A04_SOW.pdf

U.S. BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT

WIND RIVER/BIGHORN BASIN DISTRICT

WORLAND FIELD OFFICE, WYOMING

Otter Creek Mechanical Fuels Treatment Project, Class III Cultural Resources Inventory

STATEMENT OF WORK

I. Introduction and Background

The contractor shall conduct a Class III cultural resources inventory of 2,476 acres within the Otter Creek Mechanical Fuels Treatment Project area. The project area is located within and adjacent to the Otter Creek drainage which is a tributary of the Nowood River in the Bighorn Basin, Wyoming. The inventory block is irregular in shape and is not marked on the ground;

shapefiles will be provided to the contractor by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) as part of this solicitation package and/or upon contract award. Surface ownership of the inventory area includes lands administered by the BLM (2,022 acres), the State of Wyoming (315 acres), and privately owned aliquots managed by the Otter Creek Grazing Association (139 acres).

The Cass III inventory will be completed in anticipation of a proposed fuels treatment project involving the mechanical treatment of juniper trees using heavy equipment with a masticating head. Per the Wyoming State Protocol, a Class III inventory level of inventory is required for the Otter Creek Mechanical Fuels Treatment Project due to the potential for surface disturbing activities. All sites and isolates located within the project area will be recorded and evaluated (including appropriate site testing) to make recommendations of site eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and recommendations of project effect.

II. Project Location and Scope The Otter Creek Mechanical project area is located approximately 12 miles south of Ten Sleep, Washakie County, Wyoming. The project area spans portions of T45N R87W Sections 7, 8, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, and 28 (refer to provided project map). Access to the project area can be gained by traveling approximately 12 miles south of Ten Sleep on WY434. A few unimproved (two-track) roads enter the project area from WY434 or CR58 (Spring Creek Road) which is an offshoot of road WY434. The use of a high clearance, 4WD vehicle is required to access the project area. Access to some portions of the project area may be more suitable to the use of UTVs and/or ATVs at the contractor’s discretion. All vehicular traffic shall be confined to existing roads and two-tracks.

Elevations of the project area range from 4,500 to 5,200 feet. The project area consists of small and rolling hills dissected by drainages with bunch grass, sagebrush, and juniper trees being the dominant forms of vegetation.

III. Statement of Work For the Otter Creek Mechanical Fuels Treatment Project area, the contractor shall conduct a Class III inventory of 2,476 acres as shown on attached map and provided shapefiles. Work shall include background files and records searches, Class III inventory, site and isolate identification and recordation, site evaluation (including site testing as appropriate), recommendations of eligibility for the NRHP, and recommendations of effect, including recommendations for avoidance, minimization, and/or mitigation of impacts to any historic properties, all following Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office’s (SHPO) WyoTrack web-application workflow.

Modern graffiti (less than 50 years old) and resources meeting the definition of a Non-Site according to Appendix D of the Wyoming BLM/SHPO State Protocol will be briefly described in the report and plotted with a GPS point on the project map(s).

The contractor does not need to inventory slopes greater than 30%, but any slopes or rock faces with potential for rock art or rock shelters shall be examined and any identified resources shall be recorded. Evaluation of rock shelter NRHP eligibility under Criterion D shall be coordinated with the BLM prior to any subsurface testing or excavation; coordination shall be conducted via the Wind River/Bighorn Basin District fire/fuels archaeologist who will serve as the agency Point of Contact (POC). All subsurface testing shall follow the guidelines described in the Bureau of Land Management Field Guide for Evaluative Testing of Archaeological Sites. The contractor shall not perform any subsurface testing or excavation inside of stone features (e.g., stone circles, effigies, cairns, eagle traps, medicine wheels, etc.).

The contractor shall adhere to Class III inventory and reporting standards as defined by the Wyoming SHPO Format, Guidelines, and Standards for Class II and III Reports, as well as the Photographic, Archival, and Digital Submission Standards for Reports and Cultural Property Forms which are both found in Appendix J of the Wyoming BLM/SHPO State Protocol. The contractor shall complete Wyoming Cultural Property Forms (WYCPF) and/or Isolated Resource Forms (WYIRF) generated through WyoTrack for all cultural resources identified during inventory. As applicable, WYCPFs and WYIRFs for any previously recorded sites and resources found within the project area shall be updated. Subsurface diagnostic artifacts or ceramics found during shovel tests, auger probes, or formal excavations located on lands administered by the BLM shall be collected and curated with the University of Wyoming Archaeological Repository (UWAR). All surface diagnostic artifacts and ceramics with the potential to be affected by the proposed action, shall be collected for curation at UWAR. Any archaeological samples (e.g., charcoal, obsidian, wood, etc.) collected by the contractor shall be processed and the test results incorporated into the draft and final reports as appropriate.

All cultural resources, including those previously left Unevaluated, found within the direct area of potential effects (APE) must be evaluated for NRHP eligibility under all four criteria and discussed with respect to the seven aspects of integrity. This must include a reasonable rationale and justification under NRHP criteria (36CFR60.4).

For those resources identified within the direct and indirect APEs, the contractor shall provide a discussion of the effect of the proposed action on each resource, regardless of resource eligibility. Effects discussion should include direct and indirect effects, as applicable. For historic properties where setting is identified as a contributing aspect of integrity, the visual effects of the undertaking on the historic property shall be assessed utilizing the processes outlined in Appendix C of the Wyoming BLM/SHPO State Protocol.

The contractor shall provide recommended treatment measures for avoiding or minimizing potential adverse effects to eligible properties that may result from implementation of the undertaking. Describe any methods of treatment which could mitigate direct and/or indirect adverse effects on NRHP eligible properties.

The contractor is required to have a current Wyoming BLM Cultural Resource Use Permit (CRUP) and shall follow all Standard Permit Conditions. The contractor is required to obtain a State of Wyoming, Office of Lands and Investments Temporary Use Permit to Conduct Archaeological Investigations on Wyoming State Trust Lands and must follow the permit stipulations outlined therein for lands administered by the State of Wyoming. The contractor shall also adhere to Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelines for Archaeology and Historic Preservation.

IV. Government Supplied Property The contractor shall provide all personnel, equipment, tools, materials, supervision, travel costs, and other items and incidental services necessary to complete the project. Map and GIS shapefiles of the area subject to inventory are supplied with this solicitation.

V. Funding/Schedule The work schedule and partial payment shall be divided into three phases:

Phase I, Background Research / Field Work = 140 days from award; 30% Partial Payment Phase II, Draft Reports Submission = 60 days from completion of Phase I; 40% Partial Payment Phase III, Final Reports Submission = 30 days after BLM’s comments on Phase II are submitted;

30% Partial Payment

VI. Deliverables The contractor shall prepare a Class III inventory report, including Wyoming Cultural Property Forms and Wyoming Isolated Resource Forms (generated through WyoTrack), following the standards set forth in the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office Format, Guidelines, and Standards for Class II and III Reports (Wyoming BLM/SHPO State Protocol, Appendix J). The contractor shall enter the project – fieldwork request, literature review, investigation, and sites/isolates – into WyoTrack. The Class III report shall include proper photographic documentation and maps produced with spatial data generated from GPS data collected in the field. All spatial data should meet the WYCRO spatial data standard (see WyoTrack Data User Manual for details).

One (1) hard-copy unbound version of the draft report and associated WYCPF and WYIRF forms shall be submitted to the BLM for initial review and comment. In addition, the report and associated forms shall be submitted to the BLM via WyoTrack. The BLM shall be allowed 20 days for review. The contractor shall make any revisions and prepare the final report in accordance with BLM comments/edits.

Upon completion of Phase III, the contractor shall submit to the BLM one (1) hard-copy unbound version of the final report and associated WYCPFs and WYIRFs with color maps and photographs. The final report, WYCPFs and WYIRFs, associated GIS information, and associated photographs and maps shall be submitted in electronic format via WyoTrack as supporting documents to the investigation. All other project documentation, including original field data files and GIS shapefiles, all photographs, field notes, and any other files, documents, or data produced as part of this project can be submitted in electronic format via WyoTrack. If files are too large to upload via WyoTrack, the contractor may submit data to BLM via thumb drive.

Wyotrack files must follow the formats outlined in the WyoTrack User Manual and the WyoTrack GIS Data User Manual available under the WyoTrack-Getting Started tab.

The contractor shall deposit all federal artifacts, processed samples and collections, as applicable, as well as all pertinent original records, data, photographs, and other documents, resulting from work conducted under this permit, with the UWAR, no later than 60 days after the date the final reports are submitted to the BLM - Worland Field Office. The permit holder must follow the procedures for curation outlined in the UWAR Guidelines and Standards 2021. Not later than 180 days after the final reports are submitted, the contractor shall provide the BLM State Office with a catalog of all materials deposited with the curatorial facility, including the facility’s accession and/or catalog numbers, the name of the item(s), the name of the project, and the applicable BLM Field Office. Failure to comply with this time frame may result in the suspension, revocation or non-renewal of this permit.

VII. Other Requirements

Notifications:

The contractor shall notify the BLM at least two weeks (14 calendar days) before commencing fieldwork by email and/or phone call to the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) and the agency POC. Additionally, at least 10 calendar days prior to beginning any fieldwork, the contractor shall use the SHPO’s automated WyoTrack web-application to submit fieldwork authorization requests to BLM - Worland Field Office. The contractor may begin fieldwork immediately upon BLM approval of the fieldwork authorization request in WyoTrack.

The contractor shall also notify BLM POC when fieldwork is completed by email and/or phone call; notification shall communicate a brief synthesis of preliminary findings. An email notification shall also be sent to the COR and POC when the final report is digitally submitted and the hard-copy report is physically mailed to the BLM.

The contractor must notify the POC, by telephone and in writing, immediately upon the discovery of human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, or objects of cultural patrimony (as defined in 43 CFR 10.2) and must immediately stop any activities connected with such discovery and make a reasonable effort to protect the discovered remains or objects.

Confidentiality: To protect site information from unauthorized disclosure, all site location and content information must be kept in strictest confidence. The contractor shall make the information available only to the COR and POC and must take whatever internal measures are necessary to ensure that confidential material is protected. All Wyoming CRUP Standard Permit Conditions and processes delineated in the Wyoming BLM/SHPO State Protocol and supporting appendices shall be followed. Failure to comply with the Wyoming BLM/SHPO State Protocol and the Wyoming CRUP Standard Permit Conditions may result in the termination of this contract and/or the revocation of the contractor’s CRUP.

VIII. Point of Contact

Krystal Hazen-McCreary, fire/fuels archaeologist, Wind River/Bighorn Basin District, 1335