12443926Q0113 SF 18 Thunderstruck Crown Touch Release Project.pdf

12443926Q0113

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11. SCHEDULE (Include applicable Federal, State and local taxes)

THIS RFQ

REQUEST FOR QUOTATION

(THIS IS NOT AN ORDER)

IS IS NOT A SMALL BUSINESS SET ASIDEX

06/05/2026 1170638

1 2

1720 PEACHTREE ST NW

STE 876S

ATLANTA GA 30309-2449

USDA-FS CSA EAST 1

USDA FOREST SERVICE

GEO WASHINGTON JEFFERSON NFS

CLINCH RANGER DISTRICT

1700 PARK AVE SW

NORTON

VA 24293

651 649-5236DAVID EASTER

06/24/2026 1700 CT

FOB DESTINATION

OTHER

(See Schedule)X

ITEM NO.

(a)

SUPPLIES/SERVICES

(b)

QUANTITY

(c)

UNIT

(d)

UNIT PRICE

(e)

AMOUNT

(f)

COR: Christopher Jackson GTM: Royce Bedbury Service Contract Act WD # 2015-4339 Period of Performance: 08/17/2026 to 12/31/2026

0001 The following trees are trees to be released in order of species group priority: Red Oak/Black Oak/Scarlet Oak, White Oak/Chestnut Oak, Hickory, Yellow-Poplar/Basswood/Cucumber-Tree.

Trees to be Cut (within listed CTR stands) A four-sided crown-touching crop tree release will be applied (see figure 1). Selected crop trees should have a `free to grow rating of 4. This means that a crown is free to grow on ALL four sides. If a crop tree has less than 5 feet (with leaves on) between the upper one-half of the Continued ...

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STANDARD FORM 18 (REV. 6-95)

Prescribed by GSA - FAR (48 CFR) 53.215-1(a)

See Schedule of Items

ITEM NO. SUPPLIES/SERVICES QUANTITY UNIT UNIT PRICE AMOUNT

NAME OF OFFEROR OR CONTRACTOR

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12443926Q0113 crown and a neighboring crown (non-crop tree) then it is not free to grow in that quadrant.

The competing tree should be removed (see figure

1). One exception to this rule is when two crop trees have adjoining crowns (see figure 2). The two adjoining crop trees will be treated as a single crop tree and all trees surrounding the two crowns shall be removed until the dual crown has a `free to grow' rating of 4.

Cutting of larger trees to release a smaller crop tree may be required, unless the interfering tree is an oak species that has a DBH 3 inches or larger than the DBH of the selected crop tree.

If this does occur, then the contractor can leave the interfereing tree and only release the selected crop tree on 3 sides instead of all 4 sides.

If trees are connected by grapevines, cut only those which do not pose a safety risk. Trees that pose a safety risk if felled, shall be girdled instead. The girdling shall be a band of stripped bark and cambium at least 6 inches in width, around the entire stem of the girdled tree. The height of the girdiling band should not exceed 12 inches above ground level. The contractor shall provide hazard ribbon and tie on all trees inside the scope of the contract that are unsafe to fell. All grapevines in crop trees shall be severed; grape vines not in crop trees shall be left in tact. As listed in SOW.

NSN 7540-01-152-8067 OPTIONAL FORM 336 (4-86)

See Schedule of Items

Thunderstruck 2026 Crown Touch Release Clinch Ranger District

George Washington and Jefferson National Forests Schedule of Items

Crown Touch Release

BID PRICE

ITEM NO. SUPPLIES/SERVICES QTY. UNIT EACH TOTAL

01 FY26 Crop Tree Release 100-224* Acres _______ _____

*Exact number of acres yet to be determined. Payment will be determined by actual acres treated.

ALL RESPONSIBLE SOURCES MAY SUBMIT A QUOTATION WHICH, IF TIMELY

RECEIVED, SHALL BE CONSIDERED BY THE AGENCY.

CONTRACTOR MUST HAVE PREVIOUS KNOWLEDGE/EXPERIENCE IN THESE

SERVICES AND MUST HAVE EQUIPMENT NEEDED IN THE PERFORMANCE OF THIS

CONTRACT.

Contractor Name:__________________________

SAM/UEI:_______________________________

Contact Email: ___________________________

DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATIONS/STATEMENT OF WORK

DESCRIPTION AND LOCATION

Contractor shall furnish all labor, materials, equipment, tools, trasnportation, supervision and supplies required to perform Timber Stand Improvement on the George Washington & Jefferson National Forests, Clinch Ranger District, Scott County, Virginia

SITE VISIT

There is no scheduled site visit at this time. Special arrangements may be made to provide access for inspection prior to the opening date by contacting Royce Bedbury at the Clinch Ranger District office at 276-679-8370 x241.

Offerors are urged to inspect the contract areas to view current conditions. Gates can be opened for offerors to inspect the contract areas upon request.

ACCESSIBILITY AND SITE CONDITIONS

Crown Touch Release (CTR) stands are accessible via Forest Service sytem road FSR239 Maple Gap Road, and Forest Service administrative road 2711 Thunderstruck. CTR stands may not have direct road access.

The FS roads may be gated depending on the time of year. When open these roads may be used by some members of the public for various disbursed recreational activites.

Under normal weather conditions, Forest Service roads are accessible by standard pickup or similar type of vehicle. Should roads become inaccessible due to rain, snow, fallen trees, slides, washouts, or forest fire closure orders, the Government may direct the Contractor to suspend operations until road conditions improve or closures are rescinded. The Government assumes no obligation to do special maintenance to keep roads open and reserves the right to deny any request where road damage is likely to occur.

There is the possibility that a four-wheel drive vehicle may be necessary to travel on some of NFS roads. Foot travel to and from stands of 0.25 to 0.5 miles may be nessary. Slopes are extremely variable and may exceed 35%. Bears, venomous snakes, biting insects, or poisonus plants may be encountered.

Contractors are subject to the same rules as Forest Service personnel regarding the use of off-road vehicles and must use only utility task vehicles (UTV) or side by sides. These vehicles differ from all-terrain vehicles (ATV) in that UTV payloads run from 800 to 1,350 pounds above the operator/passenger’s weight. UTV’s also have roll-over protection and seat belts unlike

ATV.

The stands range from 30 to 35 years old for the CTR stands. They are mostly made up of hardwoods with a small component of pine interspersed throughout some of the stands. Site indexes range from 70 to 85. There are a total of 224** acres in the 8 stands designated for treatment. Treatment units may be smaller than the stands they are derived from. Treatment units are reffered to by the stand they are derived from.

The terrain is mostly gentle to moderate. Understories are generally easy to travel through with scattered patches of mountain laurel and rhodoendron in some units. Trees to be cut average about 4 to 7 inches Diameter at Breast Height (DBH) in most stands.

DIVISION 100 - GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS

110 - Scope of Contract

Contractor’s Representative

The contractor shall provide a contract representative for the performance of the work. The name of this person and an alternate(s) who shall act for the contractor when the contractor is absent shall be designated in writing to the contracting officer. The contractor representative or alternate shall have full authority to act for the contractor on all contract matters relating to daily operations of implementing this contract. The contractor representative and alternate(s) must be able to read, write, speak, and comprehend English.

Contractor Representative Alternate 1 Alternate 2 Name:

Title:

Address:

Voice:

Fax:

Email:

Government Contract Representatives

CO COR - Primary COR - Alternative Name: Chris Jackson Royce Bedbury Title: Contracting Officer Contracting Officer’s

Representative Contracting Officer’s Representative

Address: 1700 Park Ave SW Norton, VA 24273

1700 Park Ave SW Norton, VA 24273

Voice: 276-679-8370 x235 276-679-8370 x241 Fax: 276-679-8374 N/A Email: christopher.w.jackson@usda.gov Royce.bedbury@usda.gov

Contractor Furnished Property

Contractor shall furnish all labor, materials, equipment, tools, transportation, supervision and supplies necessary to perform crop tree release and stand tending. Contractor shall fell or girdle designated trees by use of power chainsaws, brushsaws, or axes, in accordance with specifications, maps, and provisions of the contract.

Government Furnished Property

The Forest Service will deliver to the Contractor the following listed materials, supplies, property, or services; hereinafter referred to as Government Furnished Property, at the pre-work conference or at a mutually agreeable time thereafter but in any case, prior to field work. The Contractor shall be liable for all loss or damage of such Government Furnished Property until it has been returned. Completion and final acceptance of work required under this contract and each task order will be contingent on the return of all Government Furnished Property in serviceable condition. The Contractor will be charged by a reduction in contract payments the replacement cost of Government Furnished Property lost or damaged to the extent of becoming unserviceable.

Government- Furnished Property

Quantity When, Where, How to be Furnished

Site Map (physical) One per Crew Pre-Work Meeting Site Map (PDF;

georeferenced)

One per Crew Pre-Work Meeting

Gate Key One per Crew Pre-Work Meeting

120 - Description and Location

Crown Touch Release The contract areas are located on the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, Clinch Ranger District, Virginia. See attached maps for location and other information. All the areas are in mountainous terrain that can be steep and rocky. Caution should be exercised while operating power saws in these and all the areas to be treated in this contract.

Stands designated for treatment may be close to gas wells and gas well pipelines. Caution should be exercised when felling trees near gas wells or markers designating underground pipe. If the contractor or any of the contractor’s work crew damage a gas well or pipe, or detect a gas leak, they shall vacate the vicinity, and contact the 24-hour Virginia Natural Gas Emergency Hotline at 877-572-3342 to report the leak/damage and receive further safety instruction. Once the leak/damage is reported, and it is safe to do so, the contractor shall contact the Clinch Ranger District to report the incident.

CTR Stands

STAND NOMINAL

ACRES

ESTIMATED NUMBER OF CROP

TREES

BOUNDARY COLOR

2023-0014 20 300 - 600

2 BLUE SLASHES

2023-0032 15 225 - 450 2070-0012 27 405 - 810 2070-0013 51 765 - 1530 2070-0019 43 645 - 1290 2070-0022 9 135 - 270 2070-0023 47 705 - 1410 2070-0029 12 180 - 360

TOTAL 224 3360 - 6720

130 - Crew Organization The contractor shall work during normal working hours of the week, Monday through Friday.

Weekend and holiday work is allowed but must be coordinated and approved by the COR or the Field Inspector to ensure timely inspections of completed work.

All temporary roads that have been closed, tank trapped, and/or seeded will remain closed to vehicular access unless opened under prior written agreement.

DIVISION 200 - TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

210- Selection of Crop (leave) Trees

Crop Trees are to be selected by the contractor.

Crop Trees are of the species listed in Section 212, Trees to Favor, that are visually healthy, in good form, and occupy a dominant or codominant position within the canopy. Intermediate or overtopped trees are not to be considered Crop Trees. Some Crop Trees may be located close to one another.

211-Spacing- Spacing is not critical for the Crop Tree Release

The goal is to successfully release 15 to 30 trees per acre in CTR units.

Naturally regenerated forest stands in the Appalachian Mountains are rarely uniform. The contractor should expect the density of acceptable Crop Trees to vary from area to area. In some areas achieving 30 Crop Trees per an acre will be easy, and in some it may not be possible. See section 311, Acceptance, for more information.

212-Trees to favor Contractor and employees must know Southern Applachian Hardwood tree species.

The following trees are not to be selected as crop trees and SHOULD NOT BE CUT at any time: Yellow Pines, Dogwood, Eastern Hemlock, Ash, Serviceberry, and American Chestnut.

The following trees are trees to be released in order of species group priority: Red Oak/Black Oak/Scarlet Oak, White Oak/Chestnut Oak, Hickory, Yellow-Poplar/Basswood/Cucumber- Tree.

Trees to be Cut (within listed CTR stands) – A four-sided crown-touching crop tree release will be applied (see figure 1). Selected crop trees should have a ‘free to grow rating’ of 4. This means that a crown is free to grow on ALL four sides. If a crop tree has less than 5 feet (with leaves on) between the upper one-half of the crown and a neighboring crown (non-crop tree) then it is not free to grow in that quadrant. The competing tree should be removed (see figure 1).

One exception to this rule is when two crop trees have adjoining crowns (see figure 2). The two adjoining crop trees will be treated as a single crop tree and all trees surrounding the two crowns shall be removed until the dual crown has a ‘free to grow’ rating of 4.

Cutting of larger trees to release a smaller crop tree may be required, unless the interfering tree is an oak species that has a DBH 3 inches or larger than the DBH of the selected crop tree. If this does occur, then the contractor can leave the “interfereing tree” and only release the selected crop tree on 3 sides instead of all 4 sides.

If trees are connected by grapevines, cut only those which do not pose a safety risk. Trees that pose a safety risk if felled, shall be girdled instead. The girdling shall be a band of stripped bark and cambium at least 6 inches in width, around the entire stem of the girdled tree. The height of the girdiling band should not exceed 12 inches above ground level. The contractor shall provide hazard ribbon and tie on all trees inside the scope of the contract that are unsafe to fell.

All grapevines in crop trees shall be severed; grape vines not in crop trees shall be left in tact.

213-_Cutting Methods

Trees shall be severed by chainsaw at a height not to exceed 12 inches from the ground except in situations explicitly lined out in this contract. Ground level is considered from the uphill side of the stump. Visual objectives and safety considerations will drive where this is allowed. Those units will be determined solely by the COR and communicated to the contractor in the Pre-Work meeting. Trees to be cut shall be felled all the way to the ground and not left leaning against other trees.

The COR will determine on a tree-by-tree basis whether to leave a “hung” tree because of potential hazard to the contractor.

When Contractors encounter a selected crop tree (or more than one) that is a part a multi stem “stump sprout”, they are to proceed with proper release of those stems that are interfering with the crown development of the crop tree(s); however, they have the option of felling that stem or sprout at a height not to exceed 3 feet in height leaving a “high stump”. Further, they are to leave a slanted cut if they choose the higher than 12 inches stump height. This high stump will slow the pace of any stump rot into the selected crop trees that will develop over the subsequent years.

214 - Disposition of Felled Trees

Felled trees shall not be piled or windrowed, but shall be left scattered on the ground throughout the area. Felled trees shall not be left lodged in standing trees unless they are hung up by grapevines or briars. If trees are hung up they should be bucked up if it does not pose a safety hazard to try and get the tree to lie on the ground. Felled trees shall be kept out of all open and closed Forest Service roads or State Roads, which can be used for access through the areas.

Contractor does not have salvage rights unless coordinated with the COR.

220 - Resource Protection N/A

221 - Stream, Lake and Reservoir Pollution Prevention

The contractor shall take sufficient precautions to prevent pollution of lakes and streams by fuels, oils and other harmful materials. All streams will be kept free of all contractor generated debris.

230 - Access

• The contractor will protect all trails, roads, ditches, fences and other improvements in the project area.

• Trails shall be kept free of logs, slash and debris, including any felled trees overhanging the trail way prism.

• Roadways (includes closed or “tank-trapped” roads), ditches and road banks shall be free of all contractor-created slash and limbs. The road area prism to be kept free of slash is defined as the top of the cut bank on the uphill side of the road to the bottom of the road bank below the road.

• Any road or trail used by the contractor that is damaged by his operation will be promptly repaired by the contractor.

• Access guidelines will be provided by the COR. Access into some areas requires some walking.

• Gates that are locked and not open to the general public will remain closed and locked whenever the contractor is working in units located behind the gate.

• The contractor will not block the road way on any gated road that provides access to gas wells.

240 - Protection of Trees

• The contractor will use every precaution necessary to prevent damage to trees not to be treated.

250 - Final Cleanup

Before final acceptance, all trash, rubbish, and debris generated by the contractor's operation will be removed from National Forest land.

260 - Protection of Archeological /Historical Resources

The contractor, upon discovery of suspected archeological or historical materials, will cease work in the vicinity of such material and immediately notify the COR or designated field inspector.

DIVISION 300 - INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

310 – Inspection

Inspection of the work performed under this contract shall be made by the COR or the designated. The inspections shall be made as the work progresses, at such intervals as necessary to insure compliance with the contract specifications and provisions. Upon completion of work in an area, the contractor shall notify the COR that work in the area is completed. If the completed work is acceptable under the terms of the contract, the contractor shall be allowed to proceed with work in the next area. If the work is not acceptable under the terms of the contract, the contractor shall complete any corrective work and gain the COR’s acceptance prior to commencing work in the next area.

320 – Acceptance As the basis for payment, the COR will inspect for compliance with specifications on areas reported as completed by the Contractor. Each work unit, as designated on the attached maps and described in the Schedule of Items, will be inspected as a separate unit and will not be averaged with any other area for acceptance or payment.

Crown Touch Release Stands

Acceptable work in a unit will be defined by the contractor adequately releasing 90% or more of the possible Crop Trees in a given area, not to exceed 30 Crop Trees per an acre, on four sides (or less if situations stipulated in this contact apply), without unnecessary damage to the crop tree or the surrounding resitual trees in the stand. Adequate release is defined in Section 210, Trees to be Cut. If the contractor believes there are fewer than 15 Crop Trees per an acre in an area, they shall inform the COR.

DIVISION 400 - MEASUREMENT AND PAYMENT

410 - Method of Measurement

The final acres for this contract are yet to be determined. A copy of the current draft, which represents the maximum possible extent for treatment area, is included with this document. Final determination of acres will be conducted in July 2026, and a finalized georeferenced map will be provided to the contractor in August 2026. The final unit boundaries will be determined using the

Forest Service Two Trails application, on a compatible device. The acres specified on this contract are nominal.

420 - Basis of Payment

Payment will be made at the unit bid price for the trees treated to standard.

Attachment A

How should crop trees be released?

Apply a crown-touching crop tree release by cutting all trees except other crop trees, whose crowns touch the crop tree crown. Normally, it is not necessary to cut overtopped trees (See Figure 2).

Figure 1. Crop tree guidance. A crop tree crown is free to grow if no other crowns from adjacent trees (with leaves on) are within 5 feet of the crop tree crown.

Figure 2. Exception to the 4-sided release. Two crop trees crowns with adjoining crowns may be considered as one crop tree and a 4-sided release will be completed around both crowns.

239D

237C

2070-13

2070-12

2070-22 2023-32

2070-23

2023-14

2070-19

2070-29

Sources: Esri, TomTom, Garmin, FAO, NOAA, USGS, (c) OpenStreetMap contributors, and the GIS User Community, Copyright:© 2013 National

Geographic Society, i-cubed

Legend

FY26_CTR_Thunderstruc

Public Road

Forest Highway

Open Year-Around

Open Seasonally

Administrative Use Only

Closed Year-Around

Decommissioned Road

Wildlife Access

Private ¹ 0 0.25 0.50.13 Miles

Scale: 1:23,478

Upper Left: 82°45'39"W 36°50'16"N FY26 Thunderstruck CTR - DRAFT