PNF Hazard Tree IRSC Site Visit Q_A.pdf

PNF Hazard Tree IRSC

Site Visit Notes Prepared by Eric Murphy and Jose Rodriguez

Site Visit was held on 10/18/23 for Feather River Mandatory Units 1-6 and 20

Attendance List:

Name Company

Jose Rodriguez USFS

Charlie Hiles USFS

Lyle Eustice USFS

Eric Murphy USFS

Phil Hansen MarkIt Forestry

John Parks JSTS INC

Rob Bravo E.V.M.

Ryan Blount N. Lake Forestry

John Behrend Behrend Logging

Doug Lingren Tubit/STEM

Logan Bamford Apex Enterprises INC

Nathan Bamford JW Bamford

Brent Tyrell Tyrell/STEM

Notes:

• Eric Murphy described the work to be done and gave a project overview including the specs and discussion of what the units looked like on Feather River RD.

Q: Are oaks considered needed to be cut and piled also?

A: Any oak that is over 6 inch dbh and can hit the road needs to be cut and piled also. Trees that lean away from road significantly can be left standing.

Q: Do we prefer material to be hauled away or would we like to save that money and get more acres treated?

A: It really is all subject to funding. We would like to see as much material hauled away as possible but realize we can not afford everything.

Q: An operator said it has been extremely challenging to deal with Butte County on hazard trees in the area and the County has unrealistic expectations of how much the operator is supposed to fix on roads/road infrastructure that are previously damaged.

A: We did not have an answer with how to tackle this, but said we would talk to County to try to help.

Q: Do we have to fall all the trees within 175 feet of the road?

A: No, only the trees that would strike the road.

Q: What is the threshold for a hazard tree?

A: In Appendix A, any tree that has 10 percent green crown can be left. If the operator is interested in removing merchantable timber, the Designation by Damage class of Appendix B can be utilized for hazard trees.

Q: Is it correct the contract must be started within 10 days after the notice to proceed?

A: Yes, this is correct. See Solicitation Section 9 – FAR 52.211-10 Commencement, prosecution, and Completion of Work (Apr. 1984). The Contractor shall be required to (a) commence work under this contract within 10 calendar days after receipt of Notice to Proceed, (b) prosecute the work diligently, and

(c) complete the entire work ready for use not later than 12/31/2024 for Mandatory Items 1, 4 and 7 and associated sub-items, and Optional 3, 6 and 9. For Optional Items 2, 5 and 8 not later than 10/31/2026.

time stated for completion shall include final cleanup of the premises.

Notice to Proceed will be issued once all required schedules and reports are submitted.

Q: How do we fill out that quantity of tons removed portion of contract without knowing the volumes?

How do we fill out that optional-removal of TSA products? I have never seen that before.?

A: The Quantity of Tons for Optional Items related to TSA removal is how much material an offeror can remove with the current/future market within the contract’s period of performance. The Unit Price is the cost per ton to remove the TSA, this should be all Logging Costs (cut, skid, process, haul, profit, etc). The Total price for these items should equal the total logging costs minus the estimated delivery costs.

Q: How do we estimate how to do that road clearing optional item for 50 miles?

A: Based on the specifications in Appendix A for road clearing, estimate the cost per mile. This item will be awarded as a not to exceed mileage and execution of this item is contingent on the future need of clearing roads to access treatment units. If multiple awards are made from this solicitation, then the quantities will be awarded based on needed miles per award.

Q: How do we know where the stream buffers are if they are not flagged?

A: Due to the dangerous steep terrain and extremely brushy conditions, most buffers were not flagged.

They are located on the maps. Another operator/hand faller said they usually they locate them near the road and then kind of plunge in when they start hand falling and locate it and work from there. It is recommended to locate it beforehand and work from there.

Q: If a hardwood is sprouting again, can we leave it?

A: If it is resprouting in the top of tree and looks healthy enough to leave and will not topple over, yes.

If it is sprouting at the base, and is all dead in the top portions and presents a threat to the road, then it should be cut for safety and according to the contract Appendix A.

PNF HAZARD TREE IRSC- SITE TOUR (CONKLIN PARK – 10/19/23)

NAME- COMPANY- PHONE #- EMAIL-

Brad Christensen Markit! Forestry Management 505-274-8979 brad@markitforestry.com

Phil Hansen Markit! Forestry Management 719-602-9320 phil@markitforestry.com

Camille Swezy J&C Enterprises 530-927-9224 camille.jcenterprises@gmail.com

Lane Bennett Deadwood Forestry 661-718-5752 deadwoodforestry@gmail.com

Josh Hagerty North Lake Forestry 530-364-1775 northlakeforestry@gmail.com

Nathan Bamford J.W. Bamford, Inc.

Jeff Holland SVE/STEM 530-957-3247 jholland@sierravalleyent.com

Patrick Gayner G4/STEM 530-386-0333 pateg4enviro@gmail.com

John Pickett CTL 775-230-7673 john.pickett@ctl-fm.com

Justin Jenkins Jenkins Firewood 775-287-5905 jenkinsfirewood@yahoo.com

Treyton Northup Acres Forestry 530-307-2513 treyton@acresforestry.com

Geoff Newsted USDA - Forest Service 530-927-9445 geoff.newsted@usda.gov mailto:brad@markitforestry.com mailto:phil@markitforestry.com mailto:camille.jcenterprises@gmail.com mailto:deadwoodforestry@gmail.com mailto:northlakeforestry@gmail.com mailto:jholland@sierravalleyent.com mailto:pateg4enviro@gmail.com mailto:john.pickett@ctl-fm.com mailto:jenkinsfirewood@yahoo.com mailto:treyton@acresforestry.com mailto:geoff.newsted@usda.gov

COR (Newsted) began discussion by laying out vicinity maps of Contract Area. Noted that a few Units were displayed incorrectly on individual CAM’s and will be edited soon (Unit #102 & #119). General contract specifications were discussed as well with overall NEPA goals of this project. Noted that contractors are responsible to skid and pile slash/debris within units (over 10’ length) even if it isn’t directly created by contractor’s operations (as specified in Appendix A – Cut Specifications #6). Unit #201 has just under a 1 mile stretch of dozer pushed trees within the unit on the south side of the road that we are expecting contractors to consolidate through this contract.

Vicinity maps are sort of misleading regarding what units are mandatory and what units are optional. Do not just assume that a unit is optional if it is displayed as blue on individual CAM’s or on the Vicinity

Maps. Contracting adjusted some of them from being optional to being mandatory after the maps were developed. So, it’s important to review the Schedule of Items on the solicitation to determine what is what. TSA removal also doesn’t apply to all treatment units as well. The FS didn’t have time to develop road maintenance packages for each individual units so that is why TSA removal isn’t an option for all of them. The Schedule of Items on the solicitation also delineates what units TSA removal is permitted for.

Informed all attendees that individual units have not been designated on the ground yet, but that is in the works and will be completed within the next few weeks. Discussed that there is an ongoing fencing construction contract occurring throughout the PNF and that some units may have new fencing installed throughout it. Hazard Tree operations will take priority though and fencing crews will not be working directly adjacent to operations for safety purposes.

Unit #102 was also brought up by COR as it is somewhat unique. Discussed the requirement for

Contractors and FS to have radio communication with Union Pacific when hazard tree felling is occurring directly adjacent to the train tracks. Mentioned that there will be intermittent time periods where contractors will have to hold off on operations while train traffic is passing by. Mentioned that the PC-

417 County Roadway has experienced extreme impacts/erosion since the fire and that it is highly likely that it will not be drivable within the next few months. Access will most likely be on foot, ATV, or UTV.

Roadway is so narrow that it will be difficult to even get heavy equipment to operate along it. Treatment is to directionally fall & leave trees contouring the slope and away from the road, resources, or improvements.

Contractors are expected to have proper and appropriate signage meeting MUTCD standards when working along roadways. Through traffic can be delayed no more than 45 minutes. If delays occur longer than that time, then contractors will have to seek full road closures from the appropriate parties. Safety is a huge concern on these kinds of projects so having a spotter or flagger watching for traffic may be necessary at times.

There are currently no PAC’s or LOP’s listed in the contract at this time. The FS will allow operations to occur during the winter and spring seasons (weather permitting) if irreparable damage to resources and improvements will not occur. Soil compaction is also a factor on determining if heavy equipment can operate throughout treatment Units. FRRD & MHRD units have 50’ EEZ’s, with up to 82’ EEZ’s if water is present in streams. BKRD has 100’ EEZ buffers on all streams throughout the Contract.

Questions-

1. Do contractors have to bid on all three awards?

No. This contract is split up in a way so that it can be awarded to numerous parties. It may be awarded to just one contracting group but has the potential to be split up into three separate awards. Do not list a price for treatment on units unless you plan on treating them. However, it is important to list prices for all mandatory and optional units under a specific “award” (or line item) if you wish to be considered for selection on it.

The answer provided above is not correct. The Notes section on page 4 of the solicitation explains the process for pricing Items: Multiple Awards MAY be made from this solicitation if determined to be in the best value to the Forest Service. Project activities have been separated and designed to allow for individual awards. Offerors are required to provide price proposals for ALL Items on the schedule. Up to 3 awards may be awarded: Award #1: Work Items 1, 2 and 3. Award #2 Work Items 4, 5 and 6. Award #3: Work Items 7, 8 and 9. These schedules are for pricing/payment purposes. Unit prices prevail.

2. Do we have to put a price down on TSA if we don’t plan on removing it?

No. Do not put a price down on TSA removal if you don’t plan on removing any TSA. Contractors that do include TSA removal on their technical proposal will have greater preference than those groups that do not plan on removing TSA though.

3. Does award always go to the lowest price?

No. Price is a major factor in selection of IRSC contracts, but the technical proposal developed by the contractors is just as important. The reviewing panel doesn’t even get to see the price of all the bids. Each proposal will be rated individually based upon the criteria stated in the solicitation. After technical proposals are rated, they are then passed on to the CO and

Contracting Team (APSO’s) where both the price and proposals are looked at in conjunction to make a selection of Award.

This solicitation follows evaluation criteria for Best Value award. FAR 52.212-2 Evaluation –

Commercial Products and Commercial Services (Nov 2021). See Section 53; pages 62 – 65 for evaluation criteria.

4. Can the FS provide shp files of the units so that Contractors can develop their own maps? I would assume that information can be provided and shared on SAM.gov. Some features (heritage for example) are confidential and cannot be shared to all parties. I will ask the team to post this information.

Spatial data if requested can be shared on SAM.gov.

5. What is the definition of “local” contractors?

The solicitation sort of discusses local contractors and subcontractors. It directly mentions the benefit to the local community as one of the evaluation factors. I don’t remember which counties are mentioned but I do recall not seeing Lassen County listed as being local. Not sure why that isn’t considered local… Plumas, Butte, Tehama, Glenn, Colusa, Sutter, Yuba, Sierra, Nevada, and Placer Counties are listed.

Lassen County has been added as “local” to the Evaluation Criteria for Benefit to Local

Community.

6. Does the FS have an estimate on amount of acres that need treatment within heritage sites?

No estimate on that at this time. Heritage information is still being organized by specialists and should be forwarded to prep within the next week or two. Prep will begin developing CAM 2 maps that will be provided to the contractors that receive the Award. There might be a chance that total acres in heritage sites can be provided, but I’m not sure.

7. Are noxious weeds shown on the CAM’s and designated on the ground? They should be designated on CAM’s and designated on the ground, although I’m not sure if either has been fully completed yet. I have not seen noxious weeds displayed on any CAM’s yet, but that information will be passed onto the Contractors that are selected for whichever specific Award.

If a noxious weed is identified on the ground and isn’t designated, then the contractor shall avoid disturbance to it as much as possible.

8. Can the FS post the total budget on this project? The majority of the contractors here feel that the appraisal system is flawed and doesn’t realistically reflect actual costs of work expected of the contractors. Other agencies & groups post total budget on their projects, and it is much more fair to the individuals providing bids. Why should we waste our time and money developing a bid if the FS doesn’t have enough funding set aside to complete all work expected?

I am not at liberty to share the overall budget of this project. That would have to come from the

CO, but I don’t think that individual is able to share that information either. What I can tell you is that the FS is including many “optional” units on this project with the hopes that we will be able to commit additional funding to pay for treatment on all roads included on this project. I hear your concern that the FS appraisal system may be outdated, but we cannot change that process or procedure for this specific project. It would be wise to submit a cost that you think is fair for each specific work item that you have interest in completing. Assessment of price in the proposals will be reviewed by the CO and APSO’s on this IRSC.

Providing the available budget for a project compromises the integrity of open competition and the ability of a CO to make a fair and reasonable price determination.

9. Is the evaluation panel local? Most of the panel is local FS timber staff that will be rating the technical proposals of each contractor. The CO and a few APSO’s are not local but they have the best interest of benefiting the local forest and community.

Contracting Officer’s and APSOs staff are not apart of the technical evaluation process. The technical evaluation board consists of Forest level employees with the expertise to evaluate based on the requirements and specifications of the solicitation. The Contracting staff then uses the technical evaluation ratings along with pricing to determine price reasonableness and a Best

Value award.

10. Should contractors even bother putting in a bid for this IRSC if they only plan on working on one specific Award? Is it truly “more convenient” for the government to award to just one contractor rather than multiple companies – as was the case on the Plumas IRSC? How is it fair for smaller companies to bid on large scale projects like these if preference will be given to the bigger companies who plan on operating on the entire project? If our proposal is over $1 million less than other companies and we have a technical proposal that is comparable or just as good as our competitors, then shouldn’t that take precedence over the contractors that simply bid on the entire project?

I was not on the evaluation panel for the Plumas IRSC so I cannot say which proposals were better than others, I wouldn’t be able to share that information either even if I knew it. From my perspective – I don’t agree that it is “more convenient” for the FS if one Contractor receives all three awards compared to it being awarded to multiple parties. My understanding is that

Awards will be made based upon the criteria mentioned in the solicitation: technical approach, relevant past performance, benefit to local community, and cost/price. I highly encourage everyone here to submit a proposal regardless if you have interest in completing all work items or if you plan on working on just a few of them (one Award for example).

It is required to provide pricing for ALL items in the Schedule. In your technical proposal state what your intent is. Completing all items, only interested in these items and the reasoning for this. Your technical proposal should be very clear and have a concise method. Price and technical will be weighed to determine Best Value award(s).

11. Can the FS post a Decision Date or Contract Schedule to the contractors?

I can ask. The solicitation is supposed to close on November 30th. However, there is a chance that it may be extended if major changes are made to it. I would assume that a selection and Award will be made before 2024 rolls through, but I cannot 100% confirm that.

12. Can a work item/line item be added to the SOI for Unit #102 regarding lost time due to delays for trains traffic? Can this Unit just be paid out as “time & materials?

I can ask contracting if they would be willing to add another work item for this specific unit regarding paying the contractor for lost time (on an hourly basis). I highly doubt that time and materials will be granted for that specific unit as that isn’t typically how IRSC’s work, but perhaps the Contracting team will have better input on this?

Integrated Resource Service Contracts (IRSCs) are a Firm-fixed-price contract. A firm-fixed-price contract provides for a price that is not subject to any adjustment on the basis of the contractor’s cost experience in performing the contract.

Offerors should include in their pricing the risk for the potential of delays. If the delays become an issue where there is potential for not completing the work by the Period of Performance for that unit, an extension may be granted as an excusable delay if the contracting officer deems so.

13. What are the flagging standards on train regulations (how much time is lost for contractors each time a train passes by)? Are there other unforeseen delays for contractors working on this Unit?

On average, how many trains travel through this stretch each day? Can we get a schedule in advance from UP for train traffic?

I do not know the answers to these questions but will follow up with my Union Pacif Contact and try to provide additional information to you all… FROM UP REP: Delays will be up to 10 minutes

(average) prior to train traffic passing by. There is a possibility that a delay could be up to 30-45 minutes of a few trains are stacked up behind each other – but that doesn’t happen often. On average, 6-10 trains pass by each day through that segment. A schedule (or line-up) may be provided to the contractor a day or two in advance from UP if they have that information & if requested before operations proceed along the stretch of concern.

Q&A ended. All individual CAM’s were airdropped from COR to contractors that wanted maps. COR encouraged participants to take pictures of the Schedule of Items to decipher mandatory vs. optional units as well as which units have optional TSA removal. Designation (flagging & signs) was explained to the group. COR showed all attendees Unit #201, specifically the area where the dozer pushed trees need to be consolidated. Ephemeral creek crossings are permitted to accomplish NEPA goals if no water present within channels.

Meeting adjourned around 1215.