A04_-_MVNWR_Tree_Removal_SOW_2025_v2_-_release_1.docx

Statement of Work

Palm Removal at Moapa Valley National Wildlife Refuge

I. PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has identified the need to remove invasive California palms to continue to meet restoration goals, reduce fire risk, protect visitor facilities, and ensure visitor safety around potentially hazardous palms at Moapa Valley National Wildlife Refuge (MVNWR). MVNWR is managed by the Federal Government and is located near the town of Moapa in Clark County, Nevada, approximately 60 miles northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada. The project area is primarily located on the portion of the refuge that is designated for visitors (the “Plummer Unit”) and the area adjacent to the residence and shop (the “Pedersen Unit”). MVNWR is located at approximately 4001 and 4225 W. Warm Springs Road, Moapa, NV 89025; coordinates are: 36.710738, -114.711449 and 36.71104, -114.716706.

Purpose/End Application:

· Removal of approximately 33 medium to large palms from Moapa Valley National Wildlife Refuge to protect existing endangered species, warm springs, streams, native riparian habitat, and refuge structures.

· Minimal disturbance to native vegetation surrounding the palms to be removed.

The work to be performed under this contract consists of furnishing all labor, management, permits, fees, equipment, materials, and supplies necessary to meet the following needs, unless otherwise stated.

A. The work shall include the following items:

1. As soon as possible after award of the Contract, the Contractor shall schedule an onsite meeting or conference call with the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) to discuss specific logistics regarding the work.

2. The palms to be removed will be clearly designated or marked by the FWS. The Contractor shall remove the designated palms and associated debris (stumps, limbs, fronds, etc.). The FWS has determined that felling these palms would be detrimental to the surrounding sensitive habitat. The palms therefore must be removed such that no trees or shrubs underneath the palms, including but not limited to mesquite, acacia, cottonwood, willow, and Baccharis, will be damaged during the removal process. See Figures X-XX for photos and maps of the palms to be removed.

3. The Contractor shall maintain a daily record of palms removed.

4. The Contractor shall transfer the palm trunks, pieces of trunk, fronds, and all associated palm debris to an area designated by FWS, unless exercising Option Item 1, below. The designated area will be on the Apcar unit of Moapa Valley NWR, approximately 1/2 mile from palm removal location. The materials shall be transferred by equipment and vehicles provided by the Contractor primarily using West Warm Springs Road (versus internal, gravel roads on Moapa Valley NWR, see map below). The Contractor shall arrange the materials in the designated area as directed by FWS. Alternatively, the Contractor may choose to chip palm debris, deposit the chips at the designated area, or haul the chips off site.

i. Option Item 1: Contractor will be responsible for collecting and hauling debris off site instead of onsite disposal (see bid schedule).

5. The Contractor shall remove trunks, fronds, and associated palm debris continuously as the palm removal efforts proceed to avoid fire hazards from accumulation of vegetation debris near and under equipment, tools, and vehicles, avoid damaging surrounding vegetation, and maintain the visitor area in acceptable condition.

6. The Contractor shall perform appropriate post-removal clean up and grooming of the site where the palms were removed. For example, repair any damages that occurred such as divots or ruts left from vehicles or equipment, rake out equipment tracks or footprints, and any other necessary repairs to make the treatment less obtrusive.

Figure 1: Map of locations of palms to be removed, with the disposal site and preferred route of debris travel noted.

Figure 2: Map of locations of palms to be removed, with the Disposal site and preferred route of debris travel noted (same map as Figure 1 with imagery basemap).

Figure 3: A zoomed-in map of the Plummer Unit with 20 trees noted to be removed. This imagery is not current, as many palm shadows that are visible in the surrounding area represent palms that have already been removed from the refuge.

Figure 4: Group of 10 palms to be removed from the Plummer Unit adjacent to the chain-link fence with barbed wire separating the refuge from Warm Springs Road. This photo was taken from Warm Springs Road in March 2025. These tree trunks show evidence of fire damage, and many converge near the ground to share one root ball.

Figure 5: 10 palms in the Plummer Unit/Visitor Area to be removed. These palms are noted in Figures 1-3 as 3 separate points with groups of 2 (second and fourth from left in this photo), 1 (far left tree in this photo) and 7 (3rd, and 5th-10th from left in this photo). These palms tower above trails and sensitive vegetation. Equipment cannot approach within 50 feet of these trees without damaging vegetation or trail structures. Photo taken March 2025.

Figure 6: Two palms (2 in foreground of photo) to be removed. Photo from October 2023. Palms have not been trimmed since then). These two palms are located along a visitor trail, but a footbridge must be crossed to access them. This bridge will not support the weight of equipment. These two palms are second and fourth from the left in Figure 5.

Figure 7: Zoomed in view of the grove of 10 trees located in the wash, the group of 3 trees outside the fence along Warm Springs Road, and the path to the disposal site.

Figure 8: Photo 1 of 2 of the grove of 10 trees to be removed. This grove sits in a wash, with steep sides. This grove is located between the equipment staging area and the disposal site in Figures 1, 2 and 7. Photo taken March 2025.

Figure 9: Photo 2 of 2 of the grove of 10 trees to be removed. This grove sits in a wash, with steep sides. This grove is located between the equipment staging area and the disposal site in Figures 1, 2 and 7. These are the same 10 trees depicted in Figure 7, from the opposite side of the grove. Photo taken March 2025.

Figure 10: 3 trees located along Warm Springs Road (low traffic road) adjacent to the refuge chain-link fence.

II. PROJECT LOCATION

All work to be performed is located within Moapa Valley NWR, Moapa, Clark County, NV. Located at approximately 4001 and 4225 W. Warm Springs Road, Moapa, NV 89025. Coordinates: 36.710738, -114.711449 and 36.71104, -114.716706. The site is about 60 miles northeast of Las Vegas, NV.

Figure 11: Project site in relation to Las Vegas, NV on Google Maps.

III. CONTRACTOR SERVICES

A. The Contractor shall provide all equipment, materials, supplies, labor, and services required to complete the project, including all appurtenances for the project included in this Statement of Work.

B. The Contractor shall perform the work in the Plummer Unit on any days, Monday through Thursday, when the refuge is closed to the public. Work shall not be performed in the Plummer Unit on Friday through Sunday during the months of September through May because Moapa Valley NWR is open to visitors during those days (see Figure 2). Before the Contractor leaves the site on a Thursday, the Contractor shall remove all equipment, tools, vehicles and major debris from the Plummer unit if work is to re-commence the following Monday. Non-duty hours include weeknights, weekends, and Government holidays (New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, President's Day, Juneteenth, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, Columbus Day, Veteran’s Day, Christmas).

1. If mutually agreed upon by the Contractor and FWS, work can be performed on weekends when the refuge is not open to visitation, or on the portion of the refuge that is closed to visitation.

2. Contractor equipment can be staged in the Pedersen Unit of the refuge on non-workdays (Figure 2).

Figure 12: Location of Equipment Staging area and the area of the Refuge that is open to the public on Friday-Sunday, during which work cannot occur in this area between Labor Day and Memorial Day.

C. The Contractor shall use good judgment in performing the work when weather conditions are favorable. If weather conditions cause unsafe working conditions (e.g., high winds, excessive heat) or deteriorated site conditions (e.g., saturated soil), the Contractor should adjust the work schedule as appropriate.

D. The Contractor is responsible for safety on the project site at all times, as required by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 29 CFR 1926 and 1910, State of Nevada, Clark County, and all relevant authorities and regulations. In the event where any safety standard referenced herein conflicts with another, the more stringent shall govern. The Contractor is responsible for safety from issuance of the Notice to Proceed until final completion and acceptance of the project by the Contracting Officer’s Representative or designee.

E. The Contractor shall use appropriate and safe equipment, tools, and vehicles as well as best management practices (e.g., debris-free work areas) when performing all aspects of the Statement of Work to avoid:

a. damage to sensitive resources and areas

b. damage to existing visitor facilities

c. vehicles and equipment stuck due to wet conditions

d. ignition of accidental fire as the palms, fronds, and debris subject for removal are highly flammable

e. injury to workers F. As needed, the Contractor shall use appropriate dust suppression methods and best management practices in accordance with County and State regulations.

G. The Contractor shall possess and maintain, for the duration of this project, any licenses or permits required by the state to complete the project scope.

H. Contractor shall ensure any subcontractors possess any licenses or permits required by the state to complete the project scope. The Government may reasonably object to the Contractor’s selection of any Subcontractor.

I. The Contractor is responsible for quality control of their own work and work performed by its Subcontractors and their Sub-subcontractors.

J. The Contractor assumes responsibility to the Government for the proper performance of the work of Subcontractors and all acts and omissions in connection with such performance. Nothing in the Contract Documents is intended or deemed to create any legal or contractual relationship between Government and any Subcontractor or Sub-subcontractor.

IV. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SERVICE

a. The Service shall:

i. Clearly designate the palms to be removed.

ii. Provide access to the refuge based on predetermined schedule.

iii. Provide staging areas needed to conduct project work and temporary storage of materials.

iv. Provide locations to deposit palm debris (except when exercising Option 1).

V. ESTIMATED PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

FWS will work with the contractor to schedule palm removal. FWS has several temporal obligations to be met, during which work cannot continue due to sensitive and native species major life history events. The FWS will direct when work can and cannot be completed to the Contractor. The period of performance for the entire contract will be indicated as February 1, 2026– March 30, 2029. The target window of work to be completed is September 1 – November 1, to minimize the number of palm seeds distributed, but work can also be performed in November through March as agreed upon by the Contractor and FWS. Due to limitations of size of the onsite dump site and amount of biomass to be deposited, the work schedule may need to be altered or determined by the availability of space in the onsite burn pile, unless exercising Option 1. Work may need to be performed over a period of 3 years to achieve the desired results and managing debris from the project. Invoicing can be processed monthly, as determined by the number of palms removed during the month. Work shall not be completed between April 1 – August 31 to protect nesting birds and spawning fish.

EVALUATION AND ACCEPTANCE

A. Because of the complexity and specialized nature of the work to be completed, the FWS will be using the Tradeoff process to evaluate quotes. The contractor will be evaluated primarily on experience and past performance, rather than lowest acceptable price:

BID SCHEDULE

For Palm Removal at Moapa Valley National Wildlife Refuge

Base Bid: Project price for removal of approximately 33 mature palm trees with all debris deposited on site: __________________

Option 1: Additional project cost for removing all debris off site: __________________________

Experience and Past Performance Questionnaire Questions

1. Please provide specific examples of when, where, and how your company has removed California Fan Palms (Washingtonia filifera) 40-60 feet tall without damaging surrounding habitat or structures. Provide before and after photos, if available.

2. Provide at least 2 references (phone number and email address) from past jobs where California Fan Palms (Washingtonia filifera) were removed.

Name: _______________ Email: _________________ Phone:________________________

Name: _______________ Email: _________________ Phone:________________________

Name: _______________ Email: _________________ Phone:________________________

Name: _______________ Email: _________________ Phone:________________________

Incomplete Bids will not be considered. If hauling debris off site is not possible, please write “not applicable” in the Cost Per Tree column of Option Item 2. Based on the requirements outlined in the Statement of Work, the Contractor will provide time and materials cost estimates on a per tree basis. After award of the Contract and the number of trees to be removed is known, the trees will be clearly designated or marked by the USFWS.

Name of Bidder and Company:

Address (Include Zip Code):

Phone Number: _________________________________ image3.png image4.jpg image5.jpg image6.jpeg image7.png image8.jpg image9.jpg image10.jpg image11.png image1.jpg image2.jpg