Sol_140FS323Q0088_Amd_0003.pdf

(x)

140FS323Q0088

x x copies of the amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted ; or (c) By separate letter or electronic communication which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE OF YOUR ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BE

RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR

OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment you desire to change an offer already submitted , such change may be made by letter or electronic communication, provided each letter or electronic communication makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.

x

FS3

Falls Church VA 22041 5275 Leesburg Pike FWS SAT Team 3 FWS SAT Team 3

05/01/20230003

13. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO MODIFICATION OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS. IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA (If required) is not extended.is extended, Items 8 and 15, and returning

Offers must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended , by one of the following methods: (a) By completing

The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in Item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

FACILITY CODE CODE

10B. DATED (SEE ITEM 13)

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NO.

9B. DATED (SEE ITEM 11)

9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NO.

CODE

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR (No., street, county, State and ZIP Code)

7. ADMINISTERED BY (If other than Item 6)CODE 6. ISSUED BY

PAGE OF PAGES

4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NO.3. EFFECTIVE DATE2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NO. 5. PROJECT NO. (If applicable)

1. CONTRACT ID CODE

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT

05/01/2023

CHECK ONE A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE CONTRACT

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES (such as changes in paying office, C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER (Specify type of modification and authority) appropriation data, etc.) SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

E. IMPORTANT: Contractor is not is required to sign this document and return __________________ copies to the issuing office.

ORDER NO. IN ITEM 10A.

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION (Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible.)

Amendment 0003 is hereby issued to revise the scope of work. Closing extended to May 31, 2023 at 2:00 pm.

All other terms and conditions remain unchanged.

Create and maintain Firebreaks at Alligator NWR.

Tech POC: Donnie Harris (252) 475-8012

Alt POC: Caleb Jones (252) 394-0234

Contract POC: Fred Riley at Fred_riley@fws.gov

16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER (Type or print)15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER (Type or print)

15C. DATE SIGNED 16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR 16C. DATE SIGNED

(Signature of person authorized to sign) (Signature of Contracting Officer)

Fred Riley

STANDARD FORM 30 (REV. 11/2016)

Prescribed by GSA FAR (48 CFR) 53.243

Previous edition unusable

Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in Item 9 A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and in full force and effect .

Alligator River NWR (ALR) Bid Schedule

Revised 05-18-2023

Description Qty Unit Price (per acre)

Total

1. Mastication- Manns Harbor 57.9 39 $ $

2.Mastication- Parched Corn Bay A

11.8

3. Mastication- Parched Corn Bay Canal

6.1

4. Mastication- Pains Bay Ditch

3.8

5. Maintenance- East of Borrow Pit

6. Maintenance- Roanoke Marshes

8.4

7. Maintenance- Long Curve to 264

6.1

8. Maintenance- West Pt Peter

7.2

9. Maintenance- North Stumpy C

8.3

10. Maintenance- North Stumpy B

11.4

129 110 acres Total $

-Please reference Figure 1 in the SOW for the type of equipment needed, length, width, and area calculations.

NC-ALR 2023 FIRE BREAK PROJECT

STATEMENT OF WORK

INTRODUCTION & BACKGROUND:

The Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge (ALR) is pursuing a service contract for the mastication of four (4) new fire breaks (establishment) and for the maintenance of six (6) existing fire breaks. See included maps for fire break locations. See included maps for fire break locations delineated by the equipment type needed. All acreages have been estimated via Geographic Information System (GIS).

Historically, the largest wildfires in NC history have occurred on the Albemarle-Pamlico Peninsula which entails the counties of Dare, Hyde, Tyrrell, and Washington. Dense volatile fuels and poor trafficability in the peat soils pose many unique challenges to wildland firefighters. As such, the costs of suppressing these large fires are exorbitantly high potentially ranging into the tens of millions of dollars or more. As such, fire/fuel breaks are critical in the suppression of large wildland fires. They serve to reduce fire size potential and smoke impacts and they can significantly reduce suppression costs. Fuel breaks help protect the Refuge from wildfires originating on adjacent properties. Conversely, they help protect adjoining private homes and properties from wildfires coming off the Refuge.

Figure 1: Summary of fire breaks needed at Alligator River NWR (ALR).

LENGTH 1WIDTH AREAFIRE BREAK NAME STATUS EQUIPMENT

TYPE NEEDED (miles) (feet) (feet) (acres)

Manns Harbor New 2Amphibious 3.18 16,806 150

57.9

East of Borrow Pit Maintenance Amphibious 1.65 8,706 40 8.0

Roanoke Marshes Maintenance Amphibious 1.74 9,195 40 8.4

Long Curve to 264 Maintenance 3LGP 1.25 6,622 40 6.1

West Pt Peter Maintenance LGP 1.48 7,800 40 7.2

North Stumpy C Maintenance LGP 1.71 9,028 40 8.3

North Stumpy B Maintenance LGP 2.35 12,429 40 11.4

Parched Corn Bay A New Amphibious 2.44 12,904 40 11.8

Parched Corn Bay Canal New Amphibious 1.26 6,673 40 6.1

Pains Bay Ditch New Amphibious 0.79 4,189 40 3.8

- AMPHIBIOUS 11.1 58,473 - 96.1

- LGP 6.8 35,879 - 32.9

ALR

TOTALS:

- COMBINED 17.9 94,352 - 129

1Fuel break width is measured from the nearside ditch edge (waterline) when present.

2A pontoon excavator equipped w/ a masticating cutter head (a.k.a. marsh-hoe) 3A soft-/flex-tracked machine with low ground pressure (ex. Geo-Boy, Geo-Track, or comparable)

CURRENT VEGETATION & CONDITIONS:

In the areas needing new breaks, the current vegetation consists largely of small-diameter pond pine, sweetbay, and red maple in the overstory, very occasional bald cypress and swamp tupelo, and potentially some scattered Atlantic white cedar. The larger trees present are estimated to range up to 30-50-feet in height with diameters ranging from 4-8-inches at breast height (measured 4.5-ft from ground level). Occasional larger diameter trees may be present.

The understory is very dense in areas and consists of groundsel tree, waxmyrtle, sweetbay, red bay, gallberry, fetterbush, greenbrier, and huckleberry. The wetter and more saturated portions of the unit are sparsely vegetated and consists of marsh grasses, black needle-rush, and sparse low shrubs. Due to mortality from rising water levels, the units may have an abundance of snags, stumps, and downed logs.

In the existing breaks, the vegetation is much more manageable and consists largely of tall brush including groundsel tree, waxmyrtle, sweetbay, red bay, gallberry, and other shrubby species. Also present are smaller saplings of the tree species described above.

SOILS & TRAFFICABILITY:

The predominant underlying soil type in most areas is a Pungo muck which is organic/peat in composition. It is very poorly drained with severe equipment limitations. The water table is at or near the surface - within 6” in the very driest areas - and large areas will be flooded. As such, some of the fuel breaks will require an amphibious pontoon excavator, but soft-/flex-tracked equipment with low ground pressure can be used in some areas. Wheeled equipment cannot operate on these sites. See next section for more details on equipment.

***Due to the unique equipment challenges associated with the area, a site visit is recommended for bidders who are unfamiliar with the terrain, topography, and vegetation of the Albemarle-Pamlico Peninsula. ***

STATEMENT OF WORK / SPECIFICATIONS:

Utilize equipment with a Fecon-style or similar masticating head to cut fuel breaks according to the dimensions in Figure-1 above. Approximately 25% 30% of the project acreage (~33-acres) will be for soft-tracked LGP (low ground pressure) mastication with the remaining approximate 75% 70% (~96-acres ~110-acres) requiring an amphibious excavator with a masticating head.

The LGP machine should have soft or flexible tracks (not wheeled) with a minimum pad width of 30-inches and a 6-foot minimum width on the cutter head. Example LGP machines include Geo- Boys and Geo-Tracks. An amphibious excavator (on pontoons) will be needed for the wettest areas. It should preferably be medium/mid-sized and comparable to a Caterpillar 320 or 325 with a minimum capability of a Cat 307. It should have a 36-inch minimum Fecon-style or other cutter head with similar production capabilities.

Fuel break width shall be measured from the nearside waterline edge of the canal/ditch (when present) to include mastication of the ditch bank &/or spoil piles. All vegetation, logs, stumps, cypress knees, etc. within the footprint of the fire break shall be masticated (mulched or grinded) to ground-level to enable future mowing. Downed logs and trees shall be masticated or removed to outside of the break. Debris and chip piles shall be kept to 6-inches in height or less. Contact the Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) point-of- contact (POC) in the event trees exceeding equipment capability are encountered. This should be very rare. The contractor shall receive a briefing and instructions from the FWS POC before beginning operations at each fire break.

It is the contractor’s responsibility to maintain the appropriate width of the treated area for the duration of the project. Should the boundaries of the treatment area become unclear, the contractor will immediately contact the FWS POC for guidance on how to proceed. In existing fuel breaks, the footprint from previous operations should be readily visible and some new breaks will even follow canals for part or all of the project. For the Manns Harbor Break, the contractor will follow a canal for approximately ½ of the length but will have to utilize mapping apps (ex. Avenza) and/or other navigational methods to accurately install the break as mapped. Notify the FWS POC if you need a georeferenced PDF map for use with Avenza.

***The contractor will be responsible for recovery/extrication if/when heavy equipment and vehicles get stuck or become immobilized. FWS personnel and equipment will not be available for equipment and vehicle recovery. The contractor shall have additional equipment available on sight, as appropriate, for this purpose. ***

Vegetation may be removed from the firebreak and taken off refuge to be sold for biomass. For any materials sold as biomass, the contractor will inform the POC of the approximate amount (by weight) sold.

Transportation & Access: The contractor shall provide all equipment, operators and support personnel, transportation, parts, fluids, fuel, etc. It is the contractor’s daily responsibility to transport the equipment to and from the site and to provide for the transportation of personnel, fuel, parts, fluids, etc. Personal vehicles are not to be left on Refuge property overnight.

Regardless of time-of-day, vehicles, equipment, etc. shall not block gates, roads, and other access points. At the end of shift, the contractor shall lock all gates on the way out unless otherwise advised by the POC.

Invasive Species Mitigation: All equipment used by the contractor will be clean of dirt, mud, and plant material, within tracks and undercarriage, prior to entering the Refuge. If equipment leaves the work site for any reason it will be cleaned prior to re-entering the Refuge. This requirement is to limit the potential for spread of exotic and invasive plants onto the Refuge.

Protection of Trees: The Contractor shall take every precaution necessary to prevent damage to trees and vegetation outside of the treatment area.

Spill Containment & Trash Pick-up: The contractor shall have the necessary equipment and supplies required to mitigate any fuel or fluid spills. All spills are to be reported to the FWS POC as soon as they occur. All trash from operations including but not limited to hydraulic fluid and oil containers, water bottles, food wrappers and containers, etc. shall not be left on site.

Erosion Control: Contractor shall take reasonable care to minimize soil impacts. Vehicles will not be operated on Refuge roads, power line rights-of-way, road shoulders, or permanent fire lines when soil moisture conditions are such that excessive rutting or soil movement will occur.

Repair of Damages: The contractor shall repair any damages they cause to roads, road shoulders, culverts, water control structures, or other infrastructure.

Smoking: Smoking by Contractor personnel is permitted only in cleared areas designated by the Site Rep/Government such as permanent fire lines or utility rights-of-way. Smoking materials shall not be left on Refuge lands. The Contractor may be held liable for any wildland fire that is started by their personnel from negligence.

Work Hours: All activity will be performed during posted business hours of 8:00 am to 4:00 pm, Monday thru Friday. (Note: any deviation needs prior approval from on-site representative).

Supervision: To ensure performance and accomplishment of the work as outlined herein, the Contractor shall provide adequate and competent onsite supervision (with the ability to effectively communicate in English), for all work to be accomplished by the Contractor’s employees. When contract work is in progress, supervisory personnel shall be available at all times to receive notices, reports, or requests from the Site Representative or his authorized representative. NOTE: At no time shall Government representatives direct or supervise the activities of the Contractor’s employees.

PROJECT LOCATION:

These projects are located on the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge on the mainland of Dare County, NC. See the included map for specific fire break locations. Physical addresses do not exist for the project areas but a general lat/long is included on the map.

ALR Maintenance Shop 13518 Milltail Rd East Lake, NC 27953

BID PROPOSAL:

Prospective contractors shall submit bids on a cost-per-acre basis by type of equipment (amphibious vs. LGP) and as a total project cost. If funds are insufficient to cover the total project cost, the contract will be awarded on a cost-per-acre price by equipment type with no award granted until a project size matching available funds is reached. Bids should include a description of equipment to be used so that evaluators may determine the adequacy and efficacy of proposed machinery.

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE:

Work may begin as soon as all appropriate environmental compliance measures and boundary surveying are in place, which should occur well before this contract is awarded. The FWS POC will confirm environmental compliance and boundary surveying upon the awarding of this contract and will notify the awarded entity that operations may begin.

It is preferred to have this project completed by October 1, 2023, if feasible given the award date, but that may not be realistic. A secondary preferred deadline would be to have this project completed by December 31, 2023. However, flexibility beyond that date does exist if needed.

Extended wet or severe weather or high fire danger could potentially delay or prolong operations.

Significantly wet conditions could impede equipment use in the LGP areas but should have minimal impact on amphibious operations unless erosion potential were to be an issue. Conversely, operations would be temporarily suspended if there were significant potential for wildfires from machine use.

TECHNICAL POINTS OF CONTACT (POC):

The POC is subject to change with pending new hires. All parties will be notified if adjusted.

Primary - Donnie Harris (FOS) Alligator River (ALR) Fire Ops Specialist 252-475-8012 donnie_harris@fws.gov

Secondary - Caleb Jones Fire Mgt. Officer (FMO) 252-394-0234 caleb_jones@fws.gov mailto:donnie_harris@fws.gov mailto:caleb_jones@fws.gov

35* 55.039' / -75* 47.557' ± Manns Harbor Fuel Break Map Legend óóóóó Fuel_Break Ditch

FWS_Trans_Roads

Manns Harbor Break New / Amphibious

Manns Harbor Community

1 0.5 0 1 Miles

Source: Esri, Maxar, Earthstar Geographics, and the GIS User Community

Scale: 1/32,000 Photo Year: 2021 Drawn By: C. Jones 01/18/2023

ALR Fuel Legend óóóó Fuel_Break Ditch

FWS_Trans_Roads

Source: Esri, Maxar, Earthstar Geographics, and the GIS User Community

0 2 3 Miles0.5

Breaks Map 1

E of Borrow Pit Existing / Amphibious

Roanoke Marshes Existing / Amphibious

Long Curve to 264 Existing / LGP

W Point Peter Existing / LGP

N Stumpy Point C Existing / LGP

N Stumpy Point B Existing / LGP

Scale: 1/64,000 Photo Year: 2021 Drawn By: C. Jones

35* 48.682' / -75* 47.513'

0.5

ALR Fuel Breaks Map 2 Legend óóóóó Fuel_Break Ditch

FWS_Trans_Roads

Pains Bay

1 0

Source: Esri, Maxar, Earthstar Geographics, and the GIS User Community

35* 36.954' / -75* 49.871'

Pains Bay Ditch New / Amphibious

1 Miles

Parched Corn Bay Canal New / Amphibious

Parched Corn Bay A New / Amphibious

Stop at creek

Scale: 1/48,000 Photo Year: 2021 Drawn By: C. Jones

Parched Corn Bay