A04_SOW.pdf

Yomba-Austin WUI Mowing FY24

Statement of Work

1. GENERAL INFORMATION AND REQUIREMENTS

The purpose of this Statement of Work is to secure the service of mechanical mowing of 946 acres of vegetation, including shrubs and herbaceous materials, within designated treatment unit boundaries for the purpose of hazard fuels reduction. Selected contractors will be required provide fire suppression equipment for fires ignited directly or indirectly as a result of work on the project.

A. Description of Work

The contractor is responsible for furnishing all labor, equipment, supervision, transportation, supplies and materials to manually mow 946 acres. Units will be awarded when funding becomes available. 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 Global Positioning System (GPS) unit or tracking via phone geo-tracking applications with provided georeferenced map. The contractor may flag the boundaries of the unit at their discretion however, the contractor would be responsible for the removal of all flagging.

Contractors are to submit bids for mowing treatment on a per acre basis using the attached table.

Vegetation in the area is typical of the western Great Basin and includes non-native invasive annual grasses and shrubs.

B. Period of Performance

September 15, 2024 to December 31, 2024

C. Work Layout

The Government will provide a map to the Contractor with the treatment area boundaries (outside perimeter, avoidance areas, etc.) necessary for the work executed under the Contract. The Government will provide a shapefile (for upload on GPS unit) of the project area boundary to the Contractor, if requested. 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.

D. Location and Accessibility

Work under this Contract is located in Lander County and Nye County, State of Nevada. The project area is located just west of Austin, NV and in the Upper Reese River Valley (refer to attached map). In total, approximately 50 miles of road are to be treated with 50-foot to 100-foot wide mow strips on each side of the road (100-foot to 200-foot total width), totaling 946 acres.

Access to the treatment area is north off Highway 50 and Highway 305 South near Austin, Nevada. Some roads within the area may not be in good condition and although most of the terrain is gentle, there are some areas with rolling hills and terrain with deep drainages that may need to be navigated. Four-wheel drive vehicles are recommended due to the potential for unexpected inclement weather conditions. Some mowing treatment areas may not be along an established road but will be within one mile from an existing road.

E. Environmental Considerations

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.

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 Government reserves the right to halt work during the period of performance due to excessive rutting and damage to the soil surface due to operations during winter weather conditions.

F. Progress of Work

The Contractor shall maintain progress at a rate that will assure completion within the contract time. Any conditions or situations that may lead to delays (environmental, equipment, or other) shall be immediately relayed to the Contracting Officers Representative. Extensions will only be granted for historically abnormal environmental conditions that prevent access to the work site such as extreme fire danger, red flag warnings, mud, etc. It is the responsibility of the contractor to monitor the weather conditions and shut down operations for extreme fire danger or red flag warnings as appropriate.

2. PROJECT MEETINGS

A. Pre-Work Conference

A pre-work conference will be held prior to the start of work, and within seven days of Contract award. The Contractor will be notified in advance of the meeting date and time, which will be held virtually via conference call. 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. Final Inspection

Final inspection of the work will occur at the project site prior to final acceptance of work completion. 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.

3. Government Furnished and contractor furnished Property

A. Furnished by the Government

The Government will provide a map with the project area boundaries, and a shape file of the project area boundaries (for GPS upload).

B. Furnished by the Contractor

The contractor shall be responsible for providing all labor, equipment, supervision, transportation, supplies, and materials to complete the work described for the duration of the project.

The contractor will at a minimum provide one functioning GPS unit or handheld device with georeferencing application capable of downloading shapefiles or 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 GPS unit or handheld device to follow and/or mark project area boundaries will be able to operate this device.

Mower shall:

1. Be of durable design and construction to withstand the stresses of natural obstructions within sagebrush steppe/pinyon-juniper woodlands such as rocks, stumps, roots, slash, dust, and the general unevenness of the land.

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

3. Be rubber tired (No metal tracked vehicles will be allowed to be used for this contract).

4. Be equipped with a mower capable of performing the work described in the contract.

5. Be free or seed or other vegetative material prior to engaging in work activities in order to prevent the spread of noxious and invasive species.

The Contractor shall furnish and have available for emergency use a minimum of one independent, mobile piece of fire suppression equipment during mowing operations. The fire suppression equipment shall remain available adjacent to the mowing operations to extinguish fires on or in the vicinity of the project which are caused directly or indirectly by the Contractor or his/her employees. If multiple mowers are to be utilized and will work more than one mile apart, a staffed piece of suppression equipment will be required for each separate work party.

Fire suppression equipment shall:

1. Be staffed at all times with a minimum of two people, one of which may be the mower operator.

2. Be four-wheel drive.

3. Have a pump capable of delivering a minimum of 25 gallons per minute at 50 psi.

4. Contain a minimum of 50 gallons of water.

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

6. Be free or seed or other vegetative material prior to engaging in work activities in order to prevent the spread of noxious and invasive species.

All tools and equipment above shall be in good workable condition, all motorized equipment shall have spark arrestors in serviceable condition. Any fire started by a faulty spark arrestor will be considered a trespass fire, and subject to the penalties associated with such a fire.

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.

4. Measurement and Payment

A. Measurement of Payment

Work will be measured and paid for by the number of acres within each treatment unit as that unit is completed.

Once a treatment unit is complete the acreage completed may be billed for. Area measurements required under this Contract will be measured on a horizontal plane.

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:

Pay Item Pay Unit

Mowing Acre

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.

The contractor will receive full payment for each acre completed to specifications. The government reserves the right to remove up to 20% of the total project acres to protect features that may be significant for cultural, wildlife, infrastructure, or other unforeseen reason that would preclude the area from receiving treatments.

5. Specifications

A. Treatment Acreage and Areas

Shrubs and grasses will be cut less than 6 inches off the ground in strips on both sides of identified roads in accordance with Table 1 below. If obstacles are encountered, such as rocks or drainages, the Contractor may raise the mower height to clear the obstacle. Furthermore, the operator will not be required to operate equipment on slopes greater than 50%. Mowing should occur as close to the roadway as possible, but operators may move lines up to 50 feet to accommodate any natural or man-made features that may damage or obstruct equipment, or to access better terrain.

Private lands or lands not managed by the Bureau of Land Management are not to be included in the treatment, unless specifically authorized by the Contracting Officer. It will be the responsibility of the contractor to ensure that no treatment occurs on any private lands.

Table 1: Treatment Unit Buffers and Acreage

Treatment Unit Mowing Buffer (Total Width) Total Acres

Austin WUI North 100 feet 61

Austin WUI South 100 feet 43

Austin WUI South Main 200 feet 51

Yomba WUI North 200 feet 503

Yomba WUI South 200 feet 288

B. Work Camp

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

C. Exclusion Areas

Exclusion areas will be identified at a pre-work conference along with any specific markings to identify those exclusion areas.

D. Fire Suppression

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.

The Contractor shall report all fires on or in the vicinity of the project to the Central Nevada Interagency Dispatch Center, (775) 623-1557 Battle Mountain Line; (775) 623-3444 After Hours Line. When reporting a fire, provide the following information: name, call back telephone number, general location such as mile marker or Latitude/Longitude, and fire description.

E. Loading, Unloading and Transporting Property

Loading and unloading of equipment would occur on established roads or within the treatment units.

F. 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.

G. Salvageable Items

Unsalvageable materials shall be removed from the work site by the Contractor.