A04_SOW_1.docx

Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge Statement of Work for Forest Resilience and Enhancement Seedling Sourcing through Inflation Reduction Act Funding

SCOPE: This Statement of Work defines the nursery materials requested through contract to build resiliency within bottomland forests of the National Wildlife Refuges (refuge) within the Upper Mississippi River System. The species, stock type and desired quantities of the requested nursery materials are listed in Table 1 of this scope.

The Habitat Management Plan for the refuges considers diverse, resilient floodplain forest and restored swamp to be priority restoration communities for the refuges, where soybean fields, single species forest and flood-stressed floodplain forest currently exist. These nursery materials will be utilized on multiple project areas on refuges within the Upper Mississippi River System. These materials will be planted in fallow bottomland fields and in declining forests underplanted to improve forest resilience and enhance habitat conditions for breeding and stopover habitat for wildlife including neotropical migratory birds and tree-roosting bats.

CONTRACT SPECIFICATIONS:

The item(s) listed below are to be bid together as one and awarded through this scope:

1. Source, grow and provide 2000 bamboo stakes and 5000 container trees of the following stock types:

STOCK TYPE: Trees selected for the project shall be from seed collected from Midwest sites no further than 200 miles from the project site, except for the bald cypress and swamp tupelo. Those two species may be sourced outside of the region, taking preference for seed origins closest to the project area. Trees shall be grown in a container with soil with an overall plant height no less than the minimum specifications listed in Table 1. All trees grown in at least 3-gallon containers shall be produced by an air root-pruned method to develop a dense, fibrous, non-curling root system.

CONTAINERIZED TREE GUIDELINES: Containerized tree roots and potting material will remain moist from the time they are inspected at the nursery until they are transferred to the government. Trees will not have terminal leaders broken off during transport and handling efforts. Preference from the government is to consider palletizing trees and shrubs at the nursery to reduce damage during transport. Handling, staging, and storage of trees must meet nursery standards preventing unnecessary stress and/or damage to the trees. All trees must be inspected and approved by the refuge prior to acquisition. At the time of inspection, the refuge contact will determine if tree roots are moist, that roots are not frozen, terminal leader is intact, tree height is correct, quantities per tree species is correct, and handling of trees meet requirements of this contract and industry standards. Failure to pass 100% of these requirements means all or individual trees may be rejected. Rejected trees are required to be replaced by the contractor.

Any planting stock substitutions may be authorized by the discretion of the government to meet required quantities and heights per species. All proposed substitutions must be provided in writing to the refuge contact to include: approximate seed origin location, quantities by species and by height in units of 6 inches.

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: April 1 2025 to November 30 2026

WORK SCHEDULE: Nursery materials

CONTACTS: Bruce Henry, Refuge Forest Ecologist, (C) 608-518-7834; bruce_henry@fws.gov Table 1. Tree and Shrub Species Specifications and Planting Materials.

IDIQ

Any-gallon size pot

Container Shrub

3 feet