Terms_and_Conditions_Revised_9_9_22_0001.pdf

Solicitation No. 140L0622Q0039

Revision No. 1—Amendment No. 1

SECTION B – SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICES/COSTS

STEWARDSHIP CONTRACT: The Bureau of Land Management intends to enter into this Burnt Tootsie

Stewardship contracting project to perform services to achieve land management goals for public lands that meet local and rural community needs.

This is for a Firm Fixed Price Commercial Items Stewardship Services Contract for commercial and understory removal (CT+UR) 19 miles NE of Bonner, Montana.

The services and commercial product removal are shown in two (2) price schedules. Schedule A identifies the services the Contractor shall perform and the unit price of payment. Schedule B identifies the forest product volume for removal by the contractor that reflect the unit price that will be credited to the Government for ownership and commercial use of the product by the Contractor.

THIS REQUIREMENT IS SET ASIDE FOR SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS UNDER NAICS CODE 115310.

FOREST IMPROVEMENT SERVICE WORK FOR BID:

NOTE: ALL BIDS MUST BE ON A PER ACRE BASIS.

SCHEDULE A: LINE ITEM 0001A-0002K Forest Health Improvement SERVICES/SUPPLIES

Line

Item

SERVICES Pre-treatment

TPA

Quantity Unit of

Measure

Unit

Price

Amount

0001 Understory Removal

0001A Unit 1: Understory Removal 459 123 Acre

0001B Unit 2: Understory Removal 483 68 Acre

0001C Unit 3: Understory Removal 456 50 Acre

0001D Unit 4: Understory Removal 1557 62 Acre

Total Service Acres: Understroy

Removal

303 Acre

002 Road Work

0002A Pre Haul Blade 17.2 Miles

0002B Maintinance 9.6 Miles

0002C Brushing and Grubbing 1.1 Miles

0002D Post Haul Blade 17.2 Miles

0002E Brush 1 3.1 Miles

0002F Brush 2 8.5 Miles

0002G Brush 3 4.5 Miles

0002H Brush 4 10.1 Miles

0002I Brush 5 12.7 Miles

002J 36”x 20’ CMP Install and Removal 1 Pipe

002K Clear Bridge Deck, Improve Dips 2 Bridges

TOTAL OFFER LINE ITEMS

(0001A thru 0002O) -----------→

SCHEDULE B – COMMERCIAL VOLUME REMOVAL

LINE ITEM 0003A-0003B- Forest Health Improvement PRODUCTS

Line

Item

PRODUCTS Estimated

Quantity

Unit of

Measure

Minimum

Acceptable

Offer

Unit

Price

Contractor’s

Offer

0003 Commercial Thinning (CT)

0003A Sawlogs mixed species 10,840 Tons $14.00

0003B Non-sawlogs (Biomass) 4,267 Tons $1.00

TOTAL OFFER LINE ITEMS (0003A thru 0003B) -----------→

(End of Schedule B)

NET TOTAL (Schedule A minus Schedule B) $

(ALL OR NONE)

Period of Performance: See Section F.

SITE VISIT DATE AND PRE-PROPOSAL INFORMATION

A site visit has been scheduled for: August 23, 2022 at 10:00 A.M.

Participants are to meet at: the Gold Creek Rd. junction with MT 200, approximately 10 miles east of the Town

Pump truck stop in Milltown, Montana (Junction of I-90 and MT 200).

Potential offerors are to provide their own transportation at no cost to the Government. The Government assumes no liability on behalf of offerors attending the site visit. Offerors intending to attend the site visit tour shall contact Kyle

Johnson at (406) 329-3703 or via email at kdjohnson@blm.gov at least 48 hours before the scheduled site visit and advise her of the firms’ name and number of persons that will attend.

(End of Section B) mailto:kdjohnson@blm.gov

SECTION C – PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

C.1.0 GENERAL

Burnt Tootsie Stewardship project is designed to increase early seral species dominance throughout the project area and reduce overstocking due to previous management practices. The goal is to restore forest health to the project area while prepairing the site for future timber harvest. Contract work will be performed over the course of 36 months.

C.1.1 Description – The Burnt Tootsie project area is former industrial timber land which has been acquired by the BLM. Past harvesting practices have resulted in a regenerated stand which is dominated by a dense stand of shade tolerant Douglas-fir (DF) understory, with scattered early seral individuals. The goal is to mechanicaly treat the project area to preferentially thin the overstory as well as the dense understory. The total volume for removal is estimated 10,840 tons of sawlogs and 4,267 tons of nonsawlogs (biomass). Non-sawlog removal is mandatory.

C.1.2 Location/Access - The project areas are located within the Missoula Field Office administrative boundaries of BLM, Montana State Office. Attached vicinity maps and project maps (See Section J) show specific locations. Project area(s) are normally accessible by a standard pickup on forest roads.

A four-wheel drive vehicle may be required.

C.1.3 Security of materials – The Contractor may leave their equipment at the work site. However, the

Contractor shall be responsible for the equipment if it should be lost, stolen, or damaged.

C1.4 Boundaries - Unit boundaries are marked with BLUE ribbon and three vertical ORANGE paint stripes as well as BOUNDARY OF TIMBER RESERVE waxpaper posters. The project maps (See Section J) show reserve areas, some of the physical and topographical features of the units.

C.1.5 Fire Precautions - See Section J.

C.1.6 Unique Features of Project Area - See Section J.

C.2.0 DEFINITIONS

C.2.1 Bearing Tree – a tree used as a reference monument to locate a property corner.

C.2.2 Brush - vegetation consisting of shrub species with single or multi-stems originating at or near ground level.

C.2.3 DBH – diameter of the tree at breast height, measured at a point 4 ½ feet above the ground from the uphill side of the tree.

C.2.4 Hazardous trees - standing live or dead trees, with evidence of insect infestation, deterioration, or physical damage to the root system, trunk, or stem. The degree and direction of lean is also an important factor when determining if a tree is a hazard.

C.2.5 Large woody debris - dead and down pieces of wood.

C.2.6 Leave Tree or Reserve Tree – trees specified to be left in accordance with Section C. Additional leave trees may be specified on project maps.

C.2.7 Loading point - any landing or other area in which logs and biomass material are capable of being loaded for transportation out of the project area.

C.2.8 Slash – any non-sawlog material which has been cut by the Contractor and will not be hauled to a utilization center, as well as all broken tops, limbs, damaged reproduction, saplings, poles which were caused as a result of felling and yarding operations.

C.2.9 Timber - standing trees which are capable of being measured in board feet and cubic feet.

C.2.10 Yarding – the conveyance of logs or trees or portions thereof, by ground based, cable, balloon, or helicopter yarding systems from the area of falling or cutting to the landing or loading point for removal.

C.2.11 Wood Products Reserved from Cutting

All timber within the Reserve Area as shown on Exhibit A-1, A-2 attached hereto and made a part hereof.

C.2.11.1 All trees used to designate Harvest Unit Boundaries as shown on Exhibit A-2. Harvest

Unit Boundaries are designated with three (3) vertical ORANGE paint stripes and “BOUNDARY OF

TIMBER RESERVE” posters facing into the harvest unit as well as BLUE ribbon.

C.2.11.2 All trees not explicitly designated for harvest by the Commercial Thin, Harvest Designation by

Prescription (DxP) (Section C.5). Treatment units are as shown on Exhibit A-2, attached hereto and made a part hereof.

C.2.11.3 All trees regardless of size health or form marked with RED ribbon, and as directed by the Authorized

Officer. These are archeological / cultural resources and must be reserved.

C.2.12 Timber/vegetative sales contract and/or notice - the agency-specific authorized contract instrument for the sale, barter, exchange, billing or other compensation for the payment, removal, and/or transportation of woody biomass material.

C.2.13 Woody biomass - trees and woody plants, including limbs, tops, needles, leaves, and other woody parts, grown in a forest, woodland, or rangeland environment, that are the by-products of management, restoration and/or hazardous fuel reduction treatment.

C.2.14 Forest Officer - any employee of the Bureau of Land Management who has been delegated, by the

Contracting Officer, the authority to take action in connection with this contract. May also be referred to as an Authorized Officer and may also be the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR).

C.2.15 Contracting Officer - the Bureau of Land Management official who would have authority to execute this contract and delegate authority to take action in connection with this contract.

C.3.0 CONTRACTOR FURNISHED ITEMS

The Contractor shall furnish all personnel, labor, supervision, equipment with qualified operators, transportation, supplies (other than Government furnished property), and incidentals required to finish the project.

C.3.1 Crew Requirements

C.3.1.1 State Safety regulations require that crew members shall not work alone and that accessibility to emergency transportation is to be provided by the Contractor at all times.

C.3.2 Supervisor Requirements

C.3.2.1 The project supervisor(s) shall be named in writing at the pre-work conference. Designate one English-speaking supervisor for each crew. This person shall be capable of speaking and reading English well enough to ensure good communications with the Project Inspector. Any group of people without such an individual will not be considered a crew. One supervisor shall supervise no more than a maximum of 12 crew members at any one time. Any changes in supervisory designations must be submitted in writing to the COR at least 24 hours prior to the change taking effect.

C.3.3 Equipment and Materials

C.3.3.1 The Contractor shall provide traffic control signs to provide for the safety of the general public along existing roadways in the project area.

C.3.3.2 The Contractor shall provide for erosion control which could include certified weed free straw, free from mold or other objectionable material

C.3.3.3 The Contractor shall provide native grass seed for use in erosion control. See Section C.5.5.1.

C.3.4 Equipment

C.3.4.1 Harvest systems shall meet the following criteria:

C.3.4.2 Due to resource concerns, any harvest system that causes excessive soil compaction from repeated passes over the same area will not be allowed.

C.3.5 Work/Camp Sites (All Items) - Obtain written authorization from the Field Office prior to camping on

BLM administered lands. Work camps can be established only in locations authorized by the COR.

Authorized camps and work sites shall be maintained in a sanitary and orderly condition by clearing the site(s) of all debris, refuse and garbage before leaving the area.

C.4.0 GOVERNMENT – FURNISHED PROPERTY

C.4.1 Project maps showing features; i.e. boundaries, reserve areas, unique features, and unit payment acreage based on horizontal distance.

C.4.2 Product Removal Permits (load ticket books).

C.5.0 SPECIFIC TASKS

C.5.1 Schedule A, Items 0001A – 0001D – Understory Removal

C.5.1.1 Understory Removal Specification:

Trees 12” height – 5.9” DBH:

i. Thin understor to average 14’ stem spacing, + or – 4’ for best tree selection where trees with good form and canopy exist. Remove trees exhibiting insect damage, symptoms of disease or pathogens, less than 30% crown ratio, lacking conical shape or with poor canopy density.

ii. The requirement to retain trees with good form that do not have insect damage will result in removal of the majority of the understory. Retain understory trees that have good form and canopies where they exist.

iii. Target WL and PP for retention over other species. WL>PP>LP>DF>SF.

iv. Cut all trees under dripline of trees over 6” DBH.

v. In areas of LP exclusively, reduce stem spacing to 10’, + or – 4’.

C.5.2 Slash

C.5.2.1 All slash generated by performance of tasks described herein, shall be bucked and lopped, crushed by equipment or otherwise reduced to a total height of no more than 18” and individual piece length of no more than 4’.

C.5.2.2. A target slash loading of 10-15 tons per acre shall be evenly distributed throughout the treatment units.

The Contractor may be required to pile, remove, or pull back excessive slash to achieve target tons per acre.

C.5.3 SCHEDULE A. ITEMS 0002A- 0002O- ROAD WORK

C.5.3.1 The Purchaser is authorized to use the roads listed below in Table 1and shown on Exhibit A-2 and

Exhibit A-3 for the removal of Government timber sold under the terms of this contract.

Table 1: Roads authorized for use in conjunction with this contract.

Road Name

Control

Gold Blanchard TNC / USFS / BLM

Gold Creek #126 TNC / USFS / BLM

Route 1 BLM

Route 2 BLM

Route 3 BLM

Route 4 BLM

Route 5 BLM

Route 6 BLM

Brush 1 BLM

Brush 2 BLM

Brush 3 BLM

Brush 4 BLM / TNC

Brush 5 BLM / TNC

i. Use of roads as shown in Table 1 and Exhibit A-3, attached hereto and made a part hereof, for the hauling of timber from all harvest units and the use of all other motorized vehicles related to the timber sale, excluding periods identified in Section C is permitted year-round.

ii. Hauling will be limited to weekdays during the peak recreation season (Memorial Day through Labor Day) to reduce conflict during this high use period.

iii. All roads must remain open to traffic year round.

iv. The Purchaser is limited to dry, frozen or snow covered road conditions when transporting logs and equipment to or from the contract sale area, as determined by the Authorized

Officer.

v. The Purchaser shall perform road repair and maintenance work on all roads listed in Section

C. Table 1 (Brush 1-Brush 5 will only require maintenance if the road is used for hauling.

See section C.5.3 for further required road work on these roads) and used under the terms of this contract as follows:

i. The Purchaser shall maintain the cross section of dirt or graveled roads as presently existing or where applicable, to the reconstructed standards required by this contract, by blading and shaping the road surface and shoulders and by placement of any required maintenance aggregate. Banks shall not be undercut.

ii. The Purchaser shall perform all road cleanup including removal of bank slough, slides, and fallen timber, which can practicably be accomplished by a motor patrol grader equipped with a front-end blade, rubber-tired front-end bucket loader, or comparable equipment, and by the use of hand tools. When working conditions dictate end haul of material, the distance and the quantity of material required to be moved shall be limited to what is reasonable and practicable without the use of additional equipment. Subject to such limitation, he shall also replace material eroded from fill slopes, redefine drainage ditches and clean out culverts. In removing material from slides or other sources, Purchaser shall deposit the material which must be moved at locations chosen with the objective that such material will not erode into streams.

iii. While performing road maintenance work, Purchaser shall avoid fouling gravel or bituminous surfaces through covering them with earth or debris from side ditches, slides, or other sources. Purchaser shall avoid blading surface material off surface of roads.

iv. Detailed Road Maintenance and Construction descriptions and specifications are contained in Exhibit B of this contract.

vi. The Purchaser shall perform preventive maintenance throughout the life of the contract as directed by the Authorized Officer. This may include, but shall not be limited to, slide repairs, cross-ditching, and post haul blading to remove ruts or other surface irregularities which would interfere with normal runoff of water and cleaning of ditches and culverts. All work will be completed to specifications of Exhibit B and attachments.

All road work described in this section as well as Exhibit B has been appraised for in the timber sale appraisal used to calculate the minimum bid price determination.

vii. Final road maintenance on all roads constructed or used under the terms of this contract shall be done with a motor patrol grader following completion of logging. The

Authorized Officer must be notified prior to the performance of the final maintenance and shall notify the Purchaser in writing when the final road maintenance is complete and accepted.

viii. Permission to remove snow from roads authorized for use shall be authorized in writing by the Contracting Officer prior to beginning such work. The purchaser shall perform all snow removal work according to the conditions of this authorization. A 2” cap of snow shall be left on roads to accommodate snow mobile traffic.

ix. The Purchaser shall supply and install traffic control signs in all locations specified in Exhibit A-1, where his operations may impair passage of vehicles/snowmobiles or may create a public safety hazard. Signs shall comply with State of Montana guidelines for traffic control signs and as stated in Section C. of this contract.

x. All gates on the haul routes identified in Table 1 and as shown on Exhibit A-3 must remain closed to the public according the each gate’s season of closure.

xi. All logging trucks hauling logs or non-sawlog material from the Sale Area as designated on Exhibit A-2 must have an operable Very High Frequency (VHF) radio. All logging truck VHF radios must be programmed to broadcast and receive transmissions on the

“Gypo” radio channel frequency 151.925. The Purchaser or his designee will mark with plastic plates (or similar) mile markers on the haul route as designated on Exhibit A-

2, as directed by the Authorized Officer. All trucks must communicate their location on the “Gypo” channel when passing mile markers, both entering and exiting the on the haul route as designated on Exhibit A-2. Mile markers will be removed by the purchaser once hauling is completed.

i. Authorization to broadcast on the “Gypo” channel is granted by Pyramid

Mountain Lumber. Any log truck operator without existing authorization should contact said mill for permission to use the channel prior to hauling.

ii. In the case where a VHF radio is not available, log truck locations may be broadcast on a Citizens Band (CB) radio in the manner described above. The CB channel will be mutually agreed upon by the Authorized Officer and the purchaser, and posted conspicuously on the haul route.

iii. At no time may a truck haul from the sale area without proper communication as described in this section.

xii. Use of the Gold Creek road #126, from mile point 0.00 to 7.02, and Gold Blanchard road

#2104 from Mile point 0.00 to 6.30 is subject to the OPERATION AND

MAINTENANCE PLAN, FOREST SERVICE ROAD USE AGREEMENT for Bureau of Land Management February 2022, made part of and attached heretofor; see

Attachement B-2.

xiii. The Purchaser must pay the USFS Surface Rock Replacement deposits at a rate of $0.55

/ ton as specified in the OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE PLAN, FOREST

SERVICE ROAD USE AGREEMENT for Bureau of Land Management February 2022, made part of and attached heretofor; see Attachement B-2.

i. Upon request, the purchaser must provide their tax ID number and business address to the USFS for invoicing.

C.5.3.2 Brush 1- Brush 5 and Gold Blanchard Additional Specificaions

i. Clear ALL trees and brush within the first 15’ of the cut slope to the first 5’ of the fill slope.Refer to

“Brushing and Grubbing Technical Drawing.”

ii. Grub within road bed. Grub deep enough to remove all stumps, roots, or other vegetative debris. Back fill all grubbing holes to level the road surface.

iii. Limb live trees outside of the cut and fill slope if limbs are over the road surface. Limb 12 feet above road surface.

iv. Saw‐log quality consists of the following material: those trees not reserved that are 8 inches diameter at breast height outside bark (dbhob) or greater with a minimum length of 16.5 feet to a minimum top end diameter of 5.6 inches diameter inside bark (dib) and a minimum of 1/3 sound wood.

Material pricing will be the same as bid item 0003A and 0003B. Saw material is required to be removed. Non- Saw material created from clearing is optional removal. Landings will be approved by authorized officer.

v. Landings will be approved by authorized officer. Place and construct piles so that if the piles are burned, the burning will not damage remaining trees. Keep piles free of dirt from stumps.

Landings will be seeded when done using.

vi. Unutilized material will be disposed of by one or any of the combinations of the following:

• Windrowing- Place construction slash outside the roadway in neat, compacted windrows approximately parallel to and along the toe line of embankment slopes. Do not permit the top of the windrows to extend above subgrade. Use construction equipment to matt down all material in a windrow to form a compact and uniform pile. Construct breaks of at least

15 feet at a frequency of 200 feet in a windrow. Do not place windrows against trees.

• Scattering- Scatter construction slash in designated areas without damaging trees. Limb all logs. Place logs and stumps away from trees, positioned so they will not roll, and are not on top of one another. Limb and scatter other construction slash to reduce slash concentrations. When scattering for erosion control, place construction slash as flat as practicable on the completed slope.

o Slash shall be bucked to 4' and lopped below 18" both to meet MT slash reduction law and forest insect hazards. Continuous slash mat of more than 12” must be piled for burning by Government.

• Chipping- Use an approved chipping machine to chip slash longer than 3 feet. Deposit chips on embankment slopes or outside the roadway to a loose depth less than 6 inches.

Minor amounts of chips or ground woody material may be permitted within the roadway if they are thoroughly mixed with soil and do not form a layer.

C.5.4 Schedule B - Commercial Material Removal

C.5.4.1 No commercial volume may be cut or removed without the accumulation of Stewardship credits, payment protection, or required payment has been made.

C.5.4.2 All bearing trees or any tree blazed or tagged to mark the line of any Government survey, or trees with reference tags or posters identifying BLM projects shall not be cut or damaged.

C.5.4.3 Hazardous trees that are within the road prism of haul roads shall be felled and removed. No desingated trees or snags shall be felled unless considered to be a safety hazard (OSHA requirements) to landings, riggings or work areas or needed for a yarding corridor. Removal of hazardous trees will be approved by the Government.

C.5.5 Protection of Improvements – The Contractor shall be held liable and is responsible for any damages caused by their personnel and/or equipment to any existing improvements. Repairs to these improvements shall be at the Contractor’s expense, at no additional cost to the Government, and shall be accomplished in a timely manner. Examples of improvements include:

• Posted survey monuments and bearing trees.

• Gates

• Culverts

• Road surfaces such as asphalt (Contractor and COR shall review roads and their condition prior to work and determine necessary repairs at the conclusion of the project.)

C.5.6 SCHEDULE B, ITEMS 0003A – 0003B – Forest Health Improvement

C.5.6.1 Commercial Thin, Harvest Designation by Description (DxD):

b. Trees 6” DBH and greater:

i. Thin individuals to a 40’ stem spacing with up to 40% variability (+ or - 16’) for best tree selection and to reduce visual appearance of row spacing. Residual trees should have at least three sides of open crown. Spacing can and should vary from 24’ to 56’.

ii. Target WL and PP for retention above all other species. Species preference for retention will be WL>PP >LP>DF>SAF.

iii. Remove trees exhibiting insect damage, symptoms of disease or pathogens, less than 30% crown ratio, lacking conical shape or with poor canopy density.

iv. In areas of LP exclusively, reduce stem spacing to 25’ with 40% variablilty (+ or – 10’). LP stem spacing can and should vary from 15 to 35 feet.

c. Utilization Specifications

i. Purchaser must cut and remove from federal lands all saw-log quality live and dead trees that are designated for cutting within all treatment units, and as shown in Exhibit A-2, which are not reserved from cutting as defined in Section C. Saw-log quality consists of the following material: those trees not reserved that are 8 inches diameter at breast height outside bark

(dbhob) or greater with a minimum length of 16.5 feet to a minimum top end diameter of 5.6 inches diameter inside bark (dib) and a minimum of 1/3 sound wood.

ii. The Purchaser must cut and remove all live and dead non-sawlog (biomass) trees as described below within all treatment units, as shown on Exhibit A-2, that are not reserved from cutting as defined in Section C. Non-sawlog trees (biomass) consists of the following material: those trees not reserved between 6.0 inches dbh and 7.9 inches in dbh with a minimum length of

12 feet and a minimum top end diameter of 3.0 dib. Non-sawlog material includes logs that meet the diameter and length specifications of sawlog material but which are less than 1/3 sound.

d. Cutting and Yarding Requirements

i. No felling, yarding, loading, use of tracked or other types of wheeled equipent is permitted within the Reserve Area as shown on the Exhibit A-2.

ii. Movement of equipment between harvest units is restricted to roads and trails approved by the

Authorized Officer.

iii. Mechanized equipment is restricted to slopes of less than 40 percent. On slopes greater than

40 percent hand falling and winch line skidding may be required.

iv. All trees designated for cutting shall be cut so that the resulting stump height shall not exceed 12” measured on the uphill side for sawlog material, 6” for non-sawlog material.

v. All trees designated for cutting in Harvest Units as shown on Exhibit A-2 shall be directionally felled to the lead of the designated/approved skid trails.

vi. All reserved non-sawlog trees damaged by timber harvest operations within all harvest units shall be felled concurrently with all other trees designated for cutting in all harvest units shown on Exhibit A-2, attached hereto and made a part hereof. These trees will be treated as slash as defined in Section C. Slash Disposal.

vii. All operations shall be conducted in such a way as to avoid damaging reserved sawlog trees.

Reserved sawlog quality trees with excessive damage as determined by the Authorized

Officer will be cut and yarded by the purchaser with stumpage charged at the trespass rate described in Section H of this contract.

viii. Whole tree, tree length or log length yarding with in-woods processing is authorized within all harvest units, as shown on Exhibit A-2. Any slash loading within the units in excess of the tons per acre identified in Section e. Slash Loading will be piled for burning.

ix. Harvesting and yarding (skidding) will be limited to periods when soil conditions are dry, frozen or snow covered as determined by the Forest Officer.

i. Yarding within all harvest units, as shown on Exhibit A-2, attached hereto and made a part hereof, shall be done with tractors, rubber-tired skidders, or other logging system approved by the Authorized Officer and in accordance with the following specifications:

i. All skid trails shall be located by the Purchaser and approved by the Authorized

Officer prior to felling timber.

ii. Skid trail locations will avoid soils or conditions that are highly prone to compaction, displacement, or erosion. Favor soils with higher rock content, avoid skidding on saturated soils, favor skidding on frozen or snow covered soils.

iii. Minimum spacing of skid trails is 100 feet, unless a reduced spacing is approved by the

Authorized Officer.

iv. Priority shall be given to existing skid trails.

v. Mechanized equipment is restricted to slopes of less than 40 percent. On slopes greater than 40 percent hand falling and winch line skidding will be used.

ii. The Purchaser shall scarify or rip compacted skid trails and landings upon completion of use as directed by the Authorized Officer.

iii. The Purchaser shall construct waterbars or deposit slash to the satisfaction of the

Authorized Officer on skid trails upon completion of skidding operations in each harvest unit, as directed by the Authorized Officer. All open skid trails shall be reclaimed immediately following completion of yarding, or prior to October 1 of the year they were first used.

iv. No treatments, except hauling, brushing, and grubbing, will occur from June 1 to July 15 to mitigate potential adverse effects during big game parturition (calving and fawning) and migratory bird nesting.

e. Slash Disposal

Slash shall be disposed of in accordance with the following provisions, attached hereto and made a part hereof. The term slash shall be defined as residual woody debris not reserved under Section C, which remain after yarding, including tree tops, limbs, un-merchantable portions of the bole, uprooted stumps, and trees damaged by logging.

i. All slash generated by performance of tasks described herein, shall be bucked and lopped, crushed by equipment or otherwise reduced to a total height of no more than 18” and individual piece length of no more than 4’.

ii. A total target slash loading of 10 - 15 tons per acre total shall be evenly distributed throughout the treatment units. This includes slash that was created from the understory removal work.The Contractor may be required to pile or remove excessive slash to achieve target tons per acre.

iii. To reduce likelihood of Pine Engraver Beetle (Ips pini) infestation, all ponderosa pine slash generated from Dec. 1 thru July 1 will be lopped and scattered or crushed with equipment to sizes and heights described above, within 1 week of the slash creation.

iv. All slash that exceeds the desired conditions as described herein will be piled by a grapple loader or skidder to a minimum of 6 feet in height and shall be tight and free of dirt.

v. Slash piles shall be located no less than 20 feet from any live reserve tree.

f. Log Landing and Loading

i. All landings must be approved by the Authorized Officer prior to construction and use.

ii. Landing shall be cleaned up in accordance with the instructions of the COR, and scarified and seeded when road is put to bed or when use of landing is completed.

iii. The Purchaser shall furnish and apply grass seed to all skid trails/landing areas where soil disturbance occurs, and as directed by the authorized officer . Grass seed shall be applied immediately upon completion and approval of road work. The Purchaser shall apply the seed uniformly on the designated areas at a rate of 25 pounds per acre. Seed which has become wet or moldy or otherwise damaged will not be accepted.

Species Pounds per Acre

Blue Bunch Wheat Grass 5

Western Wheat Grass 5

Mountain Brome 5

Slender Wheatgrass 5

Small Burnet (pollinator) 1.25

Rocky Mountain Beeplant (pollinator) 1.25

Blue Flax (pollinator) 1.25

Milkvetch (pollinator) 1.25

Total 25

All seed used shall meet all requirements of the Federal Seed Act (7 U.S.C., Section 551-

1610) and the seed laws and noxious weed laws of Montana. Evidence of the seed certification shall be furnished at the request of the Authorized Officer.

All leguminous seed will be inoculated with approved cultures in accordance with instructions of the manufacturer. The seed used shall meet the following requirements:

Purity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95%

Germination. . . . . . . . . 85%

Weed Content . . . . . . . .0.5%

C.5.7 Log Export Restriction

C.5.7.1 All commercial product to be removed by the Contractor under the terms of this contract is restricted from export from the United States in the form of unprocessed commercial product and is prohibited from being used as a substitute for exported private commercial product. For the purpose of this contract, unprocessed commercial product is defined as (1) any logs except those of utility grade or below, such as sawlogs, peeler logs, and pulp logs; (2) cants or squares to be subsequently remanufactured exceeding eight and three-quarters (8-3/4) inches in thickness; (3) split or round bolts or other roundwood not processed to standards and specifications suitable for end-product uses; or (4) western redcedar lumber which does not meet lumber of American Lumber Standards Grades of

Number 3 dimension or better, or Pacific Lumber Inspection Bureau R-List Grades of Number 3

Common or better. Thus, commercial product manufactured into the following will be considered processed: (1) lumber and construction commercial volume, regardless of size, manufactured to standards and specifications suitable for end product uses; (2) chips, pulp and pulp products; (3) green or dry veneer and plywood; (4) poles and piling cut or treated for use as such; (5) cants, squares, and lumber cut for remanufacturing of eight and three-quarters (8-3/4) inches in thickness or less; (6) shakes and shingles. The Contractor shall maintain and upon request to furnish the following information:

a. Date of last export sale.

b. Volume of commercial product contained in last export sale

c. Volume of commercial product exported in the past twelve (12) months from the date of last export sale.

d. Volume of Federal commercial product purchased and/or removed in the past twelve (12) months from date of last export sale.

e. Volume of commercial product exported in the succeeding twelve (12) months from date of last export sale.

f. Volume of Federal commercial product commercial product purchased and/or removed in the succeeding twelve (12) months from date of last export sale.

C.5.7.2 In the event the Contractor elects to sell any or all of the commercial volume to be removed under this contract in the form of unprocessed commercial product, the Contractor shall require each party buying, exchanging, or receiving such commercial volume to execute a "Certificate as to

Nonsubstitution and Domestic Processing of Timber." The original of such certification shall be filed with the COR. Additionally, when the other party is an affiliate of the Contractor, the Contractor will be required to update information under item (2) of Form 5450-17 (Export Determination) and file the form with the COR.

C.5.7.3 In the event an affiliate of the Contractor has exported private commercial volume within twelve (12) months prior to purchasing or otherwise acquiring Federal commercial volume to be removed under this contract, the Contractor shall, upon request, obtain from the affiliate information in the form specified by the COR and furnish the information to the COR.

C.5.7.4 Prior to the closing of this contract, the Contractor shall submit to the COR a completed Form 5460-15

(Log Scale and Disposition of Timber Removed Report). In addition, the Contractor shall retain for a three-year period from the date of closing of the contract the records of all sales or transfer of logs involving commercial volume removed from the contract area for inspection and use of the Bureau of

Land Management.

PASSAGE OF TITLE AND RISK OF LOSS

Inspection of Commercial Volume and Disclaimer of Warranty

a. The Contractor warrants that this contract is accepted and executed on the basis of its examination and inspection of the commercial volume material to be removed under this contract and its opin-ion of the value thereof.

b. Government expressly disclaims any warranty of fitness of the commercial volume for any purpose; all commercial volume to be removed hereunder is accepted as is without any warranty of merchantability by Government. Any warranty as to the quantity or quality of the commercial volume be removed hereunder is expressly disclaimed by the Government. Refund to or recovery by the Contractor for failure of passage of title to any commercial volume to be removed hereunder shall not exceed the value of such commercial volume computed at prices per unit for species involved as set forth in Schedule B.

Passage of Title and Risk of Loss

Title to commercial volume to be removed under this contract shall remain in Government and shall not pass to the Contractor until such commercial volume has an equal value earned in the form of

Stewardship Credits and removed from the contract area. Unless cut commercial volume is to be removed under this contract risk of loss shall be borne by the Contractor after the commercial volume is cut; Provided, however, that if loss results from a fire which was not caused by the Contractor, its subcontractors, or the employees of any of them, the risk of loss shall be borne by the party holding title. If cut commercial volume is to be removed under this contract, risk of loss shall be borne by the party holding title. Risk of loss to Government shall not exceed the value of such commercial volume computed at the prices per unit for the species involved as set forth in Schedule B. Nothing herein shall be construed to relieve either party from liability for any breach of contract or any wrongful or negligent act. As used in this section, the term cut commercial volume refers only to commercial volume which has been felled, bucked, or otherwise severed by direct human activity prior to the date this contract was entered into.

C.5.7.5 Purchase Price and Load Tickets

a. This is a scale sale. All “ton wood” material will be weighed at state of Montana certified scales. The final “ton wood” quantity and total sale value shall be determined by final cumulative weight of all “ton wood” removed multiplied by the price per Unit of Measure as specified in

Exhibit B. The final purchase price may be more or less than that amount specified on the contract. “ton wood” shall be defined as all material designated for cutting as described in Section

C.

b. Bureau of Land Management Load Ticket books will be issued to the Purchaser by the Authorized Officer. At the conclusion of the sale all tickets shall be accounted for by returning unused tickets still attached to original ticket book or by accounting in mill scale reports with attached load tickets.

c. Each truck load of sawlogs and non-sawlog material will have a load ticket attached to the front driver’s side of one bunk log with four or more staples. During inclement weather the load ticket shall be placed inside a plastic sandwich type bag and then attached to the load, as described above, or as directed by the Authorized Officer. The last three digits of the load ticket number and

“BLM” shall be painted conspicuously on the rear of the loaded logs, so in such manner as can be viewed from another vehicle at highway speed, with BLACK paint. No load may leave BLM administered lands without a load ticket in place and painted as described above.

d. All loads shall be weighed on a state certified scale and scale reports shall be furnished to the Authorized Officer which indicates Truck Identification, Delivery

Date, Load Ticket Number, Gross Vehicle weight, Tare Weight and Net Vehicle weight.

e. The Purchaser will provide a bi-monthly accounting of all Bureau of Land

Management load tickets used along with copies of all mill reports within 5 working days following each “pay half”. A pay half is considered to be the 1st-15th of each month and the 16th-end of the month.

f. A fifteen percent (15%) increase in net weight of logs may be added by the BLM for loss in weight due to delay by the Purchaser in delivering cut logs (saw and non-saw) to the manufacturing point. A delay is defined as in excess of thirty (45) days after felling.

C.5.7.6 Contractor vehicles shall stop when requested by the Government to verify products in transit.

C.5.7.8 The Contractor shall be responsible for repair of any damage to roads, bridges, or structures caused by the use of overweight or over-dimension vehicles (1) without written approval, (2) in violation of the conditions of a written approval or (3) in a negligent manner. The amount of actual damage shall be determined by the CO following a technical inspection and evaluation.

C.5.7.9 Prior to the commencement of operations the Purchaser shall obtain from the Authorized Officer written approval of a written logging operations and safety plan commensurate with the terms and conditions of the contract which shall include measures needed to assure protection of the environment and watershed, and emergency preparedness. A prework conference between the Purchaser's authorized representative and the Contracting Officer's representative must be held at a location designated by the Contracting Officer before the logging and safety plan will be approved.

C.5.7.10 Before beginning operations on the contract area for the first time or after shutdown of seven (7) or more days, the Purchaser shall notify the Contracting Officer of the date he plans to begin operations.

This notice shall be given at least three (3) days prior to beginning any operation. He shall also notify the Contracting Officer if he intends to cease operations for any period of seven (7) or more days.

C.5.8 Resource Protection

C.5.8.1 The Contractor shall, prior to initial move-in to the contract area, steam clean or pressure wash all equipment used in the contract area or on BLM property under this contract. This wash requirement excludes contractor pickups and transport vehicles, low boy trucks delivering equipment, dump trucks and others delivering rock or materials to the contract area. This wash shall remove all soil material that may contain weed seeds from the equipment. The CO or his representative must visually inspect and verbally approve the cleaning before the equipment is used in the contract area. Any equipment removed from the contract area during the duration of the contract must be steam cleaned or pressure washed and approved by the CO or his representative before it is returned to the contract area.

C.5.8.2 The Contractor shall ensure that petroleum products and other pollutants do not enter any stream channel. Any contaminating material entering a stream shall be cleaned up in accordance with

Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) requirements.

C.5.8.3 Any equipment which develops leaks of lubricants or fuels shall be removed immediately from the work area. Fuel equipment 150 feet from any stream channel, or as far away as is practically possible as determined by the Contracting Officer.

C.5.8.4 The Purchaser, his employees, and any contractor or subcontractor and their employees, are hereby prohibited from hunting, scouting for game, carrying firearms, archery equipment, or transporting game while withinthe Sale Area, as indicated on Exhibit A-2, and in road closure areas while performing the operations permitted under this contract.

C.5.8.5 The Purchaser shall comply with Food/Attractant Storage Provisions, as shown on Exhibit D, attached hereto and made a part hereof.

C.6.0 CONSTRAINTS

Listed below are constraints associated with this stewardship project. These items can be reviewed at the BLM Missoula Field Office or on the web at http://beta.sam.gov

BLM Missoula Field Office

3255 Fort Missoula Rd.

Missoula, MT 59804

Telephone : 406-329-3914

Hours: 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Mountain Time

Environmental Assessment No. DOI-BLM-MT-B010-2020-0012-EA

C.7.0 PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

See Section F.

(End of Section C)

SECTION D – PACKAGING AND MARKING

Not Used

SECTION E – INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

E.1.0 INSPECTION

E.1.1 The Contractor shall provide quality control to assure that work complies with requirements of contract specifications.

E.1.2 Schedule A, Items 0001A – 0001D and 0002A- 0002O - if random sample inspections indicate that a formal inspection is necessary, then Government inspections will be made on a series of 1/50 acre plots

(16.7’ radius) located at predetermined intervals across each work unit. Sufficient plots will be taken to obtain at least a one percent (1%) sample of the treated area. Inspection plots will not be taken in the reserve areas.

E.2.0 METHOD OF MEASUREMENT

E.2.1 The acreage for the purpose of payment is measured on the horizontal plane. Existing roads are not included in the unit acreage.

E.2.2 Commercial Value – Schedule B, Items 0003A and 0003B: Commercial volume removed will be determined by weight on State of Montana certified scales as described in section C.5.6.5.

E.3.0 PAYMENT

The value of the commercial fiber will offset some or all of the value of the service work to be performed.

If payment is to be made to the contractor for work performed, the payment will be made in accordance with FAR clause 52.212-4.

E.4.0 STEWARDSHIP CREDITS

Stewardship Credits (SC) are credits that are earned for Schedule A tasks that have been performed and accepted but not paid to the Contractor. The credits are applied to Schedule B forest products volume value as product is removed

E.5.0 ESTABLISHMENT OF STEWARDSHIP CREDITS

SC will be established for the number of units of each activity that have been completed and accepted.

Acceptance may be for all, or a reasonable portion of, any specific activity. SC will not be established for work that is in progress that has not been accepted by the Government.

E.6.0 EXCESS COMMERCIAL VALUE

After award, if the Contractor obtains approval from the Contracting Officer or their designated representative to perform the forest products Removal (Section B, Schedule B) in advance of the Service

Work (Section B, Schedule A), a one hundred percent (100%) payment of the forest products Volume value (Section B, Schedule B) intended to be removed shall be submitted to the Contracting Officer or their designated representative prior to commencing removal. The Contractor must have payment coverage for all product removal in advance of the service work. The removal work shall not exceed the payment value submitted. The payment may be in the form of (1) a bond of a corporate surety shown on the approved list issued by the United States Treasury Department and executed on an approved standard form; (2) personal surety bond, executed on an approved standard for if the authorized officer determines the principals and bondsmen are capable of carrying out the terms of the contract; (3) cash payment for future refund; (4) negotiable securities of the United States; or (5) any guaranteed remittance approved by the authorized officer. The payment will be retained until service work equal to the value of the products removed has been completed and accepted.

If at completion of the contract, the value of the included commercial volume (Section B, Schedule B) exceeds the total value of the service work (Section B, Schedule A) for which the contractor has completed services and no payment is available for the net revenue, the contractor shall be assessed a contract debt and make payment for the excess commercial volume value. A modification will be issued to reflect the net payment due to the Government and instruct the Contractor on how to make payment to the BLM

Collections and Billing System (CBS).

E.7.0 INVOICING

The Contractor shall provide a certified invoice to the Government for each portion of work for which credit/payment will be given. In addition to the contract number, contractor name, address, invoice number and invoice date, each invoice shall clearly identify the specific work being invoiced, the line item under which the work was required and performed, amount invoiced under each line item, and certification of the invoice. Invoices shall be processed and paid in accordance with FAR clause 52.212-4.

(End of Section E)

SECTION F – DELIVERIES OR PERFORMANCE

F.1.0 PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

October 3, 2022 to October 2, 2025 (three years).

The following clause is incorporated by reference:

Clause Title Date

52.242-15 Stop Work Order Aug 1989

(End of Section F)

SECTION G – CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION DATA

G.1.0 The BLM is required to return the name, address, and tax identification number of each person/contractor that the agency enters into a contract with during the calendar year, to include any other information the

Secretary of the Treasury may require. Contractor will receive an IRS Form 1099-MISC entitled

“Miscellaneous Income” for each tax (calendar) year. All forms of income to the Contractor under a stewardship contract is anticipated to be taxable, including consideration received from forest products.

G.1.1 BLM CONTACTS:

Brittney Linford – Contracting Officer

E-Mail: blinford@blm.gov

The Contracting Officer’s Representative shall be designated at time of award.

G.1.2 FEDERAL HOLIDAYS

Holidays observed by the contractor shall include all legal holidays observed by the Government. These holidays are:

New Year's Day Martin Luther King Day Columbus Day President's Day

Memorial Day Independence Day Labor Day Veterans' Day

Thanksgiving Day Christmas Day Juneteenth

G.1.3 DOI-AAAP-0028 ELECTRONIC INVOICING AND PAYMENT REQUIREMENTS – INVOICE

PROCESSING PLATFORM (IPP) (APRIL 2013)

Payment requests must be submitted electronically through the U. S. Department of the

Treasury's Invoice Processing Platform System (IPP).

"Payment request" means any request for contract financing payment or invoice payment by the

Contractor. To constitute a proper invoice, the payment request must comply with the requirements identified in the applicable Prompt Payment clause included in the contract, or the clause 52.212-4

Contract Terms and Conditions - Commercial Items included in commercial item contracts. The IPP website address is: https://www.ipp.gov .

Under this contract, the following documents are required to be submitted as an attachment to the IPP invoice: as determined at the task order level.

The vendor shall upon invoicing through the internet payment platform, attach a copy of their regular vendor invoice by utilizing the attachments feature on the lower right hand corner of the invoicing screen to substantiate requests for payment. The vendor invoice shall be readable in Microsoft Excel, Adobe

Acrobat (.pdf) or Microsoft Word.

1. Name & address of the Contractor.

2. Invoice date & number.

3. Contract number, contract line item number and, if applicable, the order number.

4. Description, quantity, unit of measure, unit price and extended price of the services delivered.

5. Name, title, and phone number of person to notify in event of defective invoice.

The Contractor must use the IPP website to register access and use IPP for submitting requests for payment. The

Contractor Government Business Point of Contact (as listed in CCR) will receive enrollment instructions via email from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston (FRBB) within 3-5 business days of the contract award…