A04_-_SOW.pdf

STATEMENT OF WORK

Supply of Custom Native Seed Mixes for North Springs Fire Rehab

Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge

1. General:

1.1. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Sheldon-Hart Mountain National Wildlife Refuge Complex (PO Box 111, Lakeview, OR 97630; hereafter Complex) has a requirement for supply of two (2) customized native seed mixes for integrated rehabilitation treatments in the North Springs Fire Burned Area Rehabilitation project area on Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge, in western Humboldt County, Nevada.

1.2. The native seed mixes (paragraphs 2.1 and 2.2) will be used in an area burned in a wildfire in 2022 (North Springs Fire), to reestablish native components in areas damaged during the fire response and to restore and bolster native plant species competition against invasive annual grasses in areas of moderate to severe fire impacts. One mix will be aerially broadcast applied and the other will be applied through ground broadcast using ORUV-mounted and/or ORUV-drawn equipment.

2. Scope:

2.1. The contractor shall supply a sufficient quantity of the following custom native seed mixture to apply at 15 lbs.

Pure Live Seed (#PLS) per acre to 222 acres:

NSF Aerial Broadcast Mix:

Species #PLS/acre Bottlebrush squirreltail (Elymus elymoides) 3 Idaho fescue (Festuca idahoensis) 1.5 Needle and thread (Hesperostipa comata) 1 Prairie junegrass (Koeleria macrantha) 1 Muttongrass (Poa fendleriana) 2 Sandberg’s bluegrass (Poa secunda) 4 Bluebunch wheatgrass (Pseudoroegneria spicata) 2 Common yarrow (Achillea millefolium) 0.25 Blue flax (Linum lewisii) 0.25

Mix Total: 15 #PLS/acre (222 acres)

2.1.1. This mix shall be referred to as the “NSF Aerial Broadcast” mix, such as in labeling.

2.1.2. The “NSF Aerial Broadcast” mix is intended to be aerially broadcast applied to moderately to severely damaged later-seral low sagebrush and big sagebrush communities, habitats that had been greater sage-grouse nesting, brood-rearing, and over-wintering areas prior to the fire. Invasive annual grasses were present prior to the fire with generally low to very low frequency, though were present at greater frequency in neighboring areas. The mix is intended to provide competition against invasive annual grasses.

2.1.2.1. The targeted project areas are highly varied in aspect, slope, and associated vegetative cover types, though all are broadly sagebrush-steppe habitats. The most common vegetative communities are big sagebrush, mountain shrub, and low sagebrush-dominated types, with many ridge areas dominated by islands of mountain mahogany (except where destroyed in the North Springs Fire).

2.1.3. The intended target areas for this mix lie between 6,380 – 6,820 feet ASL elevation. The project areas have generally eastward aspects (varying from SSE to NNE); have rocky/basaltic and variably silt loam/fine sandy loam/clayey loam soils, ranging from extremely shallow on ridges and rock outcroppings to moderately deep in drainages and leeward (depositional) areas; and receives 10-14+ inches of precipitation per year on average.

2.2. The contractor shall supply a sufficient quantity of the following custom native seed mixture to apply at 35 lbs.

Pure Live Seed (#PLS) per acre to 8 acres:

NSF Suppression Rehab Mix:

Species #PLS/acre Indian ricegrass (Achnatherum hymenoides) 2 California brome (Bromus carinatus) 2 Bottlebrush squirreltail (Elymus elymoides) 4 Thickspike wheatgrass (Elymus lanceolatus ssp. lanceolatus) 3 Slender wheatgrass (Elymus trachycaulus) 1 Idaho fescue (Festuca idahoensis) 2 Needle and thread (Hesperostipa comata) 2 Prairie junegrass (Koeleria macrantha) 1 Basin wildrye (Leymus cinereus) 2 Western wheatgrass (Pascopyrum smithii) 3 Muttongrass (Poa fendleriana) 2 Sandberg’s bluegrass (Poa secunda) 4 Bluebunch wheatgrass (Pseudoroegneria spicata) 4 Sand dropseed (Sporobolus cryptandrus) 2 Common yarrow (Achillea millefolium) 0.5 Blue flax (Linum lewisii) 0.5

Mix Total: 35 #PLS/acre (8 acres)

2.2.1. This mix shall be referred to as the “NSF Suppression Rehab” mix, such as in labeling.

2.2.2. The “NSF Suppression Rehab” mix is intended to be applied using ORUV-mounted and/or ORUV-drawn broadcast seeders to areas used by fire response vehicles during suppression activities. The mix is intended to provide competition against invasive annual grasses in damaged and denuded linear areas in otherwise relatively intact landscapes.

2.2.2.1. The targeted project areas are highly varied in aspect, slope, and associated vegetative cover types, though all are broadly sagebrush-steppe habitats. The most common vegetative communities are big sagebrush, mountain shrub, and low sagebrush-dominated types, with many ridge areas dominated by islands of mountain mahogany (except where destroyed in the North Springs Fire).

2.2.3. The intended target areas for this mix lie between 6,250 – 6,740 feet ASL elevation. The project areas have generally eastward aspects (varying from SSE to NNE); have rocky/basaltic and variably sandy loam/silt loam/fine sandy loam/clayey loam soils, ranging from extremely shallow on ridges and rock outcroppings to fairly deep in drainage and leeward (depositional) areas; and receives 8-14+ inches of precipitation per year on average.

2.3. The “NSF Aerial Broadcast” seed mix shall be supplied in individually labeled 1,000 lb. capacity-sized bulk totes (or similar), for bulk loading of aircraft hopper(s).

2.4. The “NSF Suppression Rehab” seed mix shall be supplied in individually labeled 50-pound sacks (standard poly, cotton, or similar), for material handling/storage by Refuge personnel, and eventual field transport of seed and hand-loading of chest-mounted spreader hoppers and similar.

2.5. Seed material shall meet the following requirements:

2.5.1. Native seed will be required to be “source identified.” The source for native plant material should be as close to Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge as possible, to include (but not necessarily limit to) geographic location, elevation, and climactic conditions. Seeds must have their origin in this area, unless otherwise cleared through the Technical Coordinator(s). Per US Fish & Wildlife Service policy (601 FW 3), unless sufficient justification can be provided to counter the policy at the Service’s discretion, all plant materials must be adapted to the conditions of the site and it is necessary to acquire seed that has the best chance of germinating to achieve rehabilitation goals.

2.5.2. Seed shall be certified “weed free”, indicating there are no noxious weeds in the seed.

2.5.3. Seed supply should be based on pure live seed (PLS) per pound, based upon purity and germination testing.

2.5.4. All species provided through this contract will be from the harvest year of 2024. All seed will be required to have been tested within 120 days of sale for purity, germination, and noxious weed content.

Seed certification tag without testing documentation will not be accepted. Inert matter will not exceed 10%.

3. Deliverables:

3.1. Prior to mixing for delivery, contractor shall provide to the Technical POC electronic copies of the results of purity, viability (germination and/or TZ test(s)), weed test (including all-states noxious weed analysis), and crop and weed test(s). Information is required for all seed lots. Allow up to 3 days for Technical POC review and approval.

4. Delivery:

4.1. Seed is to be delivered to Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge (Maintenance Yard), 44290 Virgin Valley Rd., Denio, NV 89404. Map coordinates are approx. 41.8679345° N x 119.0149992° W (WGS84).

4.2. The Sheldon Refuge maintenance yard is in a gated area. The gate is open from ~8:00 AM to ~4:00 PM.

4.3. Loading docks are not available. Seed shall be loaded to account for this unfortunate fact. This will also likely slow offloading, so the contractor and/or their delivery agent will need to accommodate within their schedule(s) the extra time needed to safely offload.

4.4. Seed delivery is anticipated to be on or about October 28, 2024, but no later than November 30, 2024. Actual delivery date(s) for seed will be dependent upon local weather conditions and availability of Refuge personnel;

contractor shall coordinate actual delivery dates with the Technical POC.

4.5. Seed shall be delivered between Monday thru Friday from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM (PST), except Federal Holidays.

4.6. Contractor shall contact the Technical POC at least 72 hours prior to delivery to ensure Government staff and equipment will be available to receive and inspect delivery.

5. Evaluation and Acceptance:

5.1. Seed will be inspected and inventoried upon delivery by the Technical POC or their designee. Government acceptance is contingent upon the following:

5.1.1. Results of purity, viability (germination and/or TZ test(s)), weed test (including all-states noxious weed analysis), and crop and weed test(s);

5.1.2. All delivered bags being individually labeled with the contained mix (see paragraphs 2.1.1, 2.2.1, 2.3, 2.4, and 2.5.1 of Statement of Work);

5.1.3. Condition of delivered seed; and

5.1.4. Completeness of order.

6. Technical Point of Contact (POC):

Kevin Goldie Wildlife (Habitat) Biologist USFWS, Sheldon-Hart Mountain NWR Complex Mobile: 541-407-0706 Email: kevin_goldie@fws.gov

STATEMENT OF WORK