Amendment 0002_Sol_Attachment11_Pre-proposal_SiteVisitNotes.pdf

Amendment 0002 – RFP: 12363N25R4003 Attachment 11: Pre-proposal Meeting/Site Visit Notes

BCLH Stewardship IRSC Phase 3

Prepared by Karen Ruklic, Brett Blundon and Heidi Andersen Site Visit was held on 04/01/2025 at 10:00 a.m.

Attendance List:

Name Company Email Address Phone Karen Ruklic USFS – Stewardship Contracting

Officer karen.ruklic@usda.gov 208-702-3519

Heidi Andersen USFS – Disaster Recovery Program Manager heidi.andersen@usda.gov

458-250-3005

Michelle King USFS – Detroit District Ranger michelle.king@usda.gov

503-854-3366

Danny Matthews USFS - Engineer daniel.matthews@usda.gov

541-367-3812

Brett Blundon USFS - Disaster Recovery Program Manager brett.blundon@usda.gov 541-225-6333

Erick Larkin USFS – Contracting Officer’s Representative erick.larkin@usda.gov

541-367-3486

Name Unreadable Mr. Tree maxm@mrtreeinc.com 971-713-0569 Max Metcalf Mr. Tree maxm@mrtreeinc.com 971-713-0569 Kyle Patterson Mr. Tree KyleP@mrtreeinc.com 541-520-7099 Dan Johnston Emery and Sons Construction LLC bids@emeryandsons.com 503-588-7576 Logan Miller, Adam Miller and Gene Griffin

Pacific Ridgeline Forestry logan@pacificridgelineforestry.co m

541-810-3454

Andrew Olsen Druthers Construction Andrew.olson2022@gmail.com 541-441-2029 Reid Highberger North Santiam Paving quotes@nspor.com 503-769-3436 Jay Crowl Summitt Forest summittforests@gmail.com 541-941-4074 Gibson Kuenzi Siegmund Excavation gibson@siegmundcompanies.com 503-339-4690 Mac Moreno M.P. Forestry mpforest187@hotmail.com 541-646-8695 Jeff Elder Greenside Construction jeff@greensideconstruction.com 503-515-8314 Karly Dees Tall Pine Ranch LLC kdees@tallpinesr@gmail.com 541-499-8526 Garrett Dees DeesCo LLC gdees@deescompany.com 541-775-5564 Doug Sherwood Table Mountain Forestry doug@tablemt.com Jess Smith Table Mountain Forestry jess@tablemt.com Dennis Sutherland Table Mountain Forestry dennis@tablemt.com 541-270-2633 J.R. Ruhan Granite Construction Jr.ruhan@gcinc.com Eric Offutt H.O. Logging notreehugger@live.com Joey Russell PCL Lumber & Landscaping LLC joseph@pcllandscaping.net

Notes:

The meeting started in the front parking lot of the Detroit Ranger Station.

mailto:karen.ruklic@usda.gov mailto:heidi.andersen@usda.gov mailto:michelle.king@usda.gov mailto:daniel.matthews@usda.gov mailto:brett.blundon@usda.gov mailto:erick.larkin@usda.gov mailto:mr.rock0569@gmail.com mailto:maxm@mrtreeinc.com mailto:KyleP@mrtreeinc.com mailto:bids@emeryandsons.com mailto:logan@pacificridgelineforestry.com mailto:logan@pacificridgelineforestry.com mailto:Andrew.olson2022@gmail.com mailto:quotes@nspor.com mailto:summittforests@gmail.com mailto:gibson@siegmundcompanies.com mailto:mpforest187@hotmail.com mailto:jeff@greensideconstruction.com mailto:kdees@tallpinesr@gmail.com mailto:gdees@deescompany.com mailto:doug@tablemt.com mailto:jess@tablemt.com mailto:dennis@tablemt.com mailto:Jr.ruhan@gcinc.com mailto:notreehugger@live.com mailto:joseph@pcllandscaping.net

Contracting Officer, Karen Ruklic, had attendees introduce themselves and then proceeded to explain how one large project was broken down into three smaller projects by geography. Phase 3 was solicited first due to priority restoration of access to the Opal Creek Scenic Recreation Area. The current plan is to solicit Phase 2 next as there are no conflicts with haul of product from these units during the summer of 2025. Phase 1 is planned for solicitation last since the integral haul route passes over Road 46 which is planned for road reconstruction in the summer of 2025.

CO stressed that an extension of the April 25, 2025 offer deadline is not desirable because all 3 contracts must be awarded this fiscal year. Interested vendors shall review the solicitation requirements early and submit any questions in writing promptly. Late questions will not be looked upon favorably as they could result in issuance of a material amendment and force an offer deadline extension. Also, late is late. Offers with the required Bid Bond and Power of Attorney must be submitted by the offer deadline date and time. If an offer is late, it cannot be considered. Things happen in the digital world. CO will respond upon offer receipt with an email. Offerors should confirm receipt. Do not wait until the last minute to submit your offer.

The solicitation states clearly that award without discussions is planned. Submit your best offer up front. Work hard to provide a strong technical proposal. An amendment was done to implement recent Executive Orders.

Sign and return this amendment along with any subsequent amendments with your offer. Also, submit the amended provision K.2 with your offer.

CO then provided a handout with key excerpts of from the solicitation and particular emphasis placed on the requirements highlighted in yellow. This handout has been provided as an attachment to the notes.

The CO proceeded to review the handout with all attendees. Supplemental information provided or information stressed is as follows. Handout page numbers have been given to correlate the information provided with the solicitation excerpt.

Handout Pages 1-4:

• Schedule of Items was reviewed. Note that Phase 3 Mandatory work includes significantly more Item 2 Hazard Tree Felling than Item 1 Cut and Remove. This is because a significant number of acres to be treated are in the Opal Creek Scenic Recreation Area within which timber harvesting and cutting and selling of trees is prohibited.

• Note that under Mandatory Item 5 - 38.97 miles of road requires pre, during and post haul maintenance and then, that same amount of road length will be reconditioned under a separate construction Item.

• Road construction work is being done to increase culvert sizes to handle increased run-off, stabilize roads where failures have been found and recondition the road following hazard tree treatment. Item 6(i) Subbase is rock to be commercially sourced and placed on the 2209000 Road during the dry season (May 15 – October 15) to allow for hazard tree felling during the wet season (October 16 – May 14). This is the only road that will be treated in this manner and the only road along which hazard trees may be treated during the wet season. Before final inspection, the 2209000 Road will be capped with commercially source, surface aggregate under Item 6(k). The Government worked hard to find an on-site rock supply source to decrease costs, but rock was not reasonably available. It was either committed to timber sales or could not be crushed in time without hindering timber sale operations.

• Spoke briefly about Item 7. Simple work to yard and deliver logs for fish habitat improvements. Note that if awarded, logs would be sourced from Optional Unit BC-6 first. This unit includes acres in recreation sites that are also within the Opal Creek SRA. Relocating logs from this unit would reduce fuels while also complying with the no commercial use requirement. The CO also noted the delivery date of the fish logs is different than the overall contract period of performance. The fish logs must be delivered by 10/15/2026. It was emphasized that due to the road reconstruction on FSR 4600, haul of fish logs may not be an option in the 2025 season.

• Item 14 Fall and Leave Individual Hazard Trees is paid for based on actual quantity of trees fallen. These trees are outliers located outside of unit boundaries; they are very tall hazard trees that could reach the road if they fall but due to the small number of them, it did not make sense to delineate a separate unit. See Appendix A for special payment requirements.

• Spoke of the need for Logging Cost data and Delivered Value data for Items 1 and 8. This information is required to show clearly for upper management that product removal is deficient. Item 1 total price shall equal the Total Logging Cost minus the Total Delivered Value. This information is proprietary and will not be included in the awarded contract.

• Note B.2 Timber/Product Removal Price Schedules – Mandatory Work Product aligns with estimated product volume required for removal under Item 1 Cut and Remove. Optional Work Product – Timber Subject to Agreement aligns with estimated product volume required for removal under Optional Item 8 Cut and Remove if awarded. The Un-estimated Optional Work Product – Timber Subject to Agreement aligns with removal performed under Items 2 and 9 Hazard Tree Felling. Removal of this product must meet special resource protection requirements and shall only be done if the contractor elects to take the material. All prices offered for timber must meet or exceed $0.40/Ton Minimum Acceptable Offer.

Handout Page 5:

• Reviewed Special Requirements. Payrolls required for construction work only. Upload payrolls into IPP with invoices that include construction work. Offers shall include a Bid Bond and Power of Attorney for the total value of the construction work. Electronic submittal is allowed/required. Bullet F is only applicable to large businesses that submit offers. If the draft Small Business Subcontracting Plan submitted by large businesses with the Technical Proposal is acceptable, it will be incorporated into the awarded contract. Note that USDA goals will probably change as will the FAR Part 19 regulations as the government implements recent Executive Orders.

Handout Page 6:

• Stewardship contracts are special in that they allow the value of timber products to be traded to fund service work performed. The Stewardship Statute also requires full and open competition, allows bundling different types of land management treatments into a single contract, requires that awards be made based on value, and that consideration be given to how a proposal would benefit the local economy.

• Mechanized equipment shall operate on existing road prisms only.

• See C.9. If your prices for the mandatory and/optional construction work exceeds one or both of these ranges, an offer may still be submitted; however, the government bases its funding on its price estimates, if prices offered far exceed the range within which the government’s estimate is located, our chances for making award to your firm may be limited due to funding availability.

Handout Pages 7-8:

• Reviewed the deadlines stated in F.2. Consider how your operations will meet these deadlines given that most of the work must be completed in the dry season. If these deadlines appear too short, notify the government ASAP and provide supporting documentation. An extension to one or more of the deadlines may be made if it appears it is necessary to receive good competition/prices and make a successful award. However, consider that construction bonding is significant and must be kept in place for one year following final payment for the work. This issue was a key driver for breaking the total project into 3 parts and trying to keep the periods of performance from being unreasonably long. The government also has a driving need to reopen these roads, that have been closed since 2020, for public use. If work is shut down or restricted due to fire conditions, a no-cost time extension will be negotiated at that time.

• Highlighted that no operation will occur between October 16-May 14 except as detailed for Unit BC-4. A contractor asked if waivers would be considered. CO said no based on the following facts: 1) the elevations of most roads to be treated are high and the roads receive significant precipitation/snow accumulations during the wet season and 2) hardening the road surfaces with commercial base rock to allow for heavy equipment operation within the road prism would be expensive and inclusion of this requirement would further drive-up prices and bonding requirements.

• Proceeded to review clause F.4, sections highlighted in yellow.

Handout Page 9:

• CO stressed the Detailed Operation Schedule to be submitted weekly during contract performance. This will satisfy the 14-day notice required by H.5 for SMAs 1 and 3 and give the government time to flag special features.

Handout Page 10:

• The Service Contract Inventory Report submission was stressed as failure to report as required in sam.gov will result in a downgraded CPARS report for that period. This requirement is being audited and emphasized at the National level.

Handout Pages 10-11:

• The government is very concerned about safety particularly given that fact that the trees being treated burned in 2020. Provide a project specific Safety Plan with your Technical Proposal. Supplemental NEPA to approve off-road, ground-based, equipment use on slopes less than 30% is on-going. No objections were received but the Decision Notice has yet to be signed. Phase 3 has mostly steep ground. In fact, the 135 acres currently noted in the solicitation is being reduced to 69 acres in Amendment 2 to align with NEPA. If the Supplemental NEPA is signed, a modification will be done after award to allow off-road, ground-based equipment use on the small number of acres available. Amending the solicitation does not make sense given the small number of acres. Phases 2 and 1 will address the Supplemental NEPA within the solicitation requirements if approved.

Handout Page 12-13:

• In general, SMA-1 is geared toward protection of heritage sites, SMA-2 riparian areas and SMA-3 Opal Creek Scenic Recreation Area and areas that include botanical sites and/or wetlands. This is a very general description and there may be other special features being protected or areas withdrawn from treatment within a given SMA. The contract requires a 14-day notice to begin operation in SMA-1. Riparian Reserves in SMA-2 must be marked prior to starting work because stream channels move, and our maps do not capture the precise stream channel locations. A stream channel is defined showing signs of annual scour including, but not limited to, having a defined channel, gravels, absence of duff layer, etc; presence of water is not required to be classified as a stream chaneel. SMA-3 acres shall be protected from all ground disturbing activities. SMA-3 includes acres within the Opal Creek Scenic Recreation Area where no commercial product removal is allowed. For this reason, boundaries of Opal Creek will be marked on the ground prior to commencement of work. Some units have acres within and outside of the SRA.

• No cutting of trees in the wilderness is critical. For Units BC-3 and BC-4, no treatment shall occur beyond 150 feet as measured from the Road Centerline where the Wilderness Boundary is 200 feet from the road edge.

• Highlighted October 1 deadline for erosion control measures. Erosion control required at disturbed landings and roads along which hazard trees are being removed.

Handout Page 14-15:

• Directionally fall trees away from system trails and trailheads. If tree is fallen across a trail, buck out the section blocking the trail and roll it away. Coordinate with COR before commencing work in developed recreation areas noted so that we leave the sites in the best condition possible. When working near powerlines, coordinate directly with power company, if necessary.

Handout Page 17:

• 14-day construction payments will be made for all types of work. Our contract award system only allows 1 payment term. Chose 14 over 30-day due to legal requirement to pay construction workers weekly. Coordinate closely with COR regarding payment submittal. Do not submit payments to IPP before work has passed inspection and quantities are agreed upon. Government does not want to reject payments but cannot approve payments without proper inspection to assure all the work meets specification. This is an emphasis item of the new administration.

• While the clause included in the contract, the USFS generally does not do Change Orders; we do supplemental agreements for work within scope. Our limited funding requires us to negotiate and agree on modification pricing prior to work implementation. Due to tight budgets, adding any work will probably mean dropping work previously awarded.

• As a deficit sale (all items are paid service items) most of the specifications are in Appendices A, C, and D.

Appendix B includes very basic timber accounting and removal requirements.

Handout Page 18:

• Appendix D Road Reconstruction Supplemental Specifications supplement the Federal Highways FP-14 Standard Specifications. Where the supplemental specifications are silent, the standard specifications apply.

Construction contractors should always have a copy of the awarded plans on site during construction and consult with the COR prior to installation of work if there are any questions about what is required. Rework of completed construction can be extremely expensive.

• Tree Removal Guideline Maps are geo-referenced and show all SMA locations.

Handout Page 21:

• DXP experience during past 5 years should be highlighted. It is recommended that firms highlight the experience of the Key Personnel planned for use on the project within your relevant past performance.

Handout Page 22:

• Must price all items to be considered for award. The government would like to award all optional work over the life of the contract; therefore, all work must be priced/competed up front to make the process easy and efficient.

Following review of the handout, Michelle King, Detroit District Ranger, introduced herself and thanked all the contractors for coming to the meeting. She stressed the enormous amount of fire/disaster recovery work required on the District and the incredible importance of contracting with the private sector to complete the work.

Handout Pages 22-26:

• Brett Blundon then briefly reviewed the General Felling and Yarding specification along with the Cutting and Removal Specifications for Hazard Trees. No skidding logs down roadways. Don’t block drainage features. Whole tree yarding is required. Leave 7 trees per acre for downed wood retention. If individual trees are fallen into the unit under Item 14, they can count towards the 7 retained trees. Retention of 7 downed trees equates to an approximate 40 foot spacing. See special prescription for SMA-2.

Group then drove up the 2225000 Road to look at Unit BC-2. Group stopped at a location where the road surface was cracked and the fill slope was failing. The government pointed out that one of the failures on the road was specified for reconstruction and one failure was new. Prior to solicitation, no failures were designated for reconstruction prior to haul. However, it was noted that the road conditions have worsened and haul over this road in particular prior to reconstruction would not be safe. All roads will need to be driven and assessed to determine if changes have occurred that require reconstruction at site specific locations prior to haul. New failures will have to be addressed via contract modifications. Awarded unit prices will be used to calculate preliminary modification values.

Due to funding, new construction work will probably need to be funded by deletion of other awarded work.

Group drove to a demonstration plot. Brett Blundon and Heidi Andersen had flagged the boundaries of a section of the unit. Brett described the treatments, Item 1 - Cut and Remove, Item 3 – Fall and Leave Trees greater than 100 feet from the Road and Item 4 Small Fuels Treatment 0-30 feet from the Road Edge. Item 4 work has a goal of creating fuel breaks along roads. This item treats activity fuels left from whole tree yarding as well as the existing downed wood in this strip. Numerous methods of disposal are allowed for this material. However, no piling of fuels for burning is allowed. The USFS does not have the staffing capacity to burn piles. The stream just down the road from the group was then referenced. Riparian areas must be flagged prior to commencement of work. Treatment is fall and leave unless the contractor opts to remove trees under 16 inches (cedar could be one example). No trees over 16-inch DBH may be removed from riparian areas unless 1 of 3 special circumstances listed in Table 1 of Appendix A, section 2 apply and COR prior approval is given.

Erick Larkin, project COR, referenced his plan to be on site approximately once a week for inspection. A construction COR will also be designated along with Government Technical Monitors to assist with inspection of the service and construction work. Karen Ruklic noted that close coordination with the COR early in the contract to come to a good understanding of work specifications is critical and that Quality Control is the responsibility of the contractor.

Contractor inspections should be done before requesting an inspection by the government or invoicing for work.

Again, rework is very expensive and it is in all of our best interests to perform the work correctly the first time. The COR has a 1.5 hour drive one-way to visit the site; good communication with Erick will be important so that he can use his time efficiently.

Brett Blundon then briefly highlighted the A.2 Volume and Utilization Standards on the last page of the handout.

Contractor Question: Is there a specific prioritization for when the government wants certain Units completed?

Answer: The government does not want to dictate how a contractor operates. It is a given that the Mandatory Work is of higher priority than the Optional Work but so long as you meet the contract deadlines, when individual Units are scheduled for completion is up to the contractor. Also, as stated earlier, completion of hazard tree felling along the 2209000 Road is of higher priority given that it accesses Opal Creek SRA, thus the expense for rock placement/road hardening and wet weather operations. Finally, Optional Unit BC-6 will be awarded if possible due to the recreation site within its boundaries and the desire to reestablish public access. Providing a clear schedule that provides a general plan for Unit completion with your Technical Proposal is important. Address Section F deadlines and restrictions.

Contractor Question: Does Item 1 material have to be hauled off?

Answer: The product must be removed from the Forest. However, disposal methods could include haul off to a mill, chip and remove for biomass, or disposal via methods such as air curtain burners, carbonizers or biochar production or other methods agreed to by the USFS. Please see Amendment 0002 for supplemental language added to Appendix A.