12444724Q0016_Attach1_SOW_28Aug24.pdf

US Department of Agriculture (USDA)

Statement of Work

USDA FS, Southern Research Station

Forestry Sciences Lab – RWU 4952

320 E Green Street

Athens, GA 30602

Enchanted Circle Survey Data Collection

August 28, 2024

Contents Project General Information

1.0 Scope of Work

2.0 Background

Contractor Requirements

3.0 Technical Requirements /Tasks

4.0 Government Furnished

5.0 Deliverables / Schedule

6.0 Travel

7.0 Contractor’s Key Personnel

8.0 Security Requirements

9.0 Data Rights

10.0 Section 508 – Electronic and Information Technology Standards Attachment

Project Enchanted Circle Survey Data Collection

General Information

1.0 Scope of Work

This contract supports a Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) research study related to the USDA Forest Service’s Wildfire Crisis Strategy (WCS). The project gathers data from the public related to 1) perceptions of Forest Service WCS activities in New Mexico’s Enchanted Circle Landscape (ECL), specifically the Taos and Cañoncito Firesheds, and other key communities in both Taos and Colfax Counties; and 2) public perceptions of risk and trust residents and others have in the Forest Service to carry out WCS activities in the ECL.

2.0 Background

Wildfires pose a significant threat to infrastructure and human lives. In the western United States, wildfires in recent years have been more costly and dangerous because of accumulated fuels after more than a hundred years of suppressed fires, as well as a warming and drying climate. These trends in increased occurrence of extreme fire are expected to continue in the immediate future. Government officials, land managers, recreationists, and residents of wildland urban interface communities are now struggling to understand better increased levels of wildfire hazard and identify best options for mitigating hazard and protecting resources as efficiently as possible.

Studies examining public attitudes and perceptions toward USDA Forest Service (USFS) restoration activities are limited.

For instance, research indicates that the more the public becomes familiar with forest management practices and their aesthetic benefits, the greater their acceptance of those actions. Although previous studies have provided some insight into how the public views the need for forest treatments, such as thinning and burning, the significant change in fire behavior across the southwestern U.S. in recent years can cause a significant change in public perception. This may be especially true given the 2022 Hermit’s Peak-Calf Canyon Fire in northern NM, suggesting an urgent need to assess public responses to wildfire mitigation strategies and activities, resident awareness of wildfire risk, and public trust in federal agencies tasked to perform mitigation activities. Effectively capturing current attitudes toward the USFS as part of its effort to reduce the threat of additional catastrophic fire in this region is critical for the USFS to safely implement planned restoration activities, with stronger community support and trust. Of the literature that exists on these topics, little is related to research in New Mexico, which presents a unique socioeconomic context, given its layered history of settlement by Pueblo, Hispano, and Anglo peoples. Therefore, this project is timely and critical, in particular due to the fact that recent large wildland fires in New Mexico resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars of property loss, major disruption for residents and their livelihoods, and billions of dollars in full cost estimates - estimates that are outdated by over a decade.

Contractor Requirements

3.0 Technical Requirements /Tasks

This contract addresses two research objectives 1) assessing resident responses to WCS activities in the ECL and 2) gauging resident perceptions of wildfire risk and trust in the Forest Service to implement WCS mitigation activities. For both objectives, household level surveys will be used to query public perceptions, trust levels, expectations, and degree of acceptance levels related to WCS mitigation activities performed by private, federal, and state entities in communities residing in the ECL. The research team, consisting of a US Forest Service social scientist (and project lead), University of New Mexico and Texas Tech faculty, along with other professionals, will develop questions specific to prescribed burning, mechanical thinning treatments, risk perceptions, trust, and possibly other wildfire mitigation in the ECL. The following tasks are required:

Household survey administration: The contractor will distribute and or administer a survey, via mail and possibly other means, (e.g., online, phone) to a stratified, random sample of households in selected ECL communities. Specific tasks are as follows:

• Meet regularly (timing to be determined) with US Forest Service Principle Investigator (PI) and other members of the research team.

• Provide feedback on survey instrument.

• Provide Spanish translation of survey instrument.

• Identify relevant sample size/composition from population of Taos and Colfax Counties.

• Format survey for mail, phone, or online administration.

• Program online survey. If administered online, responses will need to be returned to a secure platform specified by the USDA.

• Distribute any relevant notifications of the survey before it is administered.

• Distribute survey instrument (e.g., via mail, phone, online) in both English and Spanish

(when needed). Contractor will determine which populations should receive the Spanish language version of the survey instrument.

• Conduct non-response follow up to survey administration, including postcard or letter reminder, reminder postcards.

• When needed, enter data from survey form to secure data management system.

• Clean and code all responses for data analysis.

• Deliver cleaned data and codebook to US Forest Service Project lead in Excell spreadsheet format. The data will be in a format that can readily be read into a statistical analysis program such as SAS.

The objective of this contract is to obtain 400 completed surveys from selected ECL communities. The number of surveys to be distributed will need to be determined by the contractor to achieve this response rate. Data will be collected from the following communities: In Taos County—Taos (city), Taos Pueblo, Cañoncito, Arroyo Seco, Arroyo Hondo, El Prado, Valdez, San Cristobal, and Questa. In Colfax County—Angel Fire, Cimarron, and Eagle Nest. Surveys will be administered in both English and in Spanish where necessary.

4.0 Government Furnished

N/A

5.0 Deliverables / Schedule. Timely submission of deliverables is essential to successfully completing this requirement.

Please see the table below. Note that survey administration cannot proceed without Office of Management and Budget approval of the survey. Delivery dates below assume that the survey will be approved in fall 2025. Notice to Proceed (NTP) planned for issuance by December 1st, 2025.

*Customary progress payments will be used per FAR 32.501-1. Invoicing may occur no more than monthly. % in above table represents the percentage of total contract value. Contact total % at each milestone will not be exceeded without acceptance of all associated deliverables.

6.0 Travel

Not Applicable

7.0 Contractor’s Key Personnel

Survey Administrator

The Survey Administrator shall be responsible for determining the number of surveys to distribute based on the contractor’s understanding of and data gathering expertise in northern New Mexico’s culturally and ethnically diverse communities. Responsibilities also include advising on the best strategies for administering the survey, which may include mail, internet, and phone administration.

Minimum Qualifications

1. Spanish language fluency and ability to translate survey instrument into Spanish.

2. Minimum 5 yrs. experience collecting data involving rural, Hispanic and/or indigenous communities.

Delivery date Milestones & Deliverables Percent of project cost*

From issuance of NTP until final data delivery

Twice monthly, written reports to USFS Project lead Not Applicable (Incorporated into cost of all deliverables)

21 calendar days after NTP

• Provide feedback on survey instrument

• Provide Spanish translation of survey instrument

10%

30 calendar days after NTP

• Identify relevant sample size/composition from population of Taos and Colfax Counties

• Program online survey.

15%

60 calendar days after NTP

• Program online survey in both English and Spanish

• Distribute any relevant notifications of the survey before it is administered

20%

70 calendar days after NPP

• Distribute survey instrument (e.g., via mail, phone, online) in both English and Spanish (when needed)

15%

100 calendar days after NPP

• Conduct non-response follow up to survey administration, including postcard or letter reminder, reminder postcards

10%

150 calendar days after NTP

• Complete entry of all data into secure data management system

10%

180 calendar days after NTP

• Deliver cleaned data and codebook to US Forest Service Project lead in Excell spreadsheet format. The data will be in a format that can readily be read into a statistical analysis program such as SAS.

5%

• Final invoicing upon acceptance of final deliverable and full contract completion

15%

3. Demonstrated understanding of the ability to address data collection challenges when studying northern New Mexico communities.

8.0 Security Requirements

All data collected shall be kept strictly confidential and made available only to the research team. No reporting, of manuscripts, or presentations shall be made without the consent of the research team.

9.0 Data Rights

The data shall be owned by the USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station.

10.0 Section 508 – Electronic and Information Technology Standards N/A

Attachment N/A