Attachment_3_Specs_SOW.docx

FY19 SITE PREPARATION WITH HAND TOOLS

NANTAHALA RANGER DISTRICT

Version: May 21, 2019

12455019R0024 Attachment 3 Specs

DIVISION 100 - GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS

110 - Scope of Contract

The purpose of this contract is to complete follow-up site preparation on the Nantahala Ranger District across 227 acres where logging has recently been completed. Some of the areas were burned in wildlfires in 2016 and have been salvage logged; these will require more than a typical amount of sitre prep. tree falling (see treatment A in Clause 210). Other areas will receive a more typical site preparation treatment for the Nantahala Ranger District (see treatment B in Clause 210). The remaining vegetation consists of trees and shrubs of variable species, sizes, and density. The contractor will be required to make decisions to cut or leave trees based on species, condition, and density. The ability to recognize and distinguish southern Appalachian hardwood tree species is imperative for the successful completion of this contract.

Contractor shall furnish all labor, material, equipment, tools, transportation, supervision, supplies, and perform all work necessary to perform site preparation by hand tools on National Forest land.

120 -Description and Location

The areas to be treated are within the boundaries of the Nantahala National Forest, Nantahala Ranger District, Macon and Jackson Counties, North Carolina. (See attached maps).

The boundaries of the project areas are shown on the attached Vicinity and Area maps in Section J of this contract. On the ground, boundaries of the timber sale units were painted with orange vertical marks on edge trees. All contract map detail indicating location is approximate; therefore, actual locations, as the Forest Service has designated on the ground, take precedence over the contract maps contained in Section J.

The terrain ranges from gentle to steep. Hazards may be (but are not limited to) the possibility of falls, bee stings, snake bites, exposure to poisonous plants such as poison ivy, lightning, slippery roads after heavy rain, dead trees, and cuts from chainsaw operations.

130 - Access

Access will be coordinated with Nantahala Ranger District personnel. Access guidelines will be provided by the Contracting Officer's Representative (COR).

A contractor who is awarded a Government contract may be given certain access rights to closed roads. When a contractor is given access rights on a closed road for the completion of his contract, the contractor assumes responsibility for maintaining the road as closed. Access is not permitted for any other use, nor may access be conveyed to any other individual that is not directly involved in the completion of the contract. Access for activities such as moss collecting, ginseng digging, or hunting is not allowed. If the contractor is found to be in violation the contractor will be charged with a violation of federal regulations.

Contractor will be required, at the direction of the COR, to stop operation of access vehicles during extended or excessive wet weather periods to reduce excessive gouging, rutting, and compaction of the soil. Any road or trail used by the contractor that is damaged by his operations shall be promptly repaired by him.

140 - Crew Organization

141 - The contractor shall provide a competent foreman or supervisor for each crew. The foreman or supervisor must be able to communicate with the COR or the designated inspector. For the purpose of this contract the Forest Service will not consider anyone performing work as being a foreman or supervisor. The word "work" is defined as an action requiring the use of a cutting tool and performing release work.

142 - The crew size shall not exceed 5 persons. The foreman or supervisor shall be with the crew at all times while they are working. The contractor's foreman or supervisor will be responsible for work safety and quality performance of all crew members.

143 - Crew members shall not be separated or divided in a manner that the foreman or supervisor does not know their location at all times.

144 - Crew supervisors, crew foreman and all crew members under this contract shall be able to identify all species listed in this contract.

DIVISION 200 - TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

210 - Stems to be Treated

TREATMENT A

1. Cut all live stems (1) greater than or equal to four and a half (4.5) feet tall regardless of d.b.h., EXCEPT:

· Trees and saplings with good form and healthy crowns that are free from physical damage, defect, rot/conks/fungi, and fire scorch (refer to Clause 216 for definitions), OR

· Trees and shrubs described under Clause 215.

2. Cut all live, woody mountain laurel and rhodendron..

3. Cut all live red maple and white pine stems greater than or equal to four and a half (4.5) feet tall AND less than or equal to twelve (12) inches d.b.h., regardless of condition.

4. Cut all live yellow-poplar, birch, cucumber tree, striped maple, blackgum, sourwood, and silverbell stems greater than or equal to four and a half (4.5) feet tall AND less than or equal to eight (8) inches d.b.h., regardless of condition.

5. Within 50 feet on the uphill side of any mapped roads (refer to contract maps):

· Cut all red maple, white pine, yellow-poplar, birch, cucumber tree, striped maple, blackgum, sourwood, and silverbell stems greater than or equal to four AND a half (4.5) feet tall and less than or equal to eight (8) inches d.b.h., regardless of condition.

· Cut all other tree species greater than or equal to four and a half (4.5) feet tall AND less than or equal to eight (8) inches d.b.h., EXCEPT:

i. Trees and saplings with good form and healthy crowns that are free from physical damage, defect, rot/conks/fungi, and fire scorch (refer to Clause 216 for definitions) OR

ii. Trees described under Clause 215.

TREATMENT B

1. Cut all live stems greater than or equal to four and a half (4.5) feet tall regardless of diameter, including mountain laurel and rhodendron EXCEPT:

· Standing live leave trees designated with orange paint.

· Trees described under Clause 215.

215 - Stems Not to be Cut , regardless of Treatment

1. All dead standing snags.

2. Shellbark, shagbark and bitternut hickories; pitch pine, shortleaf pine, dogwood, serviceberry, hawthorn, ash, yellow wood, and azalea.

3. Living oaks and hickories greater than or equal to twenty (20) inches d.b.h.

4. Standing trees larger than three (3) inches d.b.h. that have exfoliating (loose, ie., separated from the cambium) bark along 25% or more of the main stem.

5. Any live trees greather than eight (8) inches d.b.h. that occur within fifty (50) feet of 1/3 of all snags with exfoliating bark (separated from the cambium) that are greater than twelve (12) inches d.b.h.

6. Trees painted with red Forest Service boundary paint.

7. All trees within thirty (30) feet of a perennial stream

8. Unlogged leave trees within thirty (30) feet of an intermittent stream must be no more than seventy five (75) feet apart. Select and cut leave trees within this 30’ zone so that gaps between trees do not exceed seventy five (75) feet.

9. Any other live or dead trees designated not to be cut by the COR.

216 – Definitions

· Good form – includes live stems with straight trunks.

· Healthy crowns – includes live stems with a live crown ratio (live crown height/total tree height x 100) greather than or equal to thirty percent (30%) and crowns that are not excesively broken or flat topped.

· Physical damage – includes physical damage such as cat faces and logging damagein the first 16 feet of the tree bole from the groundline up that cover a total of twenty four (24) square inches or greater in area.

· Defect – includes forking, excessive crooks, and cat faces within the first 16 feet of the tree bole from the groundline up.

· Rot/conks/fungi – includes visible rot and/or fungus/conks within the first 16 feet of the tree bole from the groundline up.

· Fire scorch – includes significant charring and/or burning of the tree bole up to four (4) feet in height and completely encircling the bole.

220 - Method of Treatment

Stems shall be completely severed from their root systems at or below the height specified, using chainsaws, axes or equivalent tools. The maximum acceptable stump height is 4 inches for stems 1 to 11 inches diameter breast height (d.b.h.) and 12 inches for stems greater than 11 inches d.b.h. All stumps will be measured from the uphill side.

240 - Resource Protection

241 - Erosion Control

Contractor will be required, at the direction of the COR, to stop operation of heavy equipment including access vehicles during extended or excessive wet weather periods to reduce excessive gouging, rutting, and compaction of the soil. Any logging roads, Forest Service system roads, or waterbars damaged by the contractor will be restored to the original condition at the contractor's expense.

242 - Protection of Streams, Lakes, Reservoirs

The contractor shall take precautions to prevent pollution of streams, lakes, and reservoirs by fuels, oils, other chemicals, silt or other harmful materials. Vehicles will be allowed to enter water courses only at locations designated by the COR. All debris and brush will be removed from natural water courses. Natural water courses are those having well-defined channels.

243 - Protection of Improvements

The contractor shall protect all trails, roads, ditches, fences and other improvements in the project areas. Roads, skid trails, ditches, and cut banks shall be kept free of logs, slash and debris. Any road or trail used by the contractor that is damaged by his operations shall be promptly repaired by him.

Access to all areas is on Forest Service system roads. These roads are accessible with two-wheel drive vehicles in dry weather; four-wheel drive vehicles are required in wet weather. All roads are gated. Contractor shall keep the gate locked at all times and the roads clear and open to traffic at all times. Access guidelines will be provided by the COR. When working in areas accessed by Forest Service gated roads, the government shall furnish the contractor a lock and key to provide access to the work areas.

During the contract operation period all slashed material that falls onto privately owned lands shall be pulled back onto national public lands at contractors’ expense. All property monuments shall be protected.

244 - Protection of Archaeological/Historical Resources

The contractor, upon the discovery of suspected archaeological or historical materials, shall cease work in the vicinity of such materials and immediately notify the COR.

C-4 AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL

The contractor, during the course of work, shall not permit entry into any Forest Service areas by anyone other than the Contractor, his employees, and Government employees.

C-5 SAFETY PROCEDURES

Accepted safe practices shall be followed in performance of the work. The Contractor shall use safe tree felling practices and shall use EXTREME CAUTION in the felling of the trees in the contract areas. The Contractor’s emphasis during all operations will be on SAFETY FIRST in order to avoid personal injury. The Government will assume no liability in case of personal injury to the Contractor or his employees or subcontractors or damage to their equipment.

The Contractor and all crew members will have on site and wear at all times the following OSHA-approved personal protective equipment (PPE): hard hat, chainsaw chaps, gloves, eye protection, ear protection, and ankle-covering heavy-soled workboots.

The Contractor will be responsible for any damage done to Government equipment and/or fixtures by their employees and shall provide all replacements as appropriate at no cost to the Government.

C-6 QUALITY CONTROL PLAN

The contractor shall prepare a Quality Control Plan pursuant to the requirements of the Statement of Work (SOW). This plan sets forth the procedures and guidelines that the contractor will use to assure that the work performed under the contract meets the requirements of the standards set forth for this contract. It shall include a work plan and schedule, demonstrate what the contractor will use for inspection processes and records, and shall also include a safety plan. The Quality Control

Plan shall include weekly progress reports identifying areas that have been site prepared using hand tools.

C-7 PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT METHODS

C-8 QUALITY ASSURANCE PLAN – SITE PREPARATION

1. Introduction – The purpose of this contract is to provide site preparation using hand tools services at various sites on the Nantahala Ranger District, Franklin, NC.

A Contracting Officer’s Representative will be designated. The COR will have overall responsibility for the day-to-day administration of the contract including, but not limited to, inspection. The COR has authority to designate Government Inspectors to aid in inspection of the work accomplished during the life of this contract.

1. How to use this plan:

a. Scheduling – Work to begin within 3 days after the issuance of the Notice to Proceed and will be accomplished within 365 days.

b. Sampling procedures – random and periodic inspections and review of work in progress and completed work.

c. Inspection procedures – review of work.

d. Documentation – Daily Diaries for contract file; Notice of Non-compliance to contractor for any work less than 98% in compliance with the objectives and cure notices to be issued by Contracting Officer if work is not performed in a timely manner or if work does not comply with contract work statement.

DIVISION 300 - INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

310 - Inspection of Work Performed

Inspection of the work performed under this contract shall be made by the Contracting Officer's Representative or the designated inspector as the work progresses at such intervals as are necessary to insure compliance with contract specifications and provisions.

DIVISION 400 - MEASUREMENT AND PAYMENT

410 - Method of Measurement

The contract area acreage was determined by global positioning systems (GPS) mapping. The acreage is based on horizontal distances, and for the purpose of this contract is considered actual, not estimated acreage.

420 - Basis of Payment

Payment will be made at the unit price bid for the number of acres completed and accepted.