A04_SOW_SPLRP_AgwayUnits_Mech_FY2024_10-4-2023.docx

Statement of Work: Mastication Vegetation Treatment

Shivwits Plateau Landscape Restoration Project – Agway Wash, Agway Valley East, Agway Valley Southwest Units Mastication (2024) Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument Arizona Strip District Bureau of Land Management

Introduction: The Arizona Strip District, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument (GCPNM) is acquiring vegetation management services to implement vegetation treatments within the Shivwits Plateau Landscape Restoration Project (SPLRP) to move the project area toward desired resource conditions, while reducing the risk of large and severe wildland fires, enhance big game habitat, and improving forest and rangeland health.

Background: The Project area consists of stands of pinyon juniper woodlands, and sagebrush steppe. The main goals of the Shivwits Plateau Landscape Restoration Project – Agway Units Mastication (SPLRP – Agway) treatments are to restore and promote native plant and animal biodiversity and decrease unintended side effects of past management actions, by improving vegetation species diversity and fire resiliency. The method that will be used for this contract is mechanical treatments.

Purpose: The purpose of the SPLRP – Agway treatments is to enhance wildlife habitat, improve rangeland health, vegetation community composition, diversity, structure and function. The Contractor will furnish all tools, labor, supervision, equipment, materials, supplies, transportation, training and incidentals necessary to accomplish the removal of trees, treatment of slash, and mowing of sagebrush and cliffrose in accordance with the specifications provided. This contract is for the purposes of improving forest and rangeland health for the BLM.

CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS

1. Location of Project Area: The SPLRP – Agway area is located approximately 55 air miles south of St. George, Utah in Mohave County, Arizona, see SPLRP – Agway Mastication Units Overview Map, Appendix A. This area is remote and there are no services outside of the neighboring town of St. George, Utah. Cell phone coverage is intermittent to non-existent. Satellite communication device is recommended for emergency contact in these areas. Roads to the site are dirt and not improved. 4-wheel drive, high clearance vehicles are required to access the project area. Roads do not exist in all parts of the project area and overland travel within the treatment polygons by the mastication machinery is expected. It will be the contractor’s responsibility to get the equipment to the work site. All work will be performed on land administered by the Bureau of Land Management. General-purpose maps will be included with each Task Order to give the minimum needs, for a contractor’s project bid. Once the project is accepted by the contractor, maps will be provided by and agreed upon by BLM and the contractor. See attached maps for any further information (Avenza ready pdf maps available on request).

Site Locations:

Agway Wash Unit Gila & Salt River Meridian, Mohave County, Arizona.

T. 33 N., R. 11 W., Section: 5;

T. 34 N., R. 11 W., Sections: 32 and 33.

Agway Valley East Unit Gila & Salt River Meridian, Mohave County, Arizona.

T. 33 N., R. 11 W., Section: 6.

Agway Valley Southwest Unit Gila & Salt River Meridian, Mohave County, Arizona.

T. 33 N., R. 11 W., Sections: 6 and 7;

T. 33 N., R. 12 W., Sections: 1 and 12.

2. Project Boundary Marking: The location and access to the areas are shown on the work location and project location maps. Treatment units, as well as the two treatment categories are designated on Avenza ready maps (or similar). It is critical to implementation of this contract that smart phone, tablet, or similar device with software capable of viewing these digital maps are present on all machinery conducting this work.

Pre-work Conference:

A pre-work meeting will be held at the project area with the Contracting Officer Representative (COR) and/or Project Inspector (PI). The intent is to ensure the contractor understands markings, unit locations, digital map viewing requirements, and specifications of the contract, and review the contractor’s plan of operations. It is encouraged that all potential contractors complete a thorough site visit before bidding on the contract.

a) Location: Meetings shall be held at the project site, or as determined by the Contracting Officer (CO)/COR and/or PI.

b) Notification: A pre-work conference will be held prior to the start of work. The Contractor will be notified in advance of the meeting time, date, and place. The purpose will be to review required work, Work Location Maps and specifications, schedules, payments, and administrative provisions of the Contract.

c) Attendance: The Contractor, subcontractors, and the persons responsible for coordination of the work will be present at the meeting.

d) Presentation: The Contractor shall be prepared to summarize and explain procedures planned for each project and present the work schedule requested in the specifications.

Progress Meetings:

a) Location: Meetings shall be held at the project site, or as determined by the CO/COR and/or PI.

b) Notification: Meetings may be called by either the CO/COR and/or PI or the Contractor. Request shall state who should attend.

3. Access: Legal public access to the project area will be identified on a map prior to the contractor starting the implementation phase. Seasonal road closers may exist (contractor will be notified of closures upon award). Contractor will assume responsibility for any additional access if desired. If roads or any type of access become subject to damage, because of adverse weather conditions or other natural and or political reasons, the COR will relay information to the contractor, and a Stop Work Order may be implemented by the CO until other access can be decided.

Scope of Work: The SPLRP – Agway vegetation treatment project is 361 acres. The BLM requests initial bid on these three units: Agway Wash, Agway Valley East, Agway Valley Southwest units for a total of 361 acres of treatment. Overview maps and ortho maps for these units are available in Appendix B.

Proposal/Quote: This contract will be bid on a per-acre price. The per-acre price will be extended based on the quantity of acres to show a total project price. The total price shall include all labor, equipment and materials necessary to complete the job, which includes all mobilization and operating costs. There will be no fuel surcharges or adjustments negotiated.

4. Treatment Specifications:

This contract consists of mechanical mulching pinyon pine and juniper stands, as well as mowing or crushing some stands of sagebrush, and mowing cliffrose shrubs to a height below 12 inches. Treatment of sagebrush and other shrubs would be in meandering swaths at least ten feet wide, avoiding washes, rocky areas and any isolated seeps and springs. Only areas on the project map will be treated. The project areas will not be flagged so the contractor will need to utilize either GPS units or smartphone applications capable of utilizing pdfs to identify the work areas. A shapefile for GPS and a PDF map of the project area will be provided prior to work beginning. It will be the contractor’s responsibility to furnish either a GPS unit(s) or smartphone(s)/tablets(s) with PDF map application to be utilized in identifying project boundaries. There are two treatment categories, Early Seral category and Mid-Seral category. The pdf maps provided addresses both trees/acre remaining and the criteria for leave trees for each unit.

Agway Wash Unit total 194 acres mechanical treatment: (target species pinyon pine, juniper, sagebrush and cliffrose).

· Early Seral category is approximately 80 acres of the project area.

Mow or crush 50% of the sagebrush, masticate 100% of trees. Leaving 0 trees/acre.

· Mid-Seral category is approximately 114 acres of the project area. This category is defined as leaving approximately 4 trees per acre (TPA) and mowing or crushing 50% of the existing sagebrush. The leave trees may be clustered or clumped together to benefit wildlife, i.e. leaving 20 TPA would account for approximately 5 acres equivalent of leave trees. The trees remaining will favor the following criteria:

· Leave trees will favor large pinyon pine trees.

· Largest junipers and pinyons within that acre i.e. junipers greater than 20 inch DRC (Diameter Root Crown), and pinyon pine greater than 10 inches DBH (Diameter Breast Height). Trees that are masticated shall be completely severed with the stump height not to exceed 6 inches. No live limbs shall be left on the stumps of cut trees. Retention of 1 – 2 large snags/acre if present. Snags are defined as large, dead, standing, and sound junipers or pinyons.

· Entire Agway Wash Unit 194 acres mow cliffrose shrubs to a height below 12 inches.

Agway Valley East Unit total 102 acres mechanical treatment: (target species pinyon pine, juniper, sagebrush and cliffrose).

Early Seral

· Mow or crush 50% of the sagebrush.

· Masticate 100% of trees. Leaving 0 trees/acre.

· Mow cliffrose shrubs to a height below 12 inches.

Agway Valley Southwest Unit total 65 acres mechanical treatment: (target species pinyon pine, juniper, sagebrush and cliffrose).

Early Seral

· Mow or crush 50% of the sagebrush.

· Masticate 100% of trees. Leaving 0 trees/acre.

· Mow cliffrose shrubs to a height below 12 inches.

Applicable to all units:

Treat all existing dead and down concentrations of limbs and tops that range from one inch to seven inches in diameter. Remove limbs greater than one foot in length from existing downed trees and reduce to the size of the woody debris specifications listed below.

Size of woody debris or “chips” upon completion of the project shall not exceed three inches in diameter and three feet in length. Average depth of the debris across the project area shall not exceed three inches with a maximum depth of six inches in isolated locations where dense vegetation exist.

Timing Constraints and Design Features:

The following design features shall be required to minimize potential environmental impacts. If Performance Period extension is needed, the following considerations shall be observed:

SPLRP – Agway Design Features:

The Contractor agrees to insert these design features into all subcontracts.

Cultural Resources

· Any cultural (historic/prehistoric site or object) or paleontological resource (fossil remains of plants or animals) discovered within the project areas that has not been determined to be previously documented and noted during project planning shall immediately be reported to the Monument Manager and the Monument archeologist or their designee. All operations in the immediate area of the discovery shall be suspended until written authorization to proceed is issued. An evaluation of the discovery shall be made by a qualified archeologist or paleontologist to determine appropriate actions to prevent the loss of scientifically significant cultural or paleontological values.

· If any human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, or objects of cultural patrimony as defined in the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (Public Law 101-601; 104 Stat. 3048; 25 U.S.C. 3001) are discovered, operations in the immediate area of the discovery shall stop, the remains and objects shall be protected, and the Monument Manager (or designee) and the Monument archeologist shall be immediately notified. The immediate area of the discovery shall be protected until notified by the Monument Manager (or designee) that operations may resume.

Hazardous Materials and Trash

· Use of Hazardous Materials and/or petroleum products requires that all appropriate State and Federal Regulations be complied with including, but not limited to, Materials Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) on hand and use of necessary Personal Protective Clothing (PPE).

· On-site disposal of Hazardous Materials or Waste including hydrocarbons is not authorized. On-site disposal will subject the contractor to at least the cost of reclamation and the appropriate disposal of contaminated soil.

· At no time will vehicle or equipment fluids (including motor oil and lubricants) be dumped on public lands. All accidental spills shall be reported to the authorized officer and be cleaned up immediately and disposed of in an authorized disposal site, using best available practices required by law. All spills of federally or state listed hazardous materials which exceed the reportable quantities shall be promptly reported to the appropriate agency and the authorized officer.

· Incidental (de minimus) leaks from fittings, gaskets or ruptured hoses will not subject the contractor to remedial requirements. These are considered to be normal and unavoidable losses. Continual leaks will be noted on inspection reports and correction through maintenance required.

· Maintenance and repair operations that require the draining of engines or hydraulic systems may be conducted on site only if the fluids are captured, containerized, and removed from public lands for proper disposal.

· The project sites shall be cleaned up at the end of each workday (e.g. trash removed, scrap materials picked up), and all refuse removed or otherwise disposed of by the Contractor. “Waste” means all discarded matter including, but not limited to, human waste, trash, garbage, refuse, oil drums, petroleum products, oil, grease, chemicals, discarded equipment or parts. The Contractor shall be responsible for disposal of materials in a manner consistent with State, Federal and local laws and for all expenses incurred with disposal. Disposal shall be in a manner that will prevent their entry into any water source in or near Contractor’s operations.

Soils

· Mechanical work shall not take place when ruts greater than 4 inches form on roadways adjacent to work areas.

· Wheeled/tracked vehicles used for project implementation shall not operate or travel across slopes exceeding 30 percent.

· Public or private access roads damaged by the Contractor shall be restored at the Contractors expense to the same condition they were in at the commencement of work.

· Use of 2-wheel and 4-wheel vehicles is permitted to access unit(s) via existing roads and trails only. Except for designated cross-country access to the Agway Wash unit and the Agway Valley Southwest unit where there are not existing roads. See Appendix A maps.

· Notify Authorized Officer in advance of cutting fences to gain access to the project area.

· Close off any temporary cross-country trails used to access the project area at the completion of the project.

· Off-road travel will take place only within designated mastication unit(s) and only by designated equipment designed to be used for the project. Travel from unit to unit may only be done on roads and/or trails.

· Contractor shall undertake every reasonable measure to minimize erosion and soil damage in connection with any operations under this contract. Contractor shall immediately discontinue any operations under this contract that due to weather or soil moisture conditions, such operations will cause excessive damage to the soil as determined by the Authorized Officer.

· Pinyon and junipers growing in drainages with roots that may be stabilizing banks shall be left in place.

Vegetation

· No prescribed fire, seeding, or mastication treatments shall take place during a severe or worse drought as indicated by the U.S. Drought Monitor (NDMC 2021).

· To reduce the potential for introduction of noxious weeds to the contract area, the Contractor shall, prior to moving in motorized vehicles and equipment to be used for mastication, power wash off-site all such equipment to remove all dirt, plant parts and materials that may carry noxious weed seeds. All equipment shall be inspected by the Authorized Officer prior to moving said equipment to the contract area. This includes cleaning all equipment before entering the Arizona Strip.

· Mastication residues (e.g., wood chips) will be spread as evenly as possible, with a maximum depth of 3 inches so that seed germination is not inhibited.

· Treatment boundaries shall be irregularly shaped (i.e. not straight lines, unless using roads and fences as a boundary) to minimize the level of change to the characteristic landscape, avoid creating obvious lines of extreme visual contrast, and avoid attracting the attention of the casual observer.

Wildlife

· Surveys for pinyon jays will be necessary prior to treatment if occurring during nesting season (February 1 to July 31). Identified active nest sites or nesting behavior associated with a particular location shall be protected during treatment by a no-treatment buffer of 500 meters (1640 feet.) (Somershoe 2020).

· Surveys for northern goshawks will be necessary prior to treatment if occurring during nesting season. Identified active nest sites or nesting behavior associated with a particular location shall be protected during treatment by a no-treatment buffer of 200 meters (650 feet.) (Reynolds 1992).

· No hazing or harassment of wildlife is permitted.

· Existing snags shall be retained within the project area. In areas with dense snags in a similar state of decay and where mastication is the preferred treatment, some snags may be partially masticated to provide a more diverse habitat for wildlife. In such cases, criteria for retention would be larger juniper, pinyon or ponderosa snags, particularly any with existing cavities suitable for nesting (NRCS 2013), and those not presenting a hazard to personnel in the treatment area.

· Conservation Measures, Terms and Conditions – California Condor. The following conservation measures are contained in USFWS Memorandum 02EAAZ00-2016-CPA-0038 (2016) and incorporated into this project.

1. If a condor occurs at the construction site, construction activities that could result in injury to condors shall cease until the condor leaves on its own or until techniques are employed by permitted personnel that result in the condor leaving the area.

2. Construction worker and supervisors shall be instructed to avoid interaction with condors and to immediately contact the Flagstaff office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) or The Peregrine Fund personnel if condor(s) occur at a construction site. Non-permitted personnel cannot haze or otherwise interact with condors.

3. The construction site shall be cleaned up (e.g. trash removed, scrap materials picked up) at the end of each day that work is being conducted to minimize the likelihood of condors visiting the site.

· Vegetation treatments will not be permitted during the mule deer rifle hunting seasons, per AZGFD annual proclamation schedule, up to 10 days in November.

Access

· Access to the project site is provided by a combination of paved highways, county dirt surface roads and jeep trails. Access to the individual project areas will be by way of existing designated routes using standard ½ to 1-ton trucks, and/or ATVs or UTVs. Except for designated cross-country access to the Agway Wash unit and the Agway Valley Southwest unit where there are not existing roads. See Appendix A maps. Four (4) wheel drive vehicles are required in and around the project area. It will be the Contractor’s responsibility to get the equipment to the work site. In mastication units, heavy machinery would be allowed within designated treatment unit boundaries and designated routes. Seeding treatments may require the use of aerial, ground, or ATV/UTV cross-country travel without creating new routes.

CONTRACTOR FURNISHED EQUIPMENT:

The location and access to the areas are shown on the work location and project location maps. Treatment units, as well as the two treatment categories are designated on Avenza ready maps (or similar). It is critical to implementation of this contract that smart phone, tablet, or similar device with software capable of viewing these digital maps are present on all machinery conducting this work.

1. Equipment Specifications: All equipment shall be in good mechanical condition and operated in a safe and proper manner. Both operator and equipment shall meet Occupational Safety & Health Administrations (OSHA) safety regulations and labor industry requirements for operating equipment in a forested environment.

The desired equipment for use on this contract is an excavator with specifications and capabilities similar to a Caterpillar 315, with a mulching attachment that performs closely to a Fecon or Denis Cimaf horizontal drum design, a vertical shaft rotary masticator head such as an AFE, or similar. However, all equipment meeting the following requirements will be considered:

a) Maximum operating weight without attachments of 57,200 pounds.

b) Minimum of 65 net horsepower.

c) Tail swing not to exceed 10 feet, measured from center between tracks to tail when cab is turned perpendicular to the tracks.

d) Machinery capable of mulching/shredding live shrubs and trees of any size class typically found in a cliffrose site or pinyon and juniper woodland. Reducing these to “chip” size not exceeding three inches in diameter by three feet in length.

e) Ability to achieve the desired stand condition without damaging leave trees.

f) Either track or rubber-tired equipment are acceptable.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

1. Notification of Cessation or Restart of work: The Contractor will notify the Authorized Officer prior to ceasing operations for three or more days, and before re-starting operations after a shutdown of three or more days. This can be done by phone, E-mail, or in person. Depending on time of year the work is taking place, there may be fire restrictions in place as well as potentials for work stoppage due to extreme weather conditions including rainfall which causes unnecessary rutting to red flag warnings with extreme fire potential. Coordination between the CO and the contractor will determine if these conditions are at a level requiring work stoppage.

2. Protection of Roads, Utilities and Improvements: Existing telephone, and transmission lines, fences, ditches roads, trails, and other improvements shall be protected as far as practicable at all times during the contract. All roads and ditches shall be kept free of slash and other debris resulting from the mastication operations. Damage to roads, utilities and improvements shall be promptly paid for or repaired to a condition which, in the opinion of the Authorized Officer, is at least as good as the condition just prior to damage.

Public Access:

Access into and through the project site shall always remain open to the public. The Contractor will maintain roadways free of vehicles, tools, and debris.

Security of Equipment and Property:

The Contractor may leave equipment at the work site; however, the Contractor will be solely responsible for protection of equipment and is solely responsible if the equipment is lost, stolen or damaged.

Crew Supervision:

a) Contractor will designate one English literate supervisor who will be on-site during operation hours. Supervisors will be identified during the pre-work conference. Any changes in supervisory designations must be submitted in writing to the COR and/or PI at least 24 hours prior to the change taking effect.

b) Person designated by the Contractor, as supervisor must remain with and effectively directs the crew by (1) making periodic inspections of the crew’s work, (2) advising them as to improper work methods, (3) providing instructions for correcting any improper work methods encountered.

c) Emergency transportation will always be provided by the Contractor.

Detailed Unit Information: It shall be the responsibility of the Contractor (i.e. knowledge and experience of the project leader) to determine the quantity of work contained within the established boundaries of the project. Acreage of the unit was determined by calculations based on a horizontal plane using GPS technology. Project area boundary including leave areas will be furnished to contractor in a pdf digital format (geo-spatial referenced map i.e. suitable for Avenza software or similar). Contractor shall provide a digital device (smart phone, tablet, or similar) capable of viewing these maps. This digital data is not for public release, and shall be deleted by contractor once contract is completed.

a) Work Camps: Camping may be permitted on federal lands provided that “leave no trace” principles are applied. If camping is expected to last more than 14 days, prior written authorization must be obtained through the COR. These camps will be placed in either previously disturbed locations or within the treatment area. Camps and associated equipment will follow the relevant SPLRP – Agway Design Features listed above.

b) Work hours: Under this contract work hours shall be limited to the time between one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset each day.

c) Work Schedule: The work schedule will be submitted at the pre-work conference.

DELAYS:

The contractor is expected to complete all contract performance in a timely manner, regardless of the contractor or subcontractor's other workload, including any work being performed under other state contracts. A delay or failure to perform may be considered excusable when the delay or failure arises from causes beyond the control and without the fault or negligence of the Contractor or subcontractor. Examples of these causes are (1) acts of God or of the public enemy, (2) acts of the BLM in either its sovereign or contractual capacity, (3) fires, (4) floods, (5) epidemics, (6) quarantine restrictions, (7) strikes, (8) freight embargoes, and (9) unusually severe weather. In each instance, the failure to perform must be beyond the control and without the fault or negligence of the Contractor or subcontractor.

Upon request of the Contractor, the Contracting Officer shall ascertain the facts and extent of the failure. If the Contracting Officer determines that any failure to perform results from one or more of the causes above, the delivery schedule may be revised, subject to the BLM’s contract termination rights under the contract.

Note: “Unusually severe weather” means weather that is outside the normal weather patterns for a specific area at a specific time of the year. For example, strong wind and snowstorms in fall and winter, or strong wind, rain or hailstorms in spring and summer are not considered unusually severe. An unusually severe snow, wind or rainstorm is one that is worse than even the harshest normal conditions during a season.

Safety and Health: Warning signs applicable to the work identified in this contract shall be placed along the road used to access the project area. If the contractor observes general public within the work area during operation, the contractor will stop work and ask the individuals to please vacate the unit. If the individuals will not leave, the contractor will move his crew to a different location; continue to work and document that the individual would not vacate the area. The documentation will be passed on to the COR. Contractor shall conduct all operations in connection with this contract in compliance with the applicable provisions of Federal, State, and local safety, health and sanitation laws, codes, and regulations, making it possible for the Authorized Officer to inspect such operations.

INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

1. Inspection:

(a) The Government COR and/or PI will make periodic inspections as a basis for acceptance and payment and recommendations for adjustments in work quality while work is in progress. The Contractor is encouraged to participate in inspections while they are being conducted.

(b) As the basis for payment, inspections for compliance with specifications will be made for work units reported as completed by the contractor. All plots will be averaged together to determine payment.

(c) A combination of Ocular or Physical Inspections will be made on a series of plots located at different intervals across each work unit. A sufficient number of plots will be taken to obtain at least one percent sample of the work unit.

(d) The following information will be recorded for each plot inspected if more than 10 percent of the treated area has these items found in them. The treated areas will get a failing grade if:

1. Stumps taller than 6 inches are present

2. Live limbs are left on the stump

3. Average depth of the debris across the project area shall not exceed three inches with a maximum depth of six inches in isolated locations where dense vegetation exist.

2. Determination of Work Quality Percentage:

Work quality percentages are derived from data developed from inspection plots. The final work quality percentage times the bid price determines the pay. A work quality percentage of 90 percent or higher will result in full payment. If any of the reasons stated above in the Inspection section part (d) are the primary reason for unsatisfactory work, the Contractor shall rework areas designated by the Government until satisfactory work quality is obtained.

Final Payment: shall be made upon final acceptance of services and return of Government furnished property (if any) and receipt of a proper invoice through IPP.gov. Payment will be made by “acre” completed. All acres identified in the mapped work area shall be completed and accepted by the Government in order to receive 100% payment.

3. Acceptance:

a) Satisfactory Work Quality: A minimum work quality standard of 90 percent is required.

b) Unsatisfactory Work Quality: Based on inspection results, if the work quality percentage falls below 90 percent, the Contracting Officer will immediately notify the Contractor in writing and instruct the Contractor to improve the quality of the work. If the quality of the work is not raised to an acceptable level within two consecutive workdays after written notification, the Contracting Officer may issue a stop work order.

GOVERNMENT-FURNISHED PROPERTY

The Government will provide the following items to the Contractor:

a) Various USGS 7.5 minute quadrangles (1:24,000 scales) of the project area (if requested). PDF maps that are geo-spatial referenced suitable for loading to a digital device (detailed in Contract Requirements #2 above).

b) There will be a BLM representative present (COR or PI) on the project for guidance and inspection.

PERFORMANCE PERIOD

August 1, 2024 – January 31, 2025. Work shall not begin before the receipt of a Notice to Proceed. This contract requires close coordination with a seeding contract. The seed mix must be applied on all units prior to mastication.

End Date: January 31, 2025, may be extended, however timing constraints may apply to specific units (see above Design Features).

APPENDIX A

A.1: SPLRP-Agway Mastication Units Overview Map.

A.2: SPLRP-Agway Mastication Units Overview Ortho Map.

A.3: SPLRP-Agway Mastication – Agway Wash Unit Map.

A.4: SPLRP-Agway Mastication – Agway Valley East and Agway Valley Southwest Units Map.

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