ATTACHMENT_1_-_Wildlife_BPA_General_Statement_of_Work.docx

12467018R0032

ATTACHMENT 1

PERFORMANCE STATEMENT OF WORK

The contractor will provide any and all labor, equipment, supplies, services, permits and license necessary to perform disking, mowing, invasive plant treatments (e.g., mastication and herbicides), clearing (i.e., reclaiming openings by dozer or pushing/removing vegetation), day-lighting (removing limbs and/or vegetation from opening edges or along roads to allow sunlight to ground), fertilizing/liming, planting, gate installation, wildlife disking, and equipment rental activities to be covered under a fixed-price performance based service contract. This work will be performed on various Forest Service wildlife openings, along Forest Service system roads or along/on designated linear wildlife strips (LWS) throughout the Francis Marion and Sumter National Forests and Savannah River Site in South Carolina. Individual tasks to be performed will be assigned by individual task orders against the contract.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF WORK:

Disking, Mowing, Mastication, Herbicide Treatments, Clearing, Day-lighting, Fertilizing/Liming, Planting, and Gate Installation.

1.1 - Disking Requirements:

- Disking shall consist of disking or cutting into the soil up to 6” below the surface of the ground. Disking would include the cutting or chopping of vegetation (e.g., grasses and woody plant growth) three inches diameter or less with the disking equipment within the wildlife openings, along the system roads, or on and along the LWS.

All debris or slash (i.e., windfall trees or branches) larger than three inches in diameter within the disking limits shall be removed. Slash may be scattered outside of the disking limits. No slash shall be placed in roads, LWS, wildlife openings, streams or ditches. All woody material larger than one inch in diameter or two feet in length and any sharp object shall be removed from the travel ways (e.g., roads, LWS, and wildlife openings).

Unless approved by the COR, all work shall be completed on each specific site (e.g., wildlife opening and associated roads/LWS), before moving to the next location.

Road signs, culverts, culvert markers, gates, and other appurtenances damaged by the contractor’s operations shall be repaired by the contractor at his/her expense.

1.2 - Mowing Requirements:

- Mowing shall consist of cutting grass and woody plant growth three inches diameter or less, four inches above the ground either within the wildlife openings, along the system roads, or on and along the LWS. Maximum mowing height shall be four inches above the ground or standing water.

All debris or slash (i.e., windfall trees or branches) larger than three inches in diameter within the mowing limits shall be removed. Slash may be scattered outside of the mowing limits. No slash shall be placed in roads, LWS, wildlife openings, streams or ditches. All woody material larger than one inch in diameter or two feet in length and any sharp object shall be removed from the travel ways (e.g., roads, LWS and wildlife openings).

Unless approved by the COR, all work shall be completed on each specific site (e.g., wildlife opening and associated roads/LWS), before moving to the next location.

Road signs, culverts, culvert markers, gates, and other appurtenances damaged by the contractor’s operations shall be repaired by the contractor at his/her expense.

1.3 - Mastication Requirements:

- Mastication shall consist of cutting, chopping and mulching all vegetation 6” or less in diameter down to ground surface level. This activity would occurring on LWS, wildlife openings and within some forested stands for wildlife habitat improvement by reducing the abundance of woody stems within these areas. All mastication activities would occur above the surface of the ground, but due to land contours (e.g., unevenness) an occasional bounce may occur, which would result in the scratch of the surface.

All debris or slash (i.e., windfall trees or branches) larger than three inches in diameter within the mastication limits shall be removed. Slash may be scattered outside of the working limits. No slash shall be placed in roads, wildlife openings, streams or ditches. All woody material larger than one inch in diameter or two feet in length and any sharp object shall be removed from the travel ways (e.g., roads and wildlife openings).

Unless approved by the COR, all work shall be completed on each specific site (e.g., wildlife opening and associated roads/LWS), before moving to the next location.

Road signs, culverts, culvert markers, gates, and other appurtenances damaged by the contractor’s operations shall be repaired by the contractor at his/her expense.

1.4 - Herbicide Treatment Requirements:

- Herbicide treatments shall consist of spraying the targeted undesired vegetative species (i.e., NNIS or unwanted native invasive (sweetgum)), following current Forest Service specifications and requirements for treatment of vegetative species1, within the wildlife openings, along the system roads, on and along the LWS and within some forested stands for wildlife habitat improvement. All herbicide activities would occur above the surface of the ground.

Unless approved by the COR, all work shall be completed on each specific site (e.g., wildlife opening and associated roads/LWS), before moving to the next location.

Road signs, culverts, culvert markers, gates, and other appurtenances damaged by the contractor’s operations shall be repaired by the contractor at his/her expense.

1.5 - Clearing Requirements:

- Clearing activities shall consist of reclaiming openings by dozer and pushing or removing woody vegetation from the wildlife openings in order that normal planting practices could resume. Clearing activities could include pushing root-balls out of the area so the ground would be prepared for later disking and planting.

All debris or slash (i.e., windfall trees or branches) larger than three inches in diameter within the clearing limits shall be removed. Slash may be pushed outside of the clearing limits. No slash shall be placed in roads, wildlife openings, streams or ditches. All woody material larger than one inch in diameter or two feet in length and any sharp object shall be removed from the travel ways (e.g., roads and wildlife openings).

Unless approved by the COR, all work shall be completed on each specific site (e.g., wildlife opening and associated roads/LWS), before moving to the next location.

Road signs, culverts, culvert markers, gates, and other appurtenances damaged by the contractor’s operations shall be repaired by the contractor at his/her expense.

1.6 – Day-lighting Requirements:

- Day-lighting activities shall consist of reclaiming designated LWS by dozer, articulating side-arm boom mower, and chainsaw by pushing and removing woody vegetation from the LWS in order that normal planting practices could resume. Day-lighting activities could include pushing root-balls out of the area so the ground would be prepared for later disking and planting.

All debris or slash (i.e., windfall trees or branches) larger than three inches in diameter within the LWS limits shall be removed. Slash may be pushed outside of the LWS limits. No slash shall be placed in roads, wildlife openings, streams or ditches. All woody material larger than one inch in diameter or two feet in length and any sharp object shall be removed from the travel ways (e.g., roads and wildlife openings).

Unless approved by the COR, all work shall be completed on each specific site (e.g., wildlife opening and associated roads/LWS), before moving to the next location.

Road signs, culverts, culvert markers, gates, and other appurtenances damaged by the contractor’s operations shall be repaired by the contractor at his/her expense.

1.7 – Fertilizing/Liming Requirements:

- Fertilizing/Liming shall consist of broadcasting or spreading fertilizers or lime into the surface of the ground. Fertilizing would be accomplished on wildlife openings and LWS.

All debris or slash (i.e., windfall trees or branches) larger than three inches in diameter within the fertilizing limits shall be removed. Slash may be scattered outside of the fertilizing limits. No slash shall be placed in roads, wildlife openings, streams or ditches. All woody material larger than one inch in diameter or two feet in length and any sharp object shall be removed from the travel ways (e.g., roads and wildlife openings).

Unless approved by the COR, all work shall be completed on each specific site (e.g., wildlife opening and associated roads/LWS), before moving to the next location.

Road signs, culverts, culvert markers, gates, and other appurtenances damaged by the contractor’s operations shall be repaired by the contractor at his/her expense.

1.8 - Planting Requirements:

- Planting shall consist of disking (breaking the ground), seeding (broadcasting) and covering seed (second disking) or by using a grain drill. All planting activities would be accomplished within 8” of the surface of the ground. Planting would be accomplished on wildlife openings and LWS.

All debris or slash (i.e., windfall trees or branches) larger than three inches in diameter within the planting limits shall be removed. Slash may be scattered outside of the planting limits. No slash shall be placed in roads, wildlife openings, streams or ditches. All woody material larger than one inch in diameter or two feet in length and any sharp object shall be removed from the travel ways (e.g., roads and wildlife openings).

Unless approved by the COR, all work shall be completed on each specific site (e.g., wildlife opening and associated roads/LWS), before moving to the next location.

Road signs, culverts, culvert markers, gates, and other appurtenances damaged by the contractor’s operations shall be repaired by the contractor at his/her expense.

1.9 – Gate Installation Requirements:

- All gates and associated signs for each gate will be provided and locations to install gates will be well marked (maps provided). Contractor will install each gate in a designated location and the activities will include; digging of the gate post holes, placing/positioning of the gate posts (using concrete mix and leveling), hanging the gate on the posts (leveling), and attach all provided reflective safety signs to gate.

1.10 – Wildland Disking Requirements:

- Wildland Disking shall consist of disking, cutting or chopping into the soil up to 6” below the surface of the ground and through roots, sticks, rocks and other wildland debris. This type of disking would take place in wildland or woodland settings. This type disking would require the use of a heavier disk (e.g., a wildland disk) than would be used in more typical disking and cultivating practices. Disking would result in 8’ wide lanes across pre-selected stands (i.e., wildland, woodland and/or open stands) to increase edge habitat and improve the landscape’s overall wildlife habitat. All heavy disking treatments would be conducted on flatter, gently rolling or slopes less than 5%. The machine used to pull this heavy disk would be a heavier tractor or bull dozer with a heavier frame and more horse-power necessary to handle and pull this type of disk through these types of areas. A tired tractor may need to be equipped with the heavier layered wildland tires to protect against punctures from stobs, stumps and other sharp edges.

All woody material larger than eight inches in diameter and two feet in length and any larger sharp objects (e.g., larger rocks) shall be avoided while constructing these cross-country, wildland strips. Unless approved by the COR, all work shall be completed on each specific site before moving to the next location.

Road signs, culverts, culvert markers, gates, and other appurtenances damaged by the contractor’s operations shall be repaired by the contractor at his/her expense.

1.11 – Equipment Rental:

Equipment requirements: Equipment furnished shall be a wheel tractor with operator with a minimum engine horsepower of 55, bush hog > or = to 8 ft. cutting width, disk harrow with a minimum of 16 disk, a spin spreader with a minimum of 400 lb. capacity, > or = to 250 gallon sprayer. All equipment furnished shall be in satisfactory operating condition and capable of producing at the manufactures rated horsepower. If a second wheel tractor is used with the spin spreader or sprayer, it may be less than 55 horsepower, but still capable of handling the attached equipment.