A04_SOW_0001.docx

Gold Bar Cut and Pile Project Statement of Work 1 Introduction

1.1 Purpose

The Bureau of Land Management, Battle Mountain District Office, is seeking contractor services to conduct tree thinning and removal (manual cut and pile) treatments on roughly 167 acres of single-leaf pinyon pine (Pinus monophylla) and Utah juniper (Juniperus osteosperma). These treatments will be completed to establish roadside fuel breaks in the foothills of Roberts Mountain. The service requested is the manual severing of whole trees. Trees within the treatment units will be removed in accordance with the Project Specifications found in Section 4. The purpose of the project is to reduce fuel loading.

1.2 Location & Access to Work Site

The work under this contract will be located within Eureka County in Nevada, south of Roberts Mountain.

The treatment units are located within the following legal land descriptions (Mount Diablo Meridian), as shown on the attached maps:

· Gold Bar Roadside Cut and Pile Unit:

· Township 22N., Range. 50E., Sections 21, 28, 29, 30 Directions: To access the project area, take Hwy 50 west from Eureka, Nevada for approximately 25 miles and turn right onto 3 Bars Road. After 16 miles, turn right onto Gold Bar Road. Drive for about 5 miles to reach the project area.

There may be two-track roads which require a high clearance four-wheel drive vehicle as well as larger dirt county roads accessible by a low clearance two-wheel drive vehicle within and adjacent to the project area. Four-wheel drive vehicles are recommended on all non-paved roads due to the potential for unexpected inclement weather conditions as well as general road conditions.

There are no seasonal weather restrictions unless heavy rains occur or during periods of snow melt which may result in an intermittent work schedule due to muddy conditions. Work shall not occur if project implementation is creating excessive rutting (defined as ruts deeper than 2 inches in the regular road surface). Roads will be considered impassable when wet and access into the project area may be closed by the government during this time.

1.3 Project Area Description

Vegetation in these areas is typical of the Great Basin and consists of a mixture of pinyon pine, juniper, sagebrush, bitterbrush, and grasses. The area primarily has slopes between 1-50 % though isolated steeper slopes may exist in some areas. Current tree densities within the units vary from 0% cover to over 60% cover.

It is the responsibility of the Contractor to consider tree densities and terrain while developing and proposing a performance timeline for this project.

1.4 Boundaries of Project Area

The project boundaries are not marked on the ground. Maps and GIS shapefiles of the project boundaries will be provided for upload into a GPS unit provided by the selected contractor. The selected contractor will be responsible for navigating with a GPS unit to stay within the project boundaries. The Government will not flag the unit boundaries and will only be on site for periodic work inspection.

Minor boundary adjustments to treatment units, up to 10% of the total project area, may occur for administrative purposes during project implementation that would potentially change the size or shape of treatment units. These adjustments WILL NOT change the total project size or the award amount.

1.5 Unique Features

Avoidance areas and other special features, if known and present, may be identified on maps or flagged within the treatment areas. There will be potential operating restrictions or areas subject to closure from April 15 to July 31st due to the migratory bird season. These timing restrictions shall be built into the proposal. No extensions will be granted due to these timing restrictions. The potential restrictions or closures would be pending the result of migratory bird surveys. Work shall not occur if project implementation is creating excessive ground disturbance. Work may resume only when weather conditions improve or work processes are altered to accommodate inclement working conditions, extensions may be granted based on weather or access related issues. If areas within the project boundary contain a tree coverage that is less than 30%, the Contracting Officer Representative (COR) may approve the contractor to perform a Lop and Scatter treatment for those specified areas.

2 Contractor Furnished Property and Services

2.1 Contractor Responsibilities

Contractor will be responsible for all labor, supplies, equipment, and maintenance needs for duration of project. The contractor is required to provide a GPS unit capable of uploading and viewing a shapefile of the project boundary and any avoidance areas. Shapefiles and/or maps will be provided by the government in one or more of the following formats: .gpx, .kml, .kmz, or a .zip file containing the .shp, .shx, .dbf, and .prj files.

2.2 Contractor Equipment

2.2.1 The contractor equipment (chainsaws & tools) shall:

2.2.1.1 Be of adequate size and power to alter the vegetation type in accordance with the specified level of work, prescription, or as otherwise specified below in Section 4: Project Specifications.

2.2.1.2 Be of durable design and construction to withstand the stresses of tree falling and bucking operations in pinyon-juniper woodlands.

2.2.1.3 Be free of fluid leaks and have spark arrestors in good operating condition.

2.2.1.4 Meet or exceed current OSHA logging specifications for safety.

2.2.1.5 Meet or exceed the requirements listed in Section 2 Fire Prevention / Suppression.

2.2.1.6 The contractor’s GPS (as required) shall be capable of uploading project boundaries in at least one of the formats listed above, be capable of operating in WGS-84 or NAD-83 datums and provide a position accuracy on the unit of ± 20ft.

2.2.1.7 Personal protective equipment PPE will meet or exceed current OSHA Logging standards.

2.2.2 The piles within the units will be:

2.2.2.1 Pile limbs and trees boles in open areas away from leave trees, no closer than 15ft from other piles and 25ft from leave trees. If on slope greater than 30% increase pile distance to 35ft from leave trees.

2.2.2.2 In these four units thinned fuels will be piled for later burning. Piles will not exceed 10 feet in diameter and 6 feet in height. Piles should be lopped down to obtain a tight pile and WILL NOT be covered.

2.2.2.3 Avoid if possible, constructing piles mid slope on any type of topography and on greater than 30% slope if possible.

2.2.2.4 Piles shall not be placed on or within 3ft of stumps.

2.2.2.5 Construction of piles will consist of tipi style, with smaller limbs and slash material on the interior portion of the pile with larger diameter material (boles) on the top of the pile.

2.2.2.6 Pile construction will not occur in areas of known archaeological sites or sensitive plant populations.

2.2.2.7 Slash will not be piled within 30ft of power lines, telephone lines, fences, utility poles, or other existing structures.

2.2.2.8 If inspection indicates the quality of work either pile construction or number of trees thinned is not up to standard, then the unit will be reworked.

2.3 Work Camp

Camping will be allowed during project implementation only at sites approved by BLM in advance. All fire regulations and permits shall be followed. All garbage and refuse shall be removed from the campsite by the contractor within five (5) days of camp abandonment. Final payment will be reserved subject to inspection of these sites by BLM and approval of site cleanup.

2.4 Fire Prevention/Suppression

The contractor shall:

· Equip all diesel and/or gasoline operated engines with spark arresters.

· Equip at least one individual per group with one shovel and one fire extinguisher, containing not less than 8 ounces of extinguisher fluid, or a dry chemical powder-type of not less than 1-pound capacity. The extinguisher must be immediately accessible to the saw operator at all times.

· Remove all concentrations of wood dust and debris from equipment (chainsaws) daily.

3 Government Furnished Property and Services Government shall provide at minimum one paper map depicting the project area, any avoidance areas, and other known special features. A GIS shapefile will be provided of the project boundaries and any avoidance areas to be uploaded to a GPS unit.

4 Project Specifications

4.1 Summary Table of Units and Treatment Methods

Table 1: Treatment Units and Treatment Methods

Contractors are to submit a single bid for cut and pile treatments on a per acre basis using the provided Bid Schedule. A 10% reduction may be imposed due to unforeseeable culturally or environmentally sensitive areas discovered during pre-treatment inventory and monitoring. However, final reductions are expected to be minimal.

4.2 Treatment Method: Tree Thinning and Piling – 167 Acres

Thinning and piling of pinyon and juniper trees will be conducted within the following specifications:

4.1 4.2

4.2.1 Boles shall be cut as close to the ground as possible with a target stump height of less than 8 inches;

4.2.2 Boles are to be cut in 5-foot lengths if the length of the tree meets or exceeds 10 feet in height from end to end;

4.2.3 Limbs (slash) from thinned trees shall be cut and piled in openings not immediately adjacent to tree boles or important cultural or wildlife locations;

4.2.4 Tree densities are to be reduced to about 17 trees per acre (TPA) or approximately 50-foot spacing between remaining tree canopies;

4.2.5 All other tree species as well as designated groups of trees (islands) or leave trees marked with blue flagging are not to be cut or disturbed or have a pile placed immediately adjacent to it.

4.2.5.1 Do not cut any leave islands or individual trees with blue marking/flagging or if nests are present in trees.

4.2.5.2 Prioritize leaving pinyon trees over juniper trees (cut more juniper trees).

4.2.5.3 Desired leave tree age classes percentages:

Seedlings (Less than 3” DBH/DRC) Young Trees

(3” – 10” DBH/DRC)

Mature Trees

(10”–20” DBH/DRC)

Old Growth* (Greater than 20” DBH/DRC)

*Other characteristics to identify old growth trees:

Trees larger than 20 feet in height and/or 20 inches DBH, trees with hollow trunks that provide nests and nesting cavities, trees with broad non-symmetric tops, trees with deeply furrowed bark (primarily juniper), trees with very twisted trunks, trees with dead branches and spike tops, or trees with bright green lichen or moss on the exterior surface should be prioritized for being left on the site to maintain appropriate spacing of tree canopy.

4.2.6 The by-product of cut and pile will be piles that are roughly exceed 10 feet in diameter and 6 feet in height consisting of limbs and boles that were cut down. At least 90% of the cut material, if not all the material, will be placed within these piles.

4.2.7 Piles shall not be placed on or within 3 feet of stumps. Piles shall be located outside the dripline of standing live trees.

4.2.8 Piles shall be compact, dirt and trash free, and piled in such a manner that will allow them to burn completely. Slash material that causes large air spaces in piles shall be cut into shorter pieces to facilitate compaction and eliminate air pockets within the pile. Smaller sized materials should be placed in the center of the piles to assist in ignition of the piles during burning.

4.3 Schedule

All work performed on the project shall follow the schedule included with the technical proposal. The schedule must be mutually agreed upon by the contractor and the Government during the initial awarding of the contract. If the contractor needs to deviate from the schedule or encounters difficulties during the implementation of the project, they shall immediately notify the Contracting Officer’s Representative or Project Inspector to discuss and approve any changes to the original performance schedule.

4.4 Measurement of Payment

Work will be measured and paid for by the number of acres that are completed to specifications. The total will be rounded up to the nearest whole acre. Area measurements required under this Contract will be measured on a horizontal plane. Invoicing may occur no more often than monthly.

4.5 Period of Performance

September 15, 2024, to December 31, 2024

4.6 Level of Difficulty

Tree densities and overland travel are two factors that may limit production. The Contractor will be responsible for mitigating these factors to meet project completion benchmarks and the performance schedule.