A04_SOW.doc

Performance Work Statement

Kern Mountain 2021 Mastication I. General Information and Requirements

A. Description of Work The contractor is responsible for furnishing all labor, equipment, supervision, transportation, supplies and materials to masticate pinyon pine and juniper from 433 acres. The service requested is the mastication or grinding of whole tree biomass. All pinyon pine and juniper (regardless of size) will be removed while leaving and not damaging any other species including mountain mahogany. The purpose of the project is to improve the overall health of targeted vegetation communities, reduce fuel loading, and improve wildlife habitat and other watershed values.

Contractors are to submit a bid for each unit in accordance with Table 1. Bids are to be submitted on a cost per acre basis.

Table 1 – Table of treatment units by line item, treatment method and size.

Total

Leave areas and boundaries may be altered prior to implementation of the project to mitigate sensitive resource concerns. Treatment area boundaries will be outlined on a map provided by the Government. The Contractor will be responsible for ensuring that they are within treatment boundaries by utilizing a navigational Global Positioning System (GPS) unit. The contractor may flag the boundaries of the unit at their discretion however, the contractor would be responsible for the removal of all flagging.

B. General Work Layout

The area is typical Great Basin sagebrush communities with bitterbrush and mountain mahogany where pinyon and juniper have become established. The Government will provide a map to the Contractor with the treatment area boundaries (outside perimeter, islands, etc.) necessary for the work executed under the Contract. The Government will provide a shapefile (for upload on GPS) or georeferenced PDF maps of the project area boundary to the Contractor. Avoidance areas (archaeological sites; springs; structural range improvements; survey markers such as sections corners, quarter corners, mining claims, etc.) will be included on the maps provided to the contractor. Survey markers disturbed or removed during operations shall be reset at the Contractor’s expense. Range improvements or other physical structures damaged or removed during operations shall be repaired or replaced at the Contractor’s expense.

C. Location and Access to Work Sites The project area is located in the Kern Mountains near the Utah/Nevada border in far eastern White Pine County, Nevada (see attached locational map).

The treatment area can be accessed by two primary methods:

1) Travel north approximately 42 miles along the Gandy Road from US Highway 50/6 near the Utah/Nevada border, and then travelling west along the Pleasant Valley Road approximately 7 miles to a dirt road at Rye Grass Patch Road.

2) Travel north approximately 40 miles from Ely, Nevada on US Highway 93 to Schellbourne Rest Area, travel east along Schellbourne Road to Spring Valley, then travel south, southeast to Twelve mile summit, then east to Antelope Valley until reaching Tippett Ranch. Travel east approximately 13 miles to the intersection of Rye Grass Patch Road There are a few two-track roads that traverse the project area, but most access is gained through the Rye Grass Road. Four-wheel drive vehicles are recommended due to the unimproved nature of some roads. There is one large drainage that must be crossed to access the northern portion of the Rye Grass Unit. Contractors are requested to identify in their proposal any work that may need to be complete to cross the drainage with their equipment.

There are no seasonal weather restrictions unless heavy rains occur or during periods of snow melt which may result in an intermittent work schedule due to muddy conditions. Work shall not occur if project implementation is creating excessive rutting. Roads will be considered impassable when saturated and access into the project area may be closed by the government during this time.

The following legal land descriptions apply:

· Township 22 North; Range 69 East; Sections 13, 14, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 34, and 35; MDM.

· Township 21 North; Range 69 East; Section 2; MDM.

D. Environmental Considerations

Due to timing restrictions for sensitive resources, treatments will not occur from April 15 to July 15. These timing restrictions shall be built into the proposal. No extensions to the performance period will be granted due to these timing restrictions.

Vehicles and other equipment used for implementation of the project shall be washed to remove any vegetation and potential noxious weed and invasive species parts prior to beginning the work and following completion of the work.

The project site shall be cleaned up, and all refuse removed to an approved landfill at the Contractor’s expense. The Contractor shall not disturb lands adjacent to the project site. Existing access roads and trails within the project area that are damaged by the Contractor shall be restored at the Contractor’s expense to the same condition they were in at the commencement of work. Stream channels, springs and other wet areas will be avoided by vehicles and heavy equipment.

E. Work Camp

Camping will be allowed during project implementation only at sites approved in advance by the BLM. All fire regulations and permits shall be followed. All garbage and refuse shall be removed from the camp site by the contractor when the camp is removed. Final payment will be reserved subject to inspection of these sites by BLM and approval of site cleanup.

II. PROJECT MEETINGS

A. Pre-Work Conference A pre-work conference will be held prior to the start of work. The BLM and Contractor will coordinate to determine meeting location, date and time. The purpose of the meeting will be to review the required work, the project location, project specifications, the work schedule, payroll and payments and administrative provisions of the Contract. The Contractor and the persons responsible for coordination of the work shall be present at the meeting. The Contractor shall be prepared to summarize and explain procedures planned for the project.

B. Progress Meetings

Meetings may be called by either the Contracting Officer or the Contractor. Meetings shall be held at the project site, or as determined by the Contracting Officer.

C. Final Inspection

The meeting shall be held at the project site, or as determined by the Contracting Officer Representative. The Contractor shall notify the Contracting Officer Representative at least two (2) working days before the completion date, so the Government can schedule a final inspection. Final payment of the contract will be held pending the completion of a satisfactory final inspection of all associated areas.

III. Government Furnished and contractor furnished Property

A. Materials Furnished by the Government

The Government will provide a map with the project area boundaries, and a shapefile of the project area boundaries (for GPS upload). Maps provided within this statement of work represent a general depiction of the work area boundaries may change prior to the initiation of work. Tree densities, terrain and geographic area will be similar to those depicted within the units on the attached maps.

B. Equipment Furnished by the Contractor

The contractor will at a minimum provide a functioning navigation device capable of downloading shapefiles or georeferenced maps and displaying them in a manner that can be followed by the contractor’s personnel. It is expected that the individual assigned by the contractor who is responsible for using the navigational unit to follow and/or mark project area boundaries will be able to operate and trouble shoot the navigational unit.

The contractor equipment shall:

· Be a wheeled or tracked mounted vehicle equipped with either hydraulic or PTO driven cutter head with a minimum head lift height of 12.5’ to alter the vegetation type in accordance with the specified level of work, prescription, or as otherwise as described under specifications.

· Preference will be given to machines with grinding heads attached to a boom that enable the operator to reach over leave trees/vegetation and vertically grind the trees to be removed.

· Be of durable design and construction to withstand the stresses of natural obstructions within pinyon-juniper woodlands such as rocks, stumps, dust, and the general unevenness of the land.

· Be free of fluid leaks and have hoses in good operating condition.

· Be equipped with a head capable of performing the work described in this document.

· Be of a quality that guarantees the contractor’s safety.

· Meet or exceed the requirements listed in Fire Prevention/Suppression Section.

· The contractor’s navigational unit (as required) shall be capable of uploading ArcGIS shapefiles or georeferenced maps.

· Contractor shall insure that all equipment moved on to BLM administered land under this contract is free of soil, seeds, vegetative matter or other debris that could contain or hold weeds and weed seeds. For purposes of this provision, equipment shall be considered free of soil, seeds, and other such debris when a visual inspection does not disclose such material. Disassembly of equipment components or specialized inspection tools will not be required. A current list of noxious weeds of concern to the BLM is available at the Ely Field Office for this contract. Known noxious weed areas near the project will be discussed with the successful contractor during the pre-work conference. Areas with known noxious weeds should be avoided if possible. Contractor and Contracting Officer Representative shall agree on methods of cleaning, locations for the cleaning, and control of off-site impacts, if any. New infestations of noxious weeds of concern to the BLM, identified by either Contractor or the BLM, on BLM land in the Project Area or on the route to the Project Area shall be promptly reported to the other party.

C. Fire Prevention/Suppression

The contractor shall:

a) Equip all diesel and/or gasoline operated engines with spark arresters.

b) Equip all machines with one shovel, and one 12 pound (minimum) “ABC” fire extinguisher.

c) Remove all concentrations of wood dust and debris from equipment daily.

IV. Measurement and Payment A. Measurement of Payment

Work will be measured and paid for by the number of acres within each treatment unit (see Table 1). The total will be rounded up to the nearest whole acre. Area measurements required under this Contract will be measured on a horizontal plane and recorded with a GPS unit.

B. Basis of Payment

Prices and payment will be full compensation for the work described in this section. Payment will be made under the following:

The Contracting Officer or representative will make periodic inspections as a basis for progress payments and recommendations for adjustments in work quality. The Contractor or representative is encouraged to observe inspections at the time they are being made. Work performed according to the specifications will be considered acceptable for payment purposes.

V. Specifications

A. Methods

Remove all pinyon and juniper trees within the designated boundaries. All other tree species and shrubs will not be removed or damaged.

· The by-product of mastication will be a mulch layer less than 5 inches deep, and slash shall be ground or cut, such that 90 percent of woody pieces less than 12 inches in diameter is less than 3 feet in length. Large boles and branches that exceed 12 inches in diameter may be longer than 3 feet such that they are completely severed from the ground and smaller branches are removed.

· Sever and/or masticate all trees within the project area as identified on the map. All stumps shall be cut so they are no greater than 6 inches in height on the uphill side above mineral soil. If obstacles are encountered, such as rocks, the mastication attachment may be raised to clear the obstacle.

· Work shall not occur if project implementation is creating excessive rutting when the ground is saturated. Work may resume only when the area has sufficiently dried out.

· Any/all skid trails or two-track roads or any other disturbance created by equipment or vehicles maneuvering the project area will be reclaimed as a part of the site cleanup requirements.

· Project must be completed and any necessary rehabilitation must be completed within one calendar year of award.

· Crossing perennial, intermittent, or ephemeral drainage features would be avoided unless deemed absolutely necessary. If it is deemed necessary to cross these features, crossing of drainage features with flowing water would be coordinated with the BLM. Crossing of dry drainage features would be conducted as close to 90 degrees to the long axis of the feature as possible and would minimize disturbance. Damage to drainage features may require repair at the contractors expense to restore natural water flow.

· Contractor shall furnish two warning signs to be placed on the roadside prior to entrance to the work area. Signs shall be a minimum of 3 feet by 3 feet in dimension and shall warn of possibility of flying debris.

· Contractor shall ensure placing fuel containment barrier if storing fuel on project site.

· All units have young trees (less than 2 feet in height) growing. All of these trees must be removed. A requirement of no more than one live stem per acre remaining after treatment will be adhered to. If inspections indicate the quality of the work does not meet this standard the unit will be reworked. Standard will be randomly sampled during inspections by the government representative and communicated to the contractor point of contact. The sampled areas may involve portions of a unit and not the entire unit and will be at the discretion of the government representative. The contractor may elect to utilize chainsaws to remove trees that are less than 6’ in height or to clear stumps of remaining branches. If a unit is to be reworked, depending upon the number and size of live stems remaining the government representative may request that the area be reworked with the use of chainsaws to minimize soil disturbance.

B. Treatment Acreage and Areas

Up to 433 acres of public lands will be treated within the project area as shown on the attached map. The attached maps delineate the project area boundary with tentative islands and leave areas. Leave areas and boundaries may be altered prior to implementation of the project to mitigate sensitive resource concerns.

Slope within the treatment units is generally rolling ridges with some slopes exceeding 20% and some rocks. It is the responsibility of the contractor to properly evaluate these units in order to ensure the equipment is capable of completing the described work or propose which areas they may not be able to complete.

C. Loading, Unloading and Transporting Property

Unloading and loading of equipment should occur on existing roads. Overland travel is authorized to transport fuel to equipment within the treatment boundaries. Contractors are required to identify any areas where they may need overland travel authorization outside the treatment units. Also, any road work or other improvements that may be necessary to support safe and efficient operation of equipment should be identified in the Contractor’s proposal.

D. Equipment Maintenance and Repairs

The Contractor is responsible for all maintenance and repairs of Contractor furnished equipment. The Contractor shall complete sufficient maintenance of the equipment to prevent down-time on the project sites. The Contractor is responsible for all maintenance measures to ensure proper functionality and for safety precautions.

Any fuels or oils stored on site must be stored in an approved container with an approved spill guard with berms.

E. Performance Schedule

Period of performance for this work shall begin as soon as possible following the initial award of the contract, not to exceed 30 days, within the appropriate treatment timeframes (July 16 to April 14). The end of the performance period will be one calendar year from the date of the award.

The Contractor shall be required to start and complete the treatment area within the performance time identified above or as otherwise negotiated during the pre-work conference, provided weather conditions permit. If inclement weather conditions should occur prior to the Contractor completing the project, the Contractor shall be issued a stop work order and the project shall be completed as soon as weather conditions permit.

Attachment 2. Maps

Kern Mountain, 2021, Mastication, Statement of Work