enough “real estate” (room) to fall trees between the roadway and streams safely? There are areas along this road (Unit 17) where there are large concentrations of trees and not enough room to safely lay them down… The end-result objective is to abate the hazard trees and mitigate the fuels while protecting all forest resources and improvements. Contractor will need to work with COR to identify and agree to the best way to meet the objectives of the contract safely in these areas of extreme difficulty.

· If we have the capability to reach into EEZ’s and other areas over 35% slope to process and deck logs, would that give us the upper hand on being selected for award? Do you even want this work to be done if it isn’t specified within the contract? This would obviously increase the bid price, but it seems like consolidation of fuels is the right thing to do and maybe going above and beyond contractual requirements is a good thing? Contractors are only expected to complete the work as described in the contract. Treatment in EZZs and Slope will be addressed in Appendix A Amendment 002. There is no increase in ranking in #55 – Evaluation for Technical approach specific to treatment of EEZs and slopes over 35%. The Technical Evaluation Board and CO will review all proposals and determine the “best value” for the government which is a combination of your technical proposal and quote.

· Do all optional units have to be fully completed after an award has been made or can the contractors just do some of the optional units? COR had an error in the following provided answer: Optional units are in-fact optional, and you don’t have to do all the optional units associated with each award. You can complete segments of them or not even work on some of them if you are awarded one of the Awards in the Plumas IRSC…

*Correction - Optional units are expected to be fully completed by 10/1/23 for the contractors that receive the award of Optional Items. The term optional is a bit misleading but is optional only to the Government dependent of factors such as available funding. Contractors are expected to fully complete all the optional units and the entirety of them (under each award) by the termination date if those Items are awarded. Extensions to the termination date may be granted due to weather delays or other Acceptable Delays.

· Are there repercussions for the contractors if they are selected for an award but not able to fully complete all the optional units prior to the termination date? We believe that we can fully complete the optional and mandatory units but are concerned about the extremely tight/short windows to have all work completed by 10/1/23 as these units are technical and there is a lot of work associated with each Award. The FS realizes your concerns and does not intend to award more Optional work than can be completed by the Termination date, effectively setting contractors up for failure. It is the FS’s desire that ALL work will be awarded and completed by the contract termination date, however. Contractors are encouraged to provide production rates and estimated/anticipated completion of work in their technical proposals to help ensure awards will be best value to the FS. If unawarded Optional work is ordered by modification late in the 2023 operating season, time extensions will be considered.

· There is not any EEZ (hydrology flagging) present along unit #20 and #21. Flagging was installed but only along the outer perimeters of the unit. Flagging will be placed along the roadway. Updated maps will be created after award and sent to the selected contractor as there may be some streams/layers that didn’t make it onto the Contract Area Maps.