2. WRFR IRSC Appendix A.pdf

White River Fire Recovery IRSC Mt. Hood National Forest

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APPENDIX A

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS FOR SERVICE WORK ITEMS

SECTION I – DESCRIPTION OF WORK:

The overall objective of this project is to facilitate ongoing fire recovery actives within the 2020 White River Fire area and Bull Complex. Activities include performing essential maintenance of roads that were impacted by fire, mitigation of fire killed/damaged roadside fuel accumulation, suppression repair, and site preparation for future reforestation.

This will be done by accomplishing the following:

• Felling fire killed/damaged standing fuels.

• Removing Included Grn Bio CV from the Contract Area.

• Piling residual fuels.

• Maintaining and reconstructing roads within the Contract Area.

• Erosion control, slash mitigation, closing of suppression lines, culvert repairs, and other suppression repair activities.

SECTION II – WORK ITEMS:

Mandatory Item 1: Cut and Remove Included Timber

Payment Unit Acres* Designation

1 101 Cut Tree Mark (Blue Paint)

2 218 Leave Tree Mark (Orange Paint)

3 72 Cut Tree Mark (Blue Paint)

Total 391

*CTM unit acre estimates are for approximately 0 - 100 feet from roadway.

Cut and remove from Contract Area all Grn Bio Cv as identified in Appendix B.

Mandatory Item 2: Fell Roadside Dead Standing Fuels

Roadsides within Payment Units 1 and 3

Payment Unit Acres

1 202

3 144

Total 346

• From 0 to 25 feet of roadway, fell all dead trees 0.0” to 4.9” DBH.

• From 25 to 100 feet of roadway, fell all dead trees 5.0” to 9.9” DBH.

• From 100 to 200 feet of roadway, fell all dead trees 10.0” and greater DBH with the following exemptions.

1. Tree has a lean of 15% or more away from roadway.

2. Tree is further than 1.5 times its own height from roadway.

3. Tree is a Douglas-fir with a 20.0” or greater DBH.

• Directional felling methods are required. All trees shall be felled away from cutting unit boundaries, designated streamcourses, Lost Boulder and Clear Creek irrigation ditches, culverts, catch basins, ditch lines, and Marked leave trees. Any portions of trees that fall within restricted areas shall be left in-place.

• Any tree or portion of tree that falls within road drainage systems shall be removed.

Mandatory Item 3: Fell Roadside Dead Standing Fuels in Special Treatment Units

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Roadsides within Special Treatment Units

• From 0 to 25 feet of roadway, fell all dead trees 0.0” to 4.9” DBH.

• From 25 to 100 feet of roadway, fell all dead trees 5.0” to 9.9” DBH.

• From 100 to 200 feet of roadway fell, all dead trees 10.0” and greater DBH with the following exemptions.

1. Tree has a lean of 15% or more away from roadway.

2. Tree is further than 1.5 times its own height from roadway.

3. Tree is a Douglas-fir with a 20.0” or greater DBH.

• Directional felling methods are required. All trees shall be felled away from cutting unit boundaries, designated streamcourses, Lost Boulder and Clear Creek irrigation ditches, culverts, catch basins, ditch lines, and Marked leave trees. Any portions of trees that fall within restricted areas shall be left in-place.

• No equipment may operate within Special Treatment Units except from the roadway. Equipment is allowed to

“reach-in” from the road surface and remove felled trees, but operations must not cause ground disturbance.

• Any tree or portion of tree that falls within road drainage systems shall be removed.

Mandatory Item 4: Roadside Fuels Piling

Roadsides within Payment Units 1 and 3

Payment Unit Acres

1 101

3 72

Total 173

• All activity slash (limbs, root-wads, bole pieces, and top-wood material) generated from Item 2 within 100 feet of any roadway and meeting the specifications below shall be piled.

1. Fuels to be Piled

All fuels meeting the following specifications shall be piled:

a. Over 1 inch in diameter and over 2 feet in length.

b. Over 10 feet in length regardless of diameter.

c. Over 6 inches in diameter regardless of length.

d. Damaged reproduction as designated by Forest Service.

e. Root-wads should be located at bottom or center of piles when practicable.

2. Construction and Size of Piles

Unless otherwise agreed, all fuels shall be piled as compact as possible and free of dirt and noncombustible material. Any fuels piling shall be done with equipment capable of picking up (grasping) material or hand piled.

Piles shall have a good base to prevent toppling over and shall be wider than they are tall. At a minimum, piles should be approximately 8-feet wide at base and approximately 8-feet high. Pile branches with their butt-ends towards the outside and overlap them as to form a series of dense layers piled upon each other. Any material protruding more than 5 feet from the perimeter of the pile will be cut off and placed in the pile. Use a mixture of sizes and fuels throughout the pile.

3. Location of Piles

Pile size and location shall be such to minimize damage to residual live trees. Piles shall be located at least 20 feet from the bole of any live tree and unit boundary. Piles shall not be placed on or in the following areas: pavement, road surface, ditch lines, within 100-feet of a stream course, on rocks, stumps, or on sections of large down logs.

4. Covering of All Piles Required

Waterproof polyethylene plastic covering will be placed in the upper portion of piles with coverage to the ground on two sides. The polyethylene plastic must be of sufficient size and placement to provide coverage of 50 percent

Page 3 of 7 Barlow Ranger District of the pile. Slash will be placed on top of plastic covering in an adequate amount as to prevent the plastic covering from blowing away during heavy wind events. The polyethylene plastic sheeting shall be 6 mil thickness and black.

Mandatory Items 5 - 16: Road Maintenance

See Appendix C for Road Maintenance requirements.

Mandatory Item 17 - 24: Road Reconstruction

See Appendix D for Road Reconstruction requirements.

Mandatory Item 25 - 32: Road Reconstruction

See Appendix E for Bull Complex Suppression Repair requirements.

SECTION III – CONTROL OF WORK

The government reserves the right to prioritize the order in which Sub-Units and/or work Items are accomplished.

Operational Restrictions for Work Items not associated with Product Removal Appendix B Specifications

Mechanized equipment shall not operate on terrain that exceeds 40% slope.

Mechanized equipment shall not operate outside of roadways with 100 feet of streams, seeps, springs, or other wet areas.

Park mechanized equipment overnight or for longer periods of time at-least 150 feet from water features.

Equipment shall be Re-fueled at-least 150 feet from water features.

Steel tracked equipment shall not operate on asphalt or bituminous surfaced roads. If there is no suitable site for unloading and loading, then paved surfaces must be protected with matting materials approved by the Forest Service.

Equipment shall minimize disturbance to coarse woody debris (greater than 20" DOB small-end) and keep the material in as large of pieces as possible during operations.

Timing and Condition Restrictions

Work may be done any time during the term of the contract, except under the following conditions:

(1) When conditions are such that operations shall be restricted or ceased due to increased fire risk.

(2) As shown in the Operating Schedule of Appendix B CT6.315# which are required for all Work Items.

SECTION IV – INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

For All Work Items

At any point during the project, the Contractor and/or Project Manager may request (documented through email, text, or hand-written request) an in the field consultation with the Forest Service to inspect work progress, review contract specifications, or clarify issues. The Forest Service shall respond to Contractor’s request within 5 working days, excluding weekends and federal holidays.

GOVERNMENT QUALITY ASSURANCE SURVEILLANCE PLAN

For All Work Items

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The COR, or a designated inspector (GTM), will make periodic visual inspections while work is in progress, usually daily at first, as needed to assure work is proceeding satisfactorily. The Contractor shall notify the COR when units are started, when problems are encountered and when contract work needs government oversight.

1. Each unit will be inspected as a separate unit. Unit will not be averaged with other units for acceptance or payment.

2. When units are completed and ready for government inspection, Contractor’s designated Project manager shall request unit inspection in writing, prior to moving out of the general area.

3. The COR, or designated inspector, will determine compliance with contract specifications through informal visual inspections. In the event visual inspection indicates work to be in non-compliance with specifications, prompt corrective action and/or rework shall be required.

Government Inspection Procedures Items 1-4

1. In the event visual inspection indicates work and/or rework to be in non-compliance with contract specifications, a series of verification plots shall be installed by the Government to determine compliance with specifications and percent of satisfactory work for treatment of each unit not meeting specification as observed with visual inspection.

2. Government verification plots will consist of a series of fixed area plots that will have 4 quadrants of pass or fail.

3. Plots and grid will be distributed so that a representative sample is obtained. Pile locations including landings may be sampled in plots to determine overall quality.

4. The COR or designated inspector will mark the center of each plot on the ground using flagging, stakes, or pin flags. Additional flagging will be hung near the plot center so that it may be seen from a distance. The inspector will include the plot number, their initials and date on the flagging.

5. Plots will be numbered to correlate with the inspection form and transects on a unit map.

6. The minimum number of verification plots, per treatment unit, shall be as follows:

Unit Acreage Minimum No. of Plots

1 – 9 1 plot per 2 acres

10 – 29 10 plots

30 – 59 1 plot per 4 acres

60 – 99 20 plots

100 1 plot per 5 acres

7. Determination of acceptability of the work performed will be based on Government verification inspections and will be considered conclusive.

8. At each plot, the Government will examine the plot area and record findings of non-compliance for failing quadrants.

Table 1 – Minimum Acceptable Quality Levels (AQL) of Work

ITEM(S) DESCRIPTION SCHEDULE UNIT Min AQL

1 Cut and Remove Included Timber MANDATORY ACRE NA

2 Fell Roadside Dead Standing Fuels MANDATORY ACRE 90%

3 Fell Roadside Dead Standing Fuels in MANDATORY ACRE 90%

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Special Treatment Areas

4 Roadside Fuels Piling MANDATORY ACRE 90%

5 - 16 Road Maintenance MANDATORY N/A 100%

17 - 24 Road Reconstruction MANDATORY N/A 100%

25 - 32 Bull Complex Suppression Repair OPTIONAL N/A 100%

Unsatisfactory Performance

1. If the work quality falls below the minimum AQL, the COR will immediately notify the Contractor, in writing, and order him to improve the quality.

2. If after rework has been performed and reinspected, and work quality still falls below minimum AQL percent, payment will either be made at a reduced rate, or not at all, as determined in SECTION V below.

3. Repeated failure to produce work quality at or above the minimum acceptable standard will be considered reason for contract termination for cause.

Reinspection Upon Contractor Request

1. If Government inspection results are unacceptable to the Contractor, a reinspection may be requested, in writing, within 5 business days after receipt of notice of said inspection results. The same inspection procedure will be used; however, the inspection pattern will be shifted so that new inspection plots will not overlap previously inspected plots.

2. If reinspection results – rounded up to the nearest whole percent – indicate a variance of more than 5 percent from the first inspection, the results of the second inspection will be used to calculate work quality and payment, and the Government will bear the cost of reinspection.

3. If reinspection results – rounded up to the nearest whole percent – are within 5 percent of the first inspection, plots from the initial inspection and the reinspection will be combined and used to calculate work quality and payment, and the Contractor shall bear the cost of reinspection.

SECTION V – PAYMENT METHODS

Method of Measurement for Acreages

Acreages were determined by using ArcGIS and Global Positioning Systems (GPS). Linear lengths of roads were measured and 100 feet – 200 feet both sides of road to estimate total acres for Payment Units 1 and 3 for Items 1 - 4. The acreage for each work item will be rounded to the nearest acre and is final unless:

a. The contract is modified or,

b. The Government makes a determination to remeasure or,

c. The Contractor exercises his/her option under the following Remeasurement provisions:

Remeasurement

1. The Contractor may request, in writing, remeasurement of any units under this contract if he/she feels that acreage stated on the project maps is incorrect. The remeasurement must be within the existing perimeter of the respective unit. No variance of the unit perimeters as laid out on the ground for this contract will be allowed.

All requests for remeasurement must be made prior to payment for each completed unit. Remeasurement will be performed by the Government.

2. If remeasurement indicates that a variance of ten percent or less exists on units of 1 to 5 acres, five percent or less exists on units of more than five but less than 20 acres, or if three percent or less exists on units of 20 acres or larger, the Contractor shall pay for the actual costs of the remeasurement. Under this condition, payment will be made on the acreage stated on the project maps. If the remeasurement indicates the actual acreage varies by

Page 6 of 7 Barlow Ranger District more than the above factors from that stated on the project maps, the payment will be made on the remeasured acreage and the Forest Service will pay for the cost of the remeasurement.

Acceptance and Payment - Items 1-4

1. If informal visual inspection indicates acceptable work quality, the Contractor will be paid 100 percent of their bid rate.

2. If formal inspections are used, the rate of payment to the Contractor will be calculated as follows:

(a) For work quality of 90 percent or higher, the Contractor will be paid 100 percent of their bid rate.

(b) For work quality from 85 to 89 percent after rework, the Contractor will be paid the total multiplied by the bid rate.

(c) For work quality 84 percent and less after rework, there will be no payment made to the Contractor.

Acceptance and Payment – Items 5 - 16 Road Maintenance

1. If visual and/or measurement inspection indicates acceptable work quality, the Contractor will be paid 100 percent of their bid rate.

Acceptance and Payment – Item 17 - 24 Road Reconstruction

1. If visual and/or measurement inspection indicates specifications have been met, the Contractor will be paid 100

Acceptance and Payment – Item 25 - 32 Bull Complex Suppression Repair

1. If visual and/or measurement inspection indicates specifications have been met, the Contractor will be paid 100

* Stewardship Credits will be earned first, whenever practical. Forest Service Funds will be used if the availability of Stewardship Credits is exhausted or if appropriated dollars are obligated to a specific item.

SECTION VI – DEFINITIONS

ACCEPTABLE QUALITY LEVEL (AQL): Acceptance of work will be based on compliance with all specifications corresponding to the appropriate task(s). A minimum AQL is required for all service work – hand or mechanical. The minimum AQL will receive a satisfactory performance rating.

CAM: Contract Area Map

COARSE WOODY DEBRIS: Woody material left on the ground to meet wildlife habitat requirements.

COR: Contracting Officer’s Representative

CUT TREES: Trees that do not possess the characteristics of desirable leave trees and are required to be cut. As described by the contract or otherwise marked to be cut.

CUTTING UNIT: See Treatment Unit.

DAMAGED TREES: Trees damaged beyond recovery. A tree that is larger than 2 feet in height, and has the top knocked out, is leaning more than 10 degrees, has less than one half of its original limbs, or has approximately 50% of bark removed from the circumference of the bole.

DBH: Diameter at breast height, measured at a point of 4.5 feet above the ground level on the uphill side of the tree.

DEAD STANDING FUEL: Trees with the crown foliage changing from green to red, yellow, or needleless.

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DIB: Diameter inside bark.

DIRECTIONAL FELLING: Felling cut-trees or snags a pre-determined direction to protect natural resources and land improvements, and/or to facilitate planned skidding.

HANG-UP TREE: Any cut tree suspended above ground level.

LEAVE TREE: Trees that possess desirable characteristics and that serve to create the basis for designated spacing requirements or are otherwise designated to be left.

PAYMENT UNIT: See Treatment Unit.

PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS SUMMARY (PRS): Identifies the key service outputs of the contract that will be evaluated by the Government to assure contract performance standards are met by the Contractor.

PILING: Material moved to an agreed upon location shall be piled for future treatment by Forest Service.

ROADWAY: Width of road consisting of Travelway and associated clearing and grubbing limits. See Appendix D.

SLASH: Woody material existing or created that has accumulated on the forest floor. Woody material includes logs, pieces of logs, tops, and branches.

UNIT: See Treatment Unit.

TREATMENTUNIT: An individual area on the ground in which activities will be performed and which may appear as a separate pay item in the Schedule of Items.

UNSATISFACTORY WORK: If work quality falls below the AQL, the COR will issue a work order or notice of noncompliance to the Contractor in writing. Untreated or unsatisfactory treated areas shall be reworked to obtain satisfactory work quality.