A04-140L1724Q0066-SOW_Dripping_Rock.pdf

STATEMENT OF WORK

Proposed Project: The Dripping Rock Cave site complex Class III Inventory Project requires an archaeological survey of 443 acres on BLM-administered survey (Figure 1), including the re-documentation and re-assessment of 16 known cultural resources within the inventory area. This inventory is required under Section 110 of the National Historic Preservation Act. The project area is located in Rio Blanco County, Colorado, immediately east of State Highway 64, 11 miles northwest of Rangely, Colorado. The project timeframes are listed in Table 1. In addition to updating the records for known sites within the inventory area, WRFO seeks to identify previously undocumented sites and evaluate for impacts including potential recent vandalism and unauthorized collections. BLM will provide all available information prior to commencing this inventory.

The Dripping Rock Cave site complex comprises multiple rock shelters (5RB.227, 5RB.279, and 5RB.489, in addition to nearby 5RB.1198), within a landscape otherwise characterized by open camps and lithic scatters. Despite this site complex lacking previous systematic Class III survey, archaeological investigation at this concentration of rock shelters dates as early as 1941, where excavations and site documentations at 5RB.227 have identified continuous occupation since the Archaic Period. Sites 5RB.227 and 5RB.279 also contain the sole rock art panels known in this area (petroglyphs and pictographs), associated with the Fremont Period inhabitants at minimum. The overarching complex of sites is also well known by the public, in part given that the prominent rock shelters are readily visible from the adjacent State Highway 64; the BLM White River Field Office’s (WRFO) archaeological site monitoring program has also identified increasing public visits and unauthorized collections/excavations at these sites. Sleeping bags, modern fire rings, and unauthorized UTV/ATV and jeep trails have been recently documented within this cluster of sites in addition to evidence of unauthorized excavations.

This contract shall entail a comprehensive site reassessment and block inventory at the Class III level on lands administered by the BLM-WRFO, within a 443-acre area encompassing the Dripping Rock Cave site complex (5RB.227, 5RB.279, 5RB.489, and 5RB.1198). This inventory area also contains five open camps and two open lithic scatters determined Eligible or Needs Data for the National Register of Historic Places (5RB.1455; 5RB.4614; 5RB.4670; 5RB.4671; 5RB.4672; 5RB.4676; and 5RB.4683), as well as 14 cultural resources previously determined Not Eligible for the NRHP. Not Eligible resources in the inventory area include five open lithic scatters (5RB.4684, 5RB.4679; 5RB.4678, and 5RB.1442), one open camp (5RB.3465), and nine prehistoric isolated finds (5RB.4673; 5RB.3700;

5RB.4682; 5RB.4681; 5RB.4685; 5RB.1442; 5RB.8329; 5RB.8326; 5RB.8327; and 5RB.8330). All Eligible, Not Eligible, and Needs Data sites require a revisit as per project methodology, and isolated finds must only be re-recorded should this Class III inventory identify that these resources instead meet the 2021 Northwest District Standards and Procedures definition for a site (Attachment 1).

Rock art documentation will include completing the standard set of full-frame, high-resolution images covering each panel. In addition, a range of preservation quality methods and techniques will be used to document the panels, including scaled schematic drawings of panel morphology, and drawings of panel figures traced from high-resolution photographs. A comprehensive catalog of high-resolution/HDR (defined below) digital mosaics will also be produced for each site, recording panel views at a full range of scales, from closeup details, to full panels, to landscape settings. When mapping site and panel distributions on a site plan map, the contractor will also incorporate topographic features that provide a setting for each site.

High-resolution photographs will be processed using image enhancing software as applicable for improving rock art motif visibility, to ultimately be compiled for further analysis and component form preparation. Raw photographic data will be processed into High Dynamic Range (HDR) formats to ensure a high level of detail is captured. Digital images of painted rock art shall be subject to post-processing enhancements using decorrelation stretch (D-Stretch) software or comparable colorspace manipulations. Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) or comparable image enhancements shall be applied to the petroglyph panels that otherwise lack clear visual contrast in imagery data.

Lastly, any site identified within 50-feet of a BLM-designated authorized two-track travel route (see Figure 1) or associated ancillary facility (i.e., user-made parking area) requires the completion of the two-page BLM Colorado Travel Route Site Assessment Short Form (Attachment 2). This form shall be included as an attachment to the primary site record.

The accepted final deliverables under this contract will be used to determine future BLM management objectives of the Dripping Rock Complex. Outcomes may include increased monitoring or Archaeological Resource Protection Act (ARPA) signage, and/or converting the rock shelter site(s) into a public interpretive destination as originally identified/anticipated in WRFO's 1997 Resource Management Plan.

The contractor shall thereby (1) complete a 443-acre block inventory at the Class III level; (2) re-record all known sites (Eligible, Needs Data, or Not Eligible) to current documentation standards - most site records in this archeological complex are now >10 years old; (3) complete high-resolution, intensive documentation on the rock art panels; (4) complete a Travel Route Assessment form for any site located within 50-feet of a BLM-designated travel route; and (5) recommend appropriate next steps for BLM management. Additionally, (6), the contractor must review and adhere to Attachment 1, Section IV.

Procedures for ARPA Violations, should any suspected unauthorized collection, excavation, or other recent or ongoing site defacement be identified during the course of fieldwork.

Proposed Inventory: The fieldwork shall meet the reporting deadlines described below and shall follow the BLM Colorado Handbook (revised 2021), Colorado Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation (OAHP) Guidelines, and the 2021 Northwest District Standards and Procedures (Attachment 1). No contract modifications shall be provided for unanticipated site density or logistic complexity not considered by the contractor in their bid. The contractor shall have a signed fieldwork authorization (FWA) before beginning fieldwork. The FWA request shall follow the process identified by the field office.

Table 1. Project Timeframes

Task Description Cost

Task 1: Class III survey of 443 acres that encompass 16 known sites;

and completion of letter report within 15 days of completion of fieldwork.

Task 2: Prepare Draft Final Report within 120 days after the completion of fieldwork.

Task 3: Prepare Final Report within 180 days after the completion of fieldwork.

Contract Requirements: This is a three item contract, with deliverables due on the schedule in the reporting section below, and shall ultimately result in the reporting on the results of this cultural resource inventory. The required fieldwork and reporting shall meet the report deadlines described below. In order to perform cultural work in the appropriate field office, the selected contractor shall have a current BLM Cultural Resource Use Permit (CRUP) or be able to verify they meet the qualifications to hold a CRUP with an initial qualification letter from the Colorado Deputy Preservation Officer/Permit Administrator. The Principal Investigator and Field Director/Crew Chief must be on the selected contractor’s current CRUP as qualified to do cultural work in the field office. The Field Director/Crew Chief must be present at all times with crews in the field.

All reports and supporting records shall meet guidelines established by the OAHP and BLM.

Contractors must also follow the BLM Colorado Handbook (revised 2021) and CRUP permit stipulations, including the delivery of geospatial data containing inventory and site shapefiles. The contractor shall follow the specifications for geospatial data, as detailed in the 2022 Digital Data Specifications Guide, which may be found on the BLM website or obtained from the Project Inspector.

The Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) is Matthew Dupire, mdupire@blm.gov at (970) 878- 3839. The project inspector will be WRFO Archaeologist Luke Trout, ltrout@blm.gov at (970) 878- 3809.

Access: The project area including all access is located on lands managed by the BLM-WRFO, 11 miles northwest of the town of Rangely, CO, along State Highway 64. It is the contractor’s responsibility to coordinate access, locate the block inventory area, and conduct the inventory in the area as mapped. The survey area is not flagged for inventory.

Literature Review: A literature review must be conducted prior to starting field work and shall include the records at the field office and OAHP to identify all recorded cultural resources and previous cultural inventories. The contractor shall coordinate with the Project Inspector to arrange a WRFO records review.

Historic GLO survey records/maps must be reviewed and are available on the web at http://www.glorecords.blm.gov. Archival research that meets the Secretary of the Interior's Guidelines for Historical Documentation is required.

Field Inventory: Class III, 100% pedestrian inventory at transect intervals spaced between 15 - 20 meters shall be conducted to identify, record, and evaluate all cultural resources greater than 50 years old. All fieldwork and documentation shall be performed according to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelines for Archaeology and Historic Preservation, the BLM Colorado Handbook (revised 2021), the OAHP Guidelines, and the current standards and guidelines for the field offices.

OAHP forms shall be used for all sites and isolated finds recorded and/or reevaluated. Linear sites must be recorded on BLM Linear Site forms, and historic oil and gas well pads must be recorded on the BLM Well Pad form.

When slopes and cliff faces exceed 30 degrees and thereby limit or preclude Class III coverage, the mailto:mdupire@blm.gov mailto:ltrout@blm.gov http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/ contractor must field verify that these conditions exist. Any such area must be inspected at the reconnaissance level for potential rock shelters, rock art, historic mining sites, or other cultural resources associated with rock faces or ledges. Class III survey may also be exempted when other natural environmental characteristics that are unfavorable to the presence of cultural resources exist (such as recent landslides, rock falls, or talus slopes; c.f., BLM Handbook, revised 2021). The contractor shall identify these final reconnaissance, Class III-excluded areas on the inventory maps and account for the total acres inventoried at the Class III vs. reconnaissance level in the final report.

All previously-recorded Eligible, Needs Data, Unevaluated, or Not Eligible sites in the inventory area shall be re-visited (unless prohibited due to safety concerns including steep slopes or narrow ledges). New management data and component forms shall be completed for sites previously recorded on old versions of site forms. The definition of a site and isolated find shall follow the 2021 Northwest District Standards and Procedures. The contractor shall confirm the definitions with the Project Inspector.

Site revisits may result in correcting the misplotted locations mapped on the OAHP’s Compass database. Sites in this region that were last recorded/revisited before ~1987 are routinely misplotted on GIS between ~50 and ~150 meters. For any previously recorded site unable to be readily relocated during fieldwork, the contractor must inspect every comparable landform within a minimum of 100 meters from the GIS-plotted location. Revisited sites will be documented on a full set of new OAHP site forms unless otherwise qualifying for OAHP’s Re-Visitation form.

If it is necessary to refine National Register eligibility recommendations, limited evaluative testing units (shovel or trowel) may be conducted in accordance with the terms of the contractor’s survey permit.

This level of testing should not require the retrieval of artifacts for further analysis or testing, but that decision is at the discretion of the Field Director/Crew Chief. All test locations shall be identified on the site plan map. The main goal is to avoid assigning a site to a “Needs data” status, if feasible. The contractor must conduct a shovel or trowel test prior to recommending a site as “Needs Data.”

Diagnostic artifacts should only be collected in accordance with the 2021 Northwest District Standards and Procedures, including if the artifacts are at imminent risk of damage, destruction, or other endangerment including unauthorized collections (i.e., looting). Any questions on collections shall be directed to the Project Inspector. Diagnostic artifacts shall be either photographed or illustrated as fine line drawings in the report and appropriate OAHP form. All photographs and illustrations shall have an appropriate scale, and documentation of the artifacts shall include measurements of length, width, and thickness (including a neck measurement for hafted artifacts include projectile points). If other artifacts are collected during this project, a table and paragraph discussing the items collected and their associated numbers shall be included with the report as an appendix. All collected artifacts shall be prepared and delivered to the designated curation facility for the field office not later than 180 days after completion of fieldwork. A spreadsheet listing the BLM Project Number, Author, Title, Township/Range, Section, Site Number, Site Type, Eligibility, Artifact Number and Artifact Description shall accompany the artifacts, and a copy of the spreadsheet shall be provided to the field office.

Survey will be limited to BLM-administered land, and non-linear sites must be fully recorded should they be found to extend beyond the Class III block survey area. Field recording of linear resources (e.g. roads, trails, fences, etc.) must be also recorded within the survey area in addition to a minimum of 100 ft. outside the survey area as per the 2021 Northwest District Standards and Procedures. When the contractor identifies a site that appears to extend onto private surface, BLM will contact the landowner(s) to request access to fully record the resource.

Reporting

After the field office receives acceptable site and inventory shapefiles, the field office shall request an OAHP document number. Once the OAHP assigns the number (usually within 3 business days), it, and the field office report number, shall be sent back to the contractor to incorporate into the documentation.

A. Task 1 (35 % of Contract): Payment shall be made based on acceptance of a digital letter report in PDF format that describes the results of the cultural resources inventory. The letter report is due to the BLM within 15 days after completion of fieldwork, and shall contain at a minimum:

1) A brief description of each site, which shall include site type, temporal or cultural affiliation, and the NRHP eligibility recommendation. This information can be in table format.

2) A draft or field sketch site plan map including standard archaeological site information for each site.

3) A copy of a 7.5' topographic map showing the project inventory boundary and site locations.

The Project Inspector’s review of the letter report and verbal notification of acceptance of the results to the contractor within 10 days of receipt constitutes completion of this item of the contract.

B. Task 2 (35% of Contract): payment shall be made based on the digital submission of a Draft Final Report and draft site forms in Word format, along with inventory and site shapefile data. Payment shall total 35% of the contract cost. This documentation must be submitted to the BLM for review within 120 calendar days after completing the fieldwork.

The BLM will not accept CDs containing the draft documentation (report and forms) and geospatial data. Instead, the contractor may supply these data on a USB flash drive or arrange for digital transfer via an FTP site or other secure internet location (pursuant to the most current Digital Data Specifications Guide).

The Draft Final Report, and all required inventory and site forms, shall meet the guidelines established by the Secretary of Interior’s Standards and Guidelines for Archaeology and Historic Preservation, BLM Colorado Handbook (revised 2021), OAHP Guidelines, and the field office standards and procedures.

The draft documentation shall not be digitally secured or protected. A complete list of the previous inventories and complete site and isolate numbers found during the literature search may be included as a table and summarized in the text.

The draft report shall evaluate the sites in the inventory area for National Register eligibility and make a recommendation regarding a Determination of Effect for the undertaking. Those evaluations should be made in the context of previous investigations and findings in the general area, and management issues for the region. All sites determined to be “needs data” shall include a detailed justification for such a determination.

The BLM shall provide a written response to the Draft Final Report within 30 days of receipt.

C. Item 3 (30% of Contract): payment shall be made upon acceptance of the Final Report by BLM.

Final payment shall total 30% of the contract cost. Delivery of the Final Report and supporting records is required no later than 180 days after completion of fieldwork. BLM shall notify the contractor of acceptance of the Final Report within 14 days of receipt which constitutes completion of the contract.

The final report and forms shall respond to the corrections and comments made by WRFO during the review of the Draft Final Report. Additional requirements for the final report and forms are:

• Final payment is contingent upon BLM’s acceptance of the response to the comments and corrections made during the BLM review.

• Cultural resource legal, UTM, or specific location descriptions are not to be presented anywhere in the report narrative.

• The report cover page, appendices with legal/UTM locations, and maps with site locations must contain the following statement in large font, bold type “For Official Use Only: Disclosure of site locations prohibited (43 CFR 7.18).”

• One bound copy of the final report, and unbound (i.e., paper-clipped) copies of site forms with photographs, maps, and associated documentation are required. The final PDF files of reports and site and isolate forms must follow SHPO file naming conventions, pursuant to the most current Digital Data Specifications Guide and shall not be digitally secured or protected.

• BLM shall not accept CDs containing the project documentation (report and forms) and geospatial data. Instead, the contractor may supply these data on a USB flash drive or arrange for digital transfer via a secure FTP site (again pursuant to the most current Digital Data Specifications Guide)

• Site and Isolated Find forms MUST NOT be bound with the report narrative.

Period of Performance: 10/02/2024 thru 6/30/2025

SUBMITTALS

Applications must contain the following submittals:

• Technical Proposal describing and outlining the work plan on how the project will be completed along with key personnel that will be assigned to the project. The Proposal should outline how work will be completed within the timeline of the contract. The Principal Investigator and Field Directors/Crew Chiefs must be listed on the contractors CRUP.

• A minimum of 3 and a maximum of 5 past performance reports and/or references displaying completion of work of a similar size and scale across a similar archaeological landscape.

• Price of each task within the SOW

SELECTION CRITERIA

Selection will be based on Low Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA) criteria. Applications will be rated as acceptable/not acceptable and then it will go to low price:

• Technical Proposal Acceptable/Not Acceptable

• Key Personnel Acceptable/Not Acceptable

• Price Acceptable/Not Acceptable

Figure 1. Project Overview Map