A04_SOW.docx

Bureau of Land Management Skull Creek Exclosures Project Statement of Work

Skull Creek Exclosure Project Statement of Work

Contracting Agency: Bureau of Land Management Location: Skull Creek, Lander County, Nevada

Section 1: General Information and Requirements Work performed under this Statement of Work (SOW) requires the contractor to furnish all labor, equipment, and materials necessary to meet the construction specifications within this SOW. The contractor shall construct and install two exclosures on Skull Creek in Grass Valley, Lander County in Nevada (Figure 1). Additionally, the contractor is required to supply all the necessary equipment, unless otherwise noted in this SOW, to construct the exclosures in their entirety across varying and undulating terrain to the specifications described below.

Section 1.1: Location and Access to Work Site The Skull Creek project site is located approximately 18 miles northeast of Austin, NV at 39.7289537, -116.8899339 (figure 1). The most direct route would be to head east out of Austin, NV on Highway 50 for approximately 4.4 miles. Take a left on Grass Valley Road and stay on it for approximately 16 miles until the fork in the road. Take a left at the split and continue 1.8 miles then take a right. Continue down the gravel road for 1.4 miles then take a left. Follow this road for 2.5 miles, at the pond take a left and continue west on the road for 2.3 miles until reaching the site (figure 1). All vehicles traveling to the work site should be high clearance four-wheel drive. For general work site photos, please see figures 15 and 16.

Access to project site will require crossing private lands. Access across private lands will be coordinated by the BLM. The contractor must provide the BLM with a two-week notice prior to accessing the project sites.

Section 1.2: Unit Boundary/Work Layout The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will set flags or stakes to mark the outline of the exclosure. Flags/stakes will be spaced close enough to capture the correct lines and angles of the exclosures to execute the work specified under the SOW. Flags/stakes will be installed two-weeks prior to the start of work. The Contractor shall, immediately upon entering the project site for the purpose of beginning work, locate all reference marks and take such actions to prevent their destruction. Shapefiles/kml files can be provided to prospective bidders upon request to the Contracting Officer (CO). Changes in the location or the construction of any portion of the exclosures can only be made if agreed upon by both the contractor and the CO.

General Site Coordinates and Property Description:

aThe Skull Creek exclosures will consist of two exclosures that are separated by 1000 ft of stream to serve as a water break for Livestock, wild horses, and wildlife. The exclosures combined will be approximately 13 acres.

Section 1.3: Description of Work, Construction Specifications and Limitations The two exclosures located on Skull Creek, will consist of a large exclosure of approximately 3,000 linear feet and a smaller exclosure of approximately 1,150 linear feet. The two exclosures will be separated by a 1000 ft water break in the stream. The total perimeter of the two exclosures will be approximately 4,150 linear feet. Field verification of linear footage should be done by prospective bidders. It is highly recommended that prospective bidders attend the scheduled site visit, stated in this contract solicitation document. The exclosures shall be a pipe rail fence that is constructed with used oil or water drill steel. The used drill steel shall be welded at the joints. All photos below are examples of a constructed fence project. Construction methods for the Downhill Segment and Drainage Crossing Segments will differ from the majority of the fence and are described in the sections below (figures 8 & 12).

Welding shall comply with the American Welding Society (AWS) Standard Welding Procedure Specifications (SWPS) D1.1/D1.1M for tolerances, appearances, welding procedure specifications, weld quality and methods used in correcting welding work. Welds shall be ¼” fillet weld all around pipe. Welding rod selection will also follow AWS specifications. Welds shall be continuous beads that are free of porosity and cracks across the entire surface of joints. Welds shall have adequate penetration that is consistent with AWS specifications. Welding slag material shall be removed, and welds shall be painted using a brown/rust colored anti-rust paint to prevent weathering (See Specifications).

Welded Used Drill Steel Fence Approximately 4,150 linear feet of welded used drill steel fence will be constructed as part of this SOW. All materials necessary will be provided by the contractor and meet the provided specifications and standard of practice for construction of the steel fence approval prior to the start of work. Rust on the used drill steel shall not exceed more than 20% thickness of the pipe. A 10-foot section of used drill steel shall not have more than a 5-degree bend. Gouges shall be limited to not more than 18 square inches on any one square foot surface area of the pipe. The thickness of any gouge shall not exceed more than 50% thickness of the pipe. Line post, corner post and all rails shall all be constructed out of used drill steel with 2 3/8” Outside Diameter (O.D.) and a minimum of 0.19” wall thickness. All material shall be provided by the contractor.

Post-spacing, heights, and diameters Posts shall be spaced every 10 feet and be constructed using 2 3/8” O.D. used drill steel. The posts shall be set into the ground so that the finished maximum height of the top rail shall not exceed 46 ±2”, thus the posts would be 43 5/8 ±2” from the ground to the bottom of the convex portion of the coping of the post, so that the finished height (including the top rail) would not exceed 46 ±2”. The distance from the ground to the bottom of the bottom rail shall be 26 ±2”.

All corner posts shall be constructed using used 2 3/8” O.D. drill steel. Posts shall be driven or augered into the ground to the above identified specifications and made plumb. Corner posts shall be 49 ± 2” above grade to adequately receive incoming rails that will be coped and welded to the corner post. Corner posts must be capped with a continuous weld around the entire cap. Any open pipe ends will be capped permanently to prevent access to birds or other wildlife (Figure 9).

Expansion gaps shall be provided on segments that are greater than 250’ long without a change in angle. The gap distance between the panels shall be 3” to 5” (Figure 10 & 11). Four expansion gaps shall be provided on the larger exclosure and one expansion gap on the smaller exclosure. The locations for the expansion gaps have been identified on Figure 3 and will be uniquely flagged for identification at the construction site. The expansion gaps shall be within 30 feet (three panel lengths) of the marked locations.

Post-setting and depths All posts need to be driven (pounded) to a minimum depth of 48”. All posts that cannot be driven, must be installed in a hole that has been excavated to a minimum depth of 36”. Once excavated, the post shall be placed and plumbed, and the hole shall be filled with concrete which is designed for posts. The concrete fill shall terminate 6” below grade and the remaining backfill shall be the native soil that was excavated to create the hole. All backfill shall be graded to match the surrounding grade. When the ground is too moist to allow for proper curing of concrete, an 8” diameter concrete forming tube (e.g. sonotube) shall be used and filled with concrete flush to the top of the tube. The tube form must be firmly seated in the ground 30” and excess tube material cut flush with the natural grade and disposed of properly at a landfill.

Any set post (driven or set in concrete) having greater than ½ inch of travel when manipulated by a person is not satisfactory and will not meet the specifications within this SOW.

Rails The total linear feet of the exclosures will be 4,150’, which 3,710’ of that will be two-rail fence (figure 5 & 6), 310’ will be three-rail fence (downhill segment, figure 7 & 8), and 130’ will be the drainage crossing fence (figure 12). All posts and rails shall be made of 2 3/8” O.D. used drill steel.

Top rail The top rail shall have a finished height of 46 ±2” from grade. The top rail shall be secured to the line post utilizing the “saddle and rail” (Figure 4) construction described in the “Post and rail connections” section of this document. The bells and threads should be preserved as part of the standard used drill steel rail, fully threaded together to form a continuous top rail, and fully welded to the line post.

Bottom rail The bottom rail shall be coped on both ends and welded to adjoining posts and set to finished height of 26 ±2” above grade. Welds securing the lower rail to the post shall be applied to the entire joint/intersection of the rail and post. The coped portion of the rail should accommodate a minimum of one-third the diameter of the adjoining post, matching the radius geometry of the rail.

Post and rail connections: Line and corner post shall be cut (coped) with an oxygen/acetylene torch (or similar device) to produce a “saddle” (Figure 4) by coping the top of the post to accept the top rail. The coped portion of the post shall accommodate a minimum of one-third the diameter of the adjoining top rail, matching the radius geometry of the rail. The top rail shall be set into the saddle and continuously welded on all surfaces of the rail and post joint.

Pipe Rail Fence, Rail Height Specifications for Two-Rail Segments (Total linear feet 3,710’)

Downhill Segment All construction methods utilized in the construction of the downhill segment in terms of line post spacing, post height/depth, and rail attachment are consistent with the methods described above with the exception of an additional third rail and corresponding spacing identified below. The addition of the third rail shall only be applied to a specific 310’ as depicted in (figure 7 & 8). The third rail shall be installed to the same specifications as described in the “Bottom Rail” section above, with the exception of rail spacing.

Pipe Rail Fence, Rail Height Specifications for Three-Rail Segments (Total linear feet 310’)

Drainage Segment The approximate linear feet of the drainage crossing segment will be 130’. These sections shall have four rails, the top three rails will be the same heights as the three-rail fences and the fourth rail will be near the ground level. The drainage crossing fence sections shall have five additional line posts, one on each end and five line posts spaced equally throughout the panel. The five line posts shall be set to a minimum depth of 48” below grade within a single 10-foot panel, coped, and welded to a fourth rail. The fourth rail should be welded to the two-line post of the panel so that the rail is level but as close to the ground as possible (figure 12).

Removable Panel Two two-rail removable panel shall be incorporated into the construction of these exclosures. The larger exclosure will have one removable panel on the south-west corner and the smaller exclosure will have one removable panel on the north-west side of the exclosure (figure 3). For this type of panel, four 8” sleaves of 2 7/8” O.D. pipe shall be cut, and two sections welded to both respective line posts of the panel so that a 2 3/8” rail mounted on top of these sleaves are 26 ±2” and 46 ±2” from grade. The 2 3/8” O.D. rails shall be cut to fit flush between the two-line posts of the panel, and two 6” sections of 2 3/8” O.D. pipe welded to the ends perpendicular to the rail so that they seat flush into the 2 7/8” O.D. sleaves welded to the line posts. Each sleave and rail connection shall be fabricated so that the connection is secured by a minimum of one 1/2-inch bolt (figure 13 & 14).

Fire Protection Measures As the fence construction methods described in this document specifically require the contactor to weld and cut and potentially use other spark producing tools and practices, the contractor shall comply with the following fire mitigation regulations:

Fire suppression Equipment Shall:

1. Be present at the site during all construction activities. At least two personnel that are trained and capable of operating the fire suppression equipment shall be on-site during all construction activities.

2. Be four-wheel drive.

3. Have a pump capable of delivering a minimum of 50 gallons of water per minute at 150 psi.

4. Contain a minimum of 200 gallons of water.

5. Be equipped with a minimum of 500 feet of 1-inch diameter hose, 2 nozzles, 1 shovel, and 1 pulaski. The equipment must be able to reach the fencing equipment at any time while constructing fence.

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

7. All tools and equipment above shall be in good working condition.

The Contracting Officer may, by written notice, authorize substitute measures or equipment or may waive specific fire readiness requirements during periods of low fire danger.

The Contractor shall, independently and in cooperation with the Government, take all reasonable action to prevent and suppress fires on the project. Independent initial action shall be prompt and shall include the use of all personnel and equipment available in the project area.

The Government may require emergency measures, including the necessary shutting down of equipment or portions of operations in the project area during periods of fire emergency created by hazardous climatic conditions. It is the responsibility of the contractor to reach out and find out if those climatic conditions are occurring by contacting the dispatch center.

The Contractor shall report all fires on or in the vicinity of the project to the Central Nevada Interagency Dispatch Center at (775) 635-1555 during regular business hours and (775) 635-3444 during all other hours. When reporting a fire, provide the following information: name, call back telephone number, project name, location, and fire description.

Section 1.4: Environmental Considerations Blading or Scraping: No blading or scraping of the ground along the fence line or on any Bureau of Land Management, US Forest Service, or State administered land is permitted. Trees and other woody vegetation will be cleared within 25 feet of the either side of the proposed fence line at least two-weeks prior to the start of construction. Any vegetation remaining within the 25-foot buffer, that possess a hinderance to construction and hasn’t been marked with flagging to avoid, may be removed by the contractor with a chainsaw. Heavy equipment shall not be used to remove any vegetation. Access roads shall not be constructed along fence lines or to the job sites.

Rocky Conditions: Rocky conditions exist along portions of the fence line, and it is recommended that interested contractors attend the site visit or inspect the site before submitting a quote. Access to both project sites will require crossing private lands. Access across private lands will be coordinated by the BLM. The contractor must provide the BLM a complete and detail work schedule with a two-week notice prior to accessing the project sites. No geotechnical investigation has been conducted for the sites and Contractor is responsible for determining difficulties of excavation to satisfy their risks and liabilities.

Cross-Country Travel: No cross-country travel with motorized vehicles shall take place when ground is muddy causing ruts to form. The contractor shall repair all ruts and scarred ground created by construction, repair, or removal as directed by the COR and at the expense of the contractor.

Camping: Camping at or near the job site is permitted as long as it does not exceed a maximum of 14 days at any one location, and the camp is not located within the Wilderness Study Area. Camping is prohibited within 100 yards of any isolated water source springs, seeps, water troughs, windmills, small reservoirs, etc. Toilet facility requirements shall follow all Federal and State regulations. When a camp site is no longer needed, all garbage must be removed and properly disposed of.

Clean-up: All trash and excess materials must be removed from the project site upon completion of construction and disposed of in a proper manner, and at an approved dump location.

Cultural Considerations: Because fragile and irreplaceable culture resources may be present in the area, project activities and any other action which causes disturbance of the earth's surface shall be limited to those areas approved by the BLM. Deviations from routes flagged are not allowable without prior approval of the COR. If fence construction is within the avoidance areas (maps given after awarded), provide COR a 14-day notice prior to work commencing so he/she can be present to monitor. The contractor shall insure that themself, their employees, or their representatives do not collect archaeological artifacts. Should the condition of the cultural resources in the area be altered during construction due to unauthorized activity by the contractor or their employees, the contractor shall be responsible for all costs of mitigating the cultural resources involved. If determination of the archaeological sites is found to be occurring during the construction phase, work on the project shall be terminated and the COR shall be notified immediately. Work shall remain in termination status until a data recovery plan is prepared and completed in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act and the State Historic Preservation Office.

Noxious and Invasive Weeds and Non-Native Species: The BLM Weed Management Standard Operating Procedures and recommendations shall be followed according to BLM Manual 9015 for Integrated Weed Management; all vehicles entering and exiting the project site shall be cleaned of any non-native invasive weed plant parts and vehicles will remain on existing and established roads to the site; all tools shall be cleaned prior to locating to a new site to avoid transfer and spread of noxious and invasive species. BLM Manual 9015 can be accessed at the following link: https://www.ntc.blm.gov/krc/uploads/1122/9015%20%20Integrated%20Weed%20Management%20Manual.doc.

Section 1.5 Work Schedule and Submittals The work schedule shall be submitted to the COR at the pre-work conference for review and comments. The work schedule may be modified if inclement weather conditions occur. The COR shall be notified immediately by the Contractor of any changes in the original work schedule. The contractor must contact the COR two weeks prior to work commencing so the COR can notify the private landowner so that access can be granted to the project location. Work at the site can only occur from September 16 through February 28.

Contractor shall submit detail drawings showing locations, type of posts, type of rails, removable panels, type of welds, sequence of work, and schedule to Contracting Officer Representative (COR) for information and comments at least two weeks prior to the start of work (see specifications for more details).

Section 2: Project Meetings Section 2.1: Pre-Work Conference A Pre-Work Conference will be held prior to the start of work. The contractor will be notified in advance of the meeting time, date, and place. The purpose will be to review required work, maps, specifications, construction schedules, payments, and administrative provisions of the contract. The contractor, project foreman, and subcontractors and the persons responsible for coordination of the work shall be present at the meeting and the contractor shall be prepared to summarize and explain procedures planned for the project. If the contractor elects to have a new project foreman oversee the job that was not at the Pre-work conference, then that individual must attend another work conference meeting as elected by the COR to ensure adherence and compliance with the Statement of Work.

Section 2.2: Progress Meetings These meetings will be held at the project site, or as determined by the COR. Meetings may be called by either the COR or the contractor, and any request shall state who should attend and include an agenda.

Section 2.3: Final Inspection The final inspection will be held at the project site, or as determined by the COR. The contractor will notify the COR verbally or in writing at least seven calendar days prior to the completion date so the agency can schedule the final inspection. The contractor or the contractor’s authorized representative shall be present during this inspection and be prepared to mitigate any portions of the work that don’t meet the specifications of this Scope of Work.

Section 3: Government Furnished and Contractor Furnished Property Section 3.1: Materials Furnished by the BLM No government furnished materials will be provided to the contractor for the construction of this project.

Section 3.2: Equipment and Materials Furnished by the Contractor All labor, materials, and equipment needed to construct the fence shall be provided by the contractor. The materials used for this contract must meet the specifications that are described in this SOW. The contractor must provide the COR with a certificate or receipt of the materials purchased so the BLM can determine it meets the required specifications.

Section 4: Performance Schedule

The on-site construction shall only take place from September 16 through February 28.

FIGURES:

Figure 1. Directions to Skull Creek from Austin, NV.

Figure 2. Directions to Skull Creek.

Figure 3. Skull Creek Fence Lines.

Figure 4. Example of Saddle and Rail Construction

Figure 5. Example of Two Rail Construction Figure 6. Specifications for Two Rail Construction.

Figure 7. Example of Three Rail Construction (Downhill Segment Construction).

Figure 8. Specifications for Three Rail Construction.

Figure 9. Example of Corner Cap and Top Rail Intersection.

Figure 10. Example of Expansion Gap (Note: gaps shall be 3-5”).

Figure 11. Specifications for Expansion Gap Construction.

Figure 12. Specifications for Drainage Crossing Construction.

Figure 13. Example of a Removable Panel.

Figure 14. Specifications for Removable Panel Construction. Blue arrows indicate removable segments.

Figure 15. Picture of general landscape of the larger proposed exclosure looking northwest from the southeast corner.

Figure 16. General landscape of the larger proposed exclosure looking northeast.

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