Dutton Hill and Sunflower GZ Q_A.pdf

Sunflower and Dutton Hill G-Z Stewardship IRSC Industry Engagement and Q&A Session Notes

11/12/2024 – 11/14/2024 Attendees

Dutton Hill G-Z Stewardship IRSC - Coconino National Forest

The Dutton Hill G-Z Stewardship IRSC on Coconino NF require pre-sale activities and limited project survey work. MSO timing restrictions apply across all three treatment areas. The three treatment areas associated with the Dutton Hill G-Z are broken down below:

• Double Springs o 626 acres o This area is entirely Leave Tree Marked (LTM).

o Slopes up to 40% in some places, but majority of the sale is favorable skidding o Near pavement for ease-of-access

Name Affiliation Email Address Phone Number Virtual Dakota Ivan USFS - Coconino dakota.ivan@usda.gov 928-456-6383 Joshua Bahling USFS joshua.bahling@usda.gov 928-9683022 y Tom Klimas WestLand Resources tklimas@westlandresources.com 520-419-5638 Mark Brehl Markit! Forestry mark.brehl@markitforestry.com 928-853-7578 Kenneth W. Cox Markit! Forestry kenneth.w.cox@markitforestry.com 928-707-3684 Kevin Porteck Tehama ECS kevin.porteck@tepa.com 210-382-6591 Tabi Bolton Campbell Global tbolton@campbellglobal.com 425-507-5499 Scot Rogers USFS - 4FRI scot.rogers@usda.gov 530-363-6623 Jacob Dahlin USFS - Coconino jacob.dahlin@usda.gov 928-224-2424 Jacob Lopez USFS - Coconino francisco.lopez@outlook.com 928-522-3785 Jon Day USFS - Kaibab jonathan.day@usda.gov 928-405-8071 Marshall Randol USFS - Coconino marshall.randol@usda.gov 928-301-7521 Andrew Leach USFS - Coconino andrew.leach@usda.gov - Cody Myers USFS - Coconino cody.myers@usda.gov - Shira Itogawa RFOR shira.itogawa@rfor.com 760-484-0790 Rich Edwards RFOR rich.edwards@rfor.com 970-309-4705 Jeff Thomashow Earth Force Technologies jthomashow@earthforce.io 908-380-0586 Sherry Gibson Tehama ECS sherry.gibson@tepa.com 719-437-5131 Kevin Ordean RFOR kevin.ordean@rfor.com 602-625-6577 Brett Crary USFS - 4FRI brett.crary@usda.gov - y Clay Benton Rocky Mountain Ecology benton@rockymountainecology.com - y Holly Hill Mason, Bruce & Girard, Inc. hhill@masonbruce.com - y Christopher Shull Mason, Bruce & Girard, Inc. cshull@masonbruce.com 916-798-3056 y Dorrance Lewis Southwest Fire & Fuels lehongva82@gmail.com 928-637-5418 y Dave Harvey WestLand Engineering and Environmental Services dharvey@westlandresources.com 317-432-5655 y Jered Hayes Unsure: SILV Resource Services, L.L.C. (Columbia, MO)? - - y Becky McMahon Unsure: DJM Ecological Services, Inc. (St. Louis, MO)? Unsure: bmcmahon@djmecological.com - y Andrew Smith Markit! Forestry - - y Joel Diamond Unsure: WestLand Resources - - y Matt McGrath USFS - Coconino - - y John Williams USFS - Regional Office (NM) john.h.williams@usda.gov - y Mary Zimmerman USFS - Coconino mary.zimmerman@usda.gov - y Elizabeth Munding USFS - Coconino elizabeth.a.munding@usda.gov - y Joel ? Chestnut Ridge Forestry - 575-430-9188 y Logan Mikus USFS - Los Padres NF (CA) logan.mikus@usda.gov -

Attendance Sheet o Question: What is mandatory work and what is optional work?

Answer: All of this treatment area will be Mandatory, and the work consists of both mechanical removal with some TSI (Timber Stand Improvement) work which consists of small diameter thinning (6’ tall up to 6” DBH and nonmerchantable material greater than 6” DBH). Removal will follow the specifications set forth in Appendix B for this treatment area.

• Dutton Hill o 4262 acres o Misspoke and said that 1/3 LTM marked, 1/3 DxP designated, and 1/3 DxP+ designated. This is not true. We will be requiring the converting of DxP units to LTM and repainting old LTM units.

o Painted and cruised in 2018-2019.

o Mandatory work –

Cut and remove timber. Nonpayable item. Bid on timber value required.

Timber Cruise Design development and implementation of standard timber cruise and to meet passing error standards. Area determination must pass as well.

Road Maintenance – current road package will be updated with completed Timber Cruise.

Remarking of LTM Units and all Boundaries (597 acres LTM, 311,629 feet of boundary)). Marking of trees done in 2018-2019, with need to touch up paint. Any changes in boundary will require re-GPSing.

o Optional Work o TSI is 6 feet tall to 6-inch diameter or above 6-inch of non-merchantable material.

Ideally, TSI is completed concurrently with harvest operations.

o Converting of DxP Units to LTM, 1640 acres.

o Heritage Site Surveys – up to 35 sites – includes verification, rerecording site data, regenerating geospatial site polygon data for ArcGIS/ArcPro and site plan view maps, Entering data into the USDA Forest Service NRM Heritage Mobile app and painting of sites.

Any sites over 1 acre will require the deferral of those acres towards the total project acres.

o o Project area checkerboards with state trust land, with more challenging Forest

Service roads and user-created roads. Project would improve roads to be used for haul and then all other roads are to be closed following use.

Question: Since haul routes will go through multiple jurisdictions, does the purchaser/contractor need to make separate agreements with the State, etc.?

• Answer: No, the Forest Service and the State have a standing agreement for use. If there is a need for any specific agreement it will be stated in the final Solicitation, but we do not see a need for any potential offeror to be required to obtain permits or agreements with the state or other owners of sections of roads to be used.

Question: Can haul routes be altered later or is the awardee locked into traveling XX percent one direction and XX percent another, for example?

• Answer: The Forest Service is flexible on the route needs of the operator; we would need to agree to specific haul routes prior to use and maintenance of roads to be used.

o There is a small amount of heritage work that needs to be done along one of the potential haul routes and this will be identified with the final solicitation.

Question: Is it likely that more heritage sites will appear if haul routes change?

• Answer: the one site that needs heritage surveying impacts a haul route east out the FSR231. The surveying needs are just updating and completing all steps to finalize the survey report.

• Question: do you need to do tribal consultation? No o The ground here is very standard and easy for whole-tree logging, standard tractor operations.

• L.O. Pocket o 3868 acres o Also, not correct. 1/3 LTM marked, 1/3 DxP designated, and 1/3 DxP+ designated. 606 acres of LTM needs to be remarked, 2375 acres of DxP convert to LTM and 28,852 feet of boundary remark.

o This project must have an updated cruise design and production cruise completed that meets area determination.

o This area has been impacted by fires, but there should be no significant effects.

Effects of fire should be minor enough (1-2 acres) to be addressed during the project. Acres could change if larger areas are identified.

o Haul route goes through a private holding with unfavorable roads. Owners are aware and purchaser will complete work on these roads immediately prior to the start of the logging.

Sunflower G-Z Stewardship IRSC - Kaibab National Forest

There is one G-Z project in Kaibab National Forest: the Sunflower project. Compared to the projects in Coconino NF, the Sunflower project is more of a traditional G-Z model, requiring much more survey work including Heritage and Botany surveys as well as implementation planning.

• Sunflower o 10,626 acres

Question: How do you know how much is cuttable?

• Answer: The FS estimates that 6,000-8,000 acres are cuttable.

Expect a 25-30 percent loss in meadows, grassland restoration and recreation sites like the Sycamore Trails Trailhead. Contractors cannot be guaranteed 8,000 or a certain number of acres. This will be determined in implementation planning by the contractor, so these are only estimates and potential offerors need to do their own due diligence prior to submitting proposals.

o This project has the potential for a bit of everything: wildlife surveys, vegetation surveys, writing a prescription, painting as needed, cruising, and more.

o The mandatory work is comprised of post NEPA/pre-implementation planning, surveys, and pre-harvest preparation work.

Many of the mandatory line items must be done in a specific order, refer to

Appendix A for timelines of completion for work items. This will be finalized when the final Solicitation is posted.

o Many optional line items are also included, and their relevance may depend on the results of surveys and implementation/road planning conducted during mandatory items.

o Heritage surveys that have been done in the project area, estimate 2,500 acres.

Heritage surveys--with survey protocol pieces locked in--are required, including need to work with tribes. Wildlife surveys are mostly complete.

o MSO habitat exists but not PACS exist. Goshawk timing restrictions are in place.

o How these line items are completed is open-ended, as long as it matches the

NEPA documentation.

Question: Has NEPA documentation already been completed for this project area?

• Answer: Yes. The NEPA used is the 4FRI EIS and the Kaibab NF

Forest Plan.

o There is an opt out clause for implementation of items that require removal of products. This is to ensure that in the event the contractor and the USFS cannot come to an agreement on appraised rates the contractor may elect to not complete removal of included products and the associated items.

o Potential offerors will need to include a bid for products at the time proposals are submitted. The only information at time proposals is due is the Bid Premium.

Bid premiums must be ≥$0.00. This bid premium would be added to the appraised value following agreement on appraised rates. This is a total value across each treatment area.

As of now there is an estimated Minimum acceptable offer for each treatment area/project that was developed from past appraised values for respective products. This is the baseline for total value prior to appraisal.

Once the appraisal is completed and accepted by both parties those rates and total value will be calculated.

Questions

• Must you bid on the entire project? Or can you bid on just one treatment area or one line item?

o Answer: You must submit your proposals for the entire project for both Sunflower and Dutton Hill G-Z. This includes pricing for all Mandatory and Optional Items and technical proposals that include how these items will be completed.

This would include if offeror was planning on or needing to subcontract out specific items or portions of items.

• Do both projects contain an implementation (cut/harvesting?) element?

o Answer: Yes, both contracts will have commercial and non-commercial elements where commercial products removed will have a rate associated with them that will pay for portions of service items.

• Is the Forest Service responsible for inspecting implementation?

o Answer: Yes. A COR will be assigned to every project, and likely government technical monitors will assist the COR in their areas of expertise. For items that require response, review, and acceptance of work to be used by contractor on subsequent items the USFS will have a timeline set in Appendix A that will require response to contractor in a timely manner.

• Are there seasonal survey restrictions for vegetation surveys in Sunflower?

o Yes, there are certain times of the year the botany surveys need to be completed and all information on this timing can be found in Attachment 7.

• Where does data for the Appraisal come from?

o The data used for the appraisal will come from the cruise, agreed to haul routes, potential mill locations, harvesting method, and associated work (slash, erosion control, etc.). The FS will work with the contractor to help explain the appraisal process when that time comes to ensure transparency on how the FS derived their appraisal numbers.

• Once you have volume estimates, do you appraise at the local mills?

o Answer: Yes and no, official appraisals have set requirements where certain products will be transported set by policy direction. There is room to adjust in this case since we would know specifically where products would be taken so there is a high likelihood local mills will be used for these appraisals.

• Who determines the transportation road plan?

o For Sunflower, the contractor determines this. For Dutton Hill the transportation planning is complete and final maintenance requirements will be dictated by chosen haul routes.

• What kind of designation method is preferred for the Sunflower project?

o It is up to the contractor. While some contractors work faster/better with DxP, others work faster/better with LTM. It is up to the contractor to decide which designation method makes the most sense for their team and best lends itself to timeliness.

• When do we want each line item done for Sunflower?

o We don’t have firm dates yet. More information will be available after the solicitation goes out.

The pre-sale solicitation is expected to close approximately Dec. 31. The full solicitation is expected to go out sometime Spring 2025. During time of full solicitation, there will be another field trip with a final map.

Ideally, the first couple of line items would be completed in 1.5 years.

o We are open to input and suggestions about reasonable timeframes for different line items. Our estimates are based on how much time the Forest Service has taken in the past, but obviously there are differences between us and contractors.

• What are the performance expectations for each line item?

o We need to ensure timely completion of each item, all inspection and acceptance criteria are set in Appendix A. This will outline performance expectations for each item and criteria for acceptance. In terms of timing, that will be set in both the main solicitation and Appendix A.

• How long do different surveys take?

o Most surveys will likely take 1 year (i.e. 1 field season plus time afterwards in office). See SAM.gov for more information about standards/requirements for different types of surveys (heritage, wildlife, vegetation, etc.).

o Owls/wildlife surveys will likely take 2 years, as 2 field seasons are needed.

o Again, we are open to input about what is considered a realistic timeline for our contractors.

• How does the Forest Service consider price for things not outlined in the optional line items?

o Ideally, all possible expenses should be listed in the optional line items – this list is meant to be exhaustive.

o For Sunflower project, we will add an optional line item for painting interior removal units (for example, if painting LTM is the designation method of choice).

o If there are any additional things that potential offerors see as a cost associated with completing these projects, please reach out and let us know and we will add them to the final solicitation.

• What is the long-term plan for G-Z as a project method?

o The projects discussed today are a pilot for the G-Z method. The results of these projects will inform how G-Z is used in the future. G-Z is new to the region, new to 4FRI, and involves new implementation techniques.

• How will these G-Z project not involve lawsuits?

o The projects fall within the 4FRI boundary and all vegetation projects have a high level of collaboration with numerous stakeholder groups to prevent any miscommunications that may lead to lawsuits.

• How should contractors decide who to subcontract?

o Specialized work – like archeological surveys, timber cruising, etc. – require specialized experience. More information about this can be found at SAM.gov.

o Beyond these requirements, it’s up to the contractor to decide who to subcontract.

o The only additional stipulation is that if the contractor is considered a Large

Business, they may need to submit a small business plan to adhere to government small business requirements.

o If desired, we can put contractors into contact with Forest Service specialists (heritage, wildlife, etc.) for recommendations on what to look for in a subcontractor.

• Who is responsible for the actions and work of subcontracts?

o The prime contractor is responsible for all subcontractor actions.

• How are awards timed? By fiscal year, or every 5 years?

o We are looking for money to be used throughout the project.

o Mandatory items get priority for funding.

o Money can be moved around as the results of the surveys come through.

o The Forest Service will handle all this on our end.

• How do we determine if a contractor is qualified?

o Following offerors submitting price and technical proposals, the FS will evaluate the technical proposals to ensure they follow the instructions set forth in the Solicitation. The evaluation criteria for these technical proposals will be established in the solicitation as well for offerors to review. Once those technical evaluations are completed pricing will be evaluated. With these two evaluations combined the FS will have to determine the best value considering both technical and price proposals.

• When do we anticipate solicitations to fly for each forest?

o Coconino National Forest projects: solicitations anticipated to fly mid- to late-

Winter. Solicitation period will be a minimum of 60 days.

Work anticipated to begin May/June.

o Kaibab National Forest project: solicitations anticipated to fly Spring 2025.

Solicitation period will be a minimum of 60 days.

Work anticipated to start later than Coconino projects. Will probably lose some of the first field season for surveys.

The first year to year and half of the Sunflower project should be taken up with planning and prep work, including surveys and the silvicultural prescription.

o During solicitations: Another field trip with final map will occur.

• Is there a preference for DxP over LTM designation?

o Not really. While some contractors work faster/better with DxP, others work faster/better with LTM. It is up to the contractor to decide which designation method makes the most sense for their team and best lends itself to timeliness.

• Who is responsible for burning slash piles?

o The Forest Service is responsible for any burning piles.

Additional Questions from Field Days:

• What type of bonding will be required? Any further explanation of associated costs, bonds, insurance, etc. that purchaser would be required to have.

o Timber payment guarantee will be needed for product removal, and this can be in the form of a surety payment bond.

o Bonding may be required for construction items as well.

o All requirements for bonding will be set in the Solicitation.

o All other requirements will be set in the Solicitation through clauses, please review and if any specific questions are need, please contact Josh Bahling or Mark Phillipp.

• What type of wages will be required? Davis Bacon, SCA?

o SCA will be required for all, Davis Bacon will be required for any engineering portions needed such as the road reconstruction work in Sunflower

• Explain the financial funding component—will money arrive year by year?

o Answer: The FS is yet to find out the process to receive the money, potentially arriving in January-April 2025. It is believed that 4FRI can push money to these projects independent of the political administration.

• Can Sunflower or Dutton Hills be broken out into subunits where you can start the surveys and move forward and then get to cutting and then you move on to the next unit to try to get implementation started quicker? Instead of doing Item 1 first for all 10k acres then moving to item 2, 3, 4, etc.?

o Answer: No these cannot be broken up in that way, Mandatory Items must be completed prior to moving forward with implementation of Optional Items. There is room to split up implementation of areas, i.e., smaller implementation areas but the planning, survey, and preparation work shall be completed first.

• What is timeline to finish Sunflower?

o Answer: Project completion is 2029, so operator would cut 8,000 acres in four years.

o Question: Can date be extended? Answer: No, the intent is to increase the pace of getting this work done. The only acceptable extension would be due to acts of god and not market fluctuations.

• What protections are in place to protect FS or purchaser from appraisals if rates aren’t agreed upon?

o Answer: If there is no agreement on appraised rates the FS and contractor will determine, by agreement, what remaining work shall be completed. This shall be stated in the notes section of the solicitation and Appendix A. The Cut and Remove Items may be removed from the contract by agreement and the remaining service work that was optional shall be completed.

• What happens if contractor runs into mill issues?

o Answer: We have a lot of local mill capacity. If issues occur, the goal is to increase the acres out to industry and get lumber moving off the forest to allow for fire-resilient landscapes.

• In the Dutton Hill area, there are dead pockets from fire effects--in area close to the Mogollon Rim with lightning strikes and a lot of fires. There is a possibility of modification throughout the term of the contract if these areas are large enough and both the Forest Service and contractor agree to the modified acres.

• Question: What about use of LiDAR? Answer: Yes, LiDAR can be used.

• Is there the ability and acres available to add on additional acres via a modification down the line if work is going well, funding becomes available, etc?

o Answer: This would be a case-by-case situation, there is potential for additional acres if funding is available, but we cannot add a substantial amount of work to these via modification. Just as in any service contract if we are reaching a large value of additional work justification of that additional work without re-soliciting would be needed.

• Can each project be awarded separately (Dutton Hills) and what does that look like with regards to bidding.

o Answer: There is a potential for multiple awards for Dutton Hill G-Z only. That would be determined by the FS throughout the evaluation process. Potential offerors should remember that they need to submit proposals for all work to be completed to be considered for any award/awards made for this solicitation.

• Can we add shape files, cruises, appraisals, road packages, including open pit where to get rock, etc. to the SAM.gov?

o Answer: Yes, once we post the final solicitation all necessary data/information for completing these projects will be posted to SAM.gov. If there is any data missing from the final solicitation that would be needed by contractors to submit proposals please contact Josh Bahling or Mark Phillipp with that request and we will make sure those are posted if the data is available.