A04_Statement_of_Work.docx

STATEMENT OF WORK

Fuels Reduction Project Cultural Resource Inventory

Bureau of Land Management Class III Cultural Resource Inventory of BLM Land Parcels Planned for Fuels Reduction Treatment in the Black Hills BLM Exemption Area, Lawrence County, South Dakota

I. Specific Background.

A. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), South Dakota Field Office, proposes to conduct a Class III (Level III) cultural resource inventory of selected BLM land parcels in Lawrence County, South Dakota. The target area is located in the Black Hills BLM Exemption Area (Exemption Area) surrounding Lead/Deadwood in South Dakota. The total acreage of the target area is 3,789 acres. The total acreage of the inventory area is 3,184 acres. The legal locations are described in the Appendix (p. 7). Maps are included in Attachment 2.

The goal of the inventory is to identify all cultural resources located inside the selected BLM-administered land parcels as well as complete updated survey of areas previously surveyed.

B. The survey area consists of select areas within the Exemption Area that have a high potential for historical mining cultural sites on BLM land parcels. The ground cover is typically short mixed grasses and pine duff with a conifer overstory. The project area is grazed by cattle in accordance with current BLM permits.

i. Areas identified in the Appendix and Attachment 2 will require intensive Class III pedestrian cultural resource inventory. The target area has a total acreage of 3,789 acres.

ii. Based on safety concerns regarding historical mining and numerous steep hills with slopes exceeding 50 percent, portions of the project area in the Strawberry Hill vicinity do not require cultural resource field survey. These areas, cumulatively encompassing 605 acres, are considered survey exclusion areas and are delineated on Map 3 of Attachment 2.

iii. This contract requires inventory of 3,184 acres, which is the remaining acreage after the waived areas are subtracted from the total acreage of the target area.

C. All encountered cultural resources over 50 years old must be formally recorded. All previously recorded cultural resource sites on BLM-administered land must be revisited in the field. The Contractor shall complete South Dakota archaeological site forms for all encountered cultural resource sites. The Contractor shall complete updated site forms for all previously recorded cultural resource sites if changes to the sites are observed. Drafts of all site forms shall be submitted to the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) with the draft inventory report. The COR will review all draft site forms, offer corrections and provide recommendations as applicable, and accept revised language prior to assignment of Smithsonian site numbers. The Contractor is responsible for submitting all Historic Period site and structure forms as well as prehistoric site forms to the South Dakota Archaeological Research Center and South Dakota Historic Preservation Office for site numbers. These site numbers shall be referenced in the final report.

D. Diagnostic and/or unique cultural material may be collected at the discretion of the Contractor. Any collected materials shall be processed according to the requirements of the Billings Curation Center.

E. The Contractor must have a valid BLM permit to conduct cultural resource inventory on BLM lands or be able to obtain a permit prior to commencement of fieldwork.

II. Statement of Work.

A. The Contractor shall contact the COR and Contracting Officer (CO) to coordinate a pre-work conference.

B. The Contractor shall conduct a site file and literature search (Class I/Level I) at the South Dakota State Archaeological Research Center in Rapid City, South Dakota. BLM General Land Office (GLO) and Mineral patent maps and notes shall be researched for areas containing large amounts of mining activity. All records reviews must be completed prior to requesting fieldwork authorization.

C. Fieldwork shall not commence without fieldwork authorization. The Contractor must contact the COR to obtain fieldwork authorization. Fieldwork authorization shall be requested at least two (2) weeks prior to anticipated beginning date of fieldwork. The Contractor shall notify the COR upon commencing with fieldwork. Fieldwork shall not be completed if there is snow on the ground in the project area.

D. The Contractor shall conduct a Class III pedestrian survey with transect intervals spaced at 30 meters or less that includes an on-the-ground search for all cultural resources located in the BLM land parcels. Hillslopes that exceed 50 percent are not included in the field survey in the Strawberry Hill vicinity. Pedestrian field survey is not expected on hillslopes that exceed 50 percent slope anywhere in the survey areas. Any areas excluded from survey must have a written justification in the report, include photographs showing the concern that prevented survey, be indicated on all project maps, and be packaged in a separate shapefile than areas that were surveyed. All new cultural resource sites must be recorded to current standards. Any previously documented cultural resources must be revisited in the field and recorded to current standards.

E. Upon completion of fieldwork, the Contractor shall prepare a professional quality report according to state and BLM guidelines that includes National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) eligibility recommendations for each documented cultural resource site. All cultural material – to include historic, prehistoric and paleontological – shall be recorded to current South Dakota BLM and State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) standards.

F. Cultural Site Evaluations.

i. The Contractor shall make recommendations regarding the eligibility of each cultural property for listing in the NRHP. The Contractor shall use an appropriate context within which to evaluate cultural properties and shall employ the National Register Criteria in those evaluations. GLO and Mineral patent maps and notes shall be researched for areas containing large amounts of mining activity. The Contractor shall provide a detailed justification of the rationale by which sites are recommended eligible, undetermined, and not eligible. The Contractor shall recommend treatment needed to determine eligibility on undetermined sites.

III. Deliverables.

A. Upon fieldwork completion, the Contractor shall prepare a letter summary of inventory results and submit it to the COR. The letter shall contain a brief summary of the results of the inventory, including final survey acreage, number and types of isolates encountered, and brief descriptions of all archaeological and historical sites and/or districts encountered. The letter may be mailed or emailed to the COR.

COR Contact Information:

Courtney Carlson Miles City Field Office Archaeologist Bureau of Land Management Miles City, MT 59301 406-233-2847 ckcarlson@blm.gov

B. One (1) hard copy and one (1) digital copy of the draft cultural resource inventory report and all draft site forms shall be submitted to the COR. Digital copies may be submitted via email(s), mail, or in-person delivery. The BLM does not allow use of File Transfer Protocols (FTPs).

C. One unbound original hard copy of the signed final Class III cultural resource inventory report as well as three (3) bound hard copies of the signed final Class III cultural resource inventory report shall be submitted to the COR. Four (4) hard copies of the final site forms shall be submitted to the COR.

i. The final report must include an abstract, literature search, environmental and cultural context, methodology, survey conditions, Class III survey results, site overview photographs as applicable, and photographs of features and diagnostic artifacts as applicable. Hard copy and digital maps at a scale of 1:24,000 are required for all survey areas as well as all recorded GPS data, including site and artifact locations. All 1:24,000 maps must be consistent with the 1:24,000 land sectioning tool.

ii. The report must be acceptable to the South Dakota SHPO. Specific requirements for the state can be found online at:

https://history.sd.gov/preservation/docs/SDGuidelinesSec10611.1.pdf

Additional information on state plans, contexts, and other information can be found at:

https://history.sd.gov/preservation/SHPOdocs.aspx

D. One electronic copy of the signed final Class III cultural resource inventory report as well as all final site forms shall be submitted as PDFs to the COR on a compact disc (CD). Please do not lock the document with a password.

E. Photographs are required of the inventory areas and cultural resources encountered. Photographs must include an overview of each located cultural resource site as well as scaled photographs of artifacts described in the report. Electronic copies of photographs shall be submitted in the JPG/JPEG format. Copies of the photographic record must be included with the photographs.

F. Final Geographic Information System (GIS) data. GIS data must include polygon shapefiles of surveyed area as well as all identified cultural deposits, features, and sites. Shapefiles must be submitted on a compact disc (CD). Shapefiles must include metadata that meets FGDC standards and must be compatible with ESRI ArcMap 10.7. Areas excluded from inventory due to steep terrain must be shown in a separate feature class than areas that were surveyed.

G. Copies of all field notes.

H. If cultural materials were collected, the Contractor shall use BLM catalog cards to label and catalog all collections as well as ensure all collections are processed in accordance with the Billings Curation Center packaging standards. The BLM will provide forms and packaging requirements upon request. All collections belong to the United States Government and shall be delivered to the Billings Curation Center by the Contractor as part of submission of the final deliverables.

IV. Period of Performance.

A. The Contractor shall contact the COR and CO within 30 calendar days of contract award to coordinate a pre-work conference.

B. The Contractor shall contact the COR to request fieldwork authorization at least 14 calendar days prior to anticipated beginning date of fieldwork.

C. Within ten (10) calendar days of completing fieldwork, the Contractor shall prepare a letter summary of inventory results and submit it to the COR.

D. The draft inventory report and site forms shall be submitted to the COR no later than 90 calendar days after completion of fieldwork.

E. The COR will review all draft deliverables and comment on their adequacy within 30 calendar days of submission. The Contractor will then have 30 calendar days to submit the final report after receipt of comments from the COR. All deliverables are due at this time.

F. Contractor Invoicing and Payment Schedule:

SPECIAL CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS

Key Personnel.

Key personnel must have direct experience with archaeological site identification and recordation in the Great Plains Region. The Contractor must have a current BLM Cultural Resource Permit to conduct archaeological survey or be able to obtain a BLM Cultural Resource Permit prior to start of fieldwork. Please contact the CO or COR if questions regarding BLM permitting requirements.

Confidentiality of Information.

The nature and location of any cultural material identified during performance of this contract shall not be released by the Contractor to anyone except the BLM, unless the BLM has provided written consent.

Copyright.

The Contractor agrees to indemnify the government against any claim of copyright infringement which may result by reason or publication by the government of material in any report pertaining to the contract work submitted by the Contractor. The Contractor agrees that no copyright by statute shall be established by the Contractor in any materials produced in this contract, and that all materials and deliverables become government property.

Fire Danger Season.

If the COR allows the Contractor to continue work during periods of declared fire danger or season, the Contractor shall comply with all applicable state laws relating to fire prevention and with all special conditions of work as directed by the COR.

Appendix: legal land description of inventory parcels

Map 1: BLM Exemption Area, Class III/Level III Survey Parcels.

Township 5 North, Range 3 East Sections 19, 20, 21, 22, 27, 30, 31, and 34

Township 5 North, Range 2 East Section 36

Township 4 North, Range 3 East Sections 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9

Township 4 North, Range 2 East Section 1

Map 2: BLM Exemption Area, Class III/Level III Survey Parcels.

Township 5 North, Range 2 East Section 36

Township 5 North, Range 3 East Sections 30 and 31

Township 4 North, Range 2 East Section 1

Township 4 North, Range 3 East Sections 5, 6, 7, and 8

Map 3: BLM Exemption Area, Class III/Level III Survey Parcels and Excluded Steep Slopes.

Township 5 North, Range 3 East Sections 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 34 and 35

Township 4 North, Range 3 East Section 2

Map 4: BLM Exemption Area, Class III/Level III Survey Parcels.

Township 4 North, Range 2 East Section 13