140L5726Q0003_Attachment_01_Statement_of_Work.pdf

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Delta WH&B Facility Feeding Contract 1

STATEMENT OF WORK

Background:

a. Wild horses and burros on public lands, administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Forest Service, are protected, managed, and controlled under provisions of the Wild Horse and Burro Act of December 15, 1971, as amended (16 US. 1331-1340). As resource conditions warrant, excess wild horses and burros are removed from the public lands and placed in facilities for preparation to be placed in private maintenance through the Adopt-A-Horse program.

b. The BLM gathers wild horses and burros of the range each year and sends them to short-term preparation facilities. The gathering season runs from approximately July 1 through March 1. Those facilities assess the animals’ health and get them processed and prepared for adoption. Those animals are then shipped to adoption centers and adoption events to be placed into private care through adoption or sale.

c. The Delta Wild Horse & Burro (WHB) Facility, located in Delta, Utah, is the BLM adoption center for

Utah. We receive horses and burros from preparation facilities after they have been processed for adoption.

The horses are delivered by gooseneck trailer (approximately 10 horses in each load) or in single deck semi-trailers with up to 36 horses in one load.

Objective:

a. The objective of this contract is to feed and water wild horses and burros at the Delta WHB Facility that are waiting to be adopted or sold. On occasion, numbers of wild horses and burros held at the Delta Wild Horse Corrals may be as high as 300 and as low as 20. The facility may be empty for several months of the year. The contract for feeding the animals will be for weekdays, weekends, and holidays, for a base year plus four option years.

General Services:

a. The facility consists of 18 pens and 5 smaller pens used to hold between 1 to 25 animals. Hay will need to be spread across the feed managers to assure that all animals receive adequate amounts of feed.

b. The safety and well-being of the contractor performing these feeding services shall be the sole responsibility of the Contractor. The Contractor shall be experienced and skilled in working with livestock, (i.e., horses) and knowledgeable of the behavior and characteristics of wild horses for both the safety of the animals and the Contractor, as there is a possibility of serious injury if not handled properly. Wild horses are frightened of humans and are easily spooked when approached.

c. The Contractor shall be held accountable for any Contractor’s employee’s misconduct, negligence, and failure to perform. The behavior/conduct of the Contractor’s personnel shall be the full responsibility of the Contractor.

d. In as much as the facility is open to the public, the Contractor and their personnel shall perform their duties in a manner that will not bring discredit on the BLM or the Contractor. Further, when operating equipment, the Contractor will take into consideration that members of the public may be in the area. The utmost caution will be taken for their safety. If the Contractor or their personnel are observed performing

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Delta WH&B Facility Feeding Contract 2 the required duties in an unsafe manner to the animals, themselves, or Government personnel, the Contractor will correct the situation immediately.

Specific Contractor Requirements:

a. The Contractor will feed each animal once daily during days related to the contract. Each horse will receive approximately 20 pounds of Government-furnished hay per day. All automatic water troughs shall be drained and cleaned once per month. All feed mangers shall be cleaned at least once per quarter, or upon request by the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR).

b. The objective is for all animals to attain and/or maintain good fleshy condition. Fleshy condition is described as follows: back level; ribs not visually distinguishable; withers rounded; and shoulders and neck, blended smoothly into body. If this objective is not met, a change in feeding will be directed by the

COR.

c. To ensure that all animals maintain a good fleshy condition, hay shall be spaced so that all animals are afforded equal access to the feed.

d. If the Contractor notices any animals in distress (i.e., sickly, injured, mares with foaling problems, or deceased animals, etc.), the Contractor shall immediately notify a BLM representative of the problem so that the appropriate action can be taken.

e. The Contractor shall feed all animals in accordance with the requirements set forth above, once per day, every day including weekends and holidays. All duties are performed out-of-doors and subject to a wide variety of climatic conditions.

f. The Contractor shall have the skills and training necessary to operate farm equipment, tractor, skid steer, and telehandler.

g. The Contractor and their personnel shall have the ability to perform such tasks as loading/transporting bales through the corral system to feed animals. The Contractor and their personnel may be required to exert extensive strenuous physical activity in an outdoor environment, such as lifting bales of hay weighing approximately 100 to 130 pounds, bags of pellets weighing 50 pounds; standing and bending for long periods as well as walking/working in outdoor corrals.

h. The Contractor shall furnish all personal protective equipment such as gloves, hay chaps, etc., hay hooks, pliers, wire and twine cutting devices.

i. The Contractor shall dispose of all wire and /or strings from hay bales in BLM provided trash receptacles.

The Contractor shall be responsible for keeping all broken bales and loose hay around the stacks, alleyways, feed managers and corrals cleaned up daily.

j. The Contractor and their personnel shall be required to check with the COR when horses are being moved from pen to pen or in the alleys, before entering the alleys or pens.

k. The Contractor shall be available to feed within one hour when unscheduled or emergency loads arrive for overnight stay.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Delta WH&B Facility Feeding Contract 3

l. The Contractor shall provide a cell phone for use in communication with BLM as a personal safety item.

Responsibilities of BLM:

a. BLM will provide all hay that will be fed at the facility. BLM will provide all equipment for watering and feeding (i.e., hoses, fittings, floats, troughs, tractors, feed wagon, etc.).

b. BLM COR will provide the following information to the Contractor:

1. Type and amount of hay or other feed to go to each pen.

2. The identity of pens that contain animals that day and the number of animals that day in each pen.

Identify pens that will contain horses due to sorting, gathers, and shipping.

Government Furnished Equipment/Materials/Supplies

1. Complete supply of hay and/or pellets suitable for consumption by wild horses and burros.

2. Watering system parts (i.e., troughs, hoses, fittings, floats, etc.).

3. Equipment to clean the feed mangers and to move bales from stacks to managers (i.e. skid steer, tractor, bale processor, implements, shovels, pitch forks)