A04_Wolfhole_Lake_LRP-Oak_Spring_Mast_SOW.doc

ARIZONA STRIP DISTRICT BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT

STATEMENT OF WORK

Wolfhole Lake Landscape Restoration Project - Oak Spring Unit Hazardous Fuels Reduction Mastication (2023)

Introduction: The Arizona Strip District Office, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is acquiring fuels management services to treat vegetation to reduce the risk of wildland fires, enhance big game habitat, while improving forest and rangeland health.

Background: The Project area consists of stands of pinyon juniper woodlands, and sagebrush steppe. Fuel loadings range from less than ½ ton per acre to as high as 100 tons or more per acre. The main goals of the Wolfhole Lake Landscape Restoration Project – Oak Spring Unit (WLLRP-OSU) treatments are to reduce the risk of a large and/or severe wildland fire, improve mountain shrub habitat, which will enhance mule deer habitat and improve rangeland health. The method that will be used for this contract is mechanical treatments.

Purpose: The purpose of the WLLRP-OSU treatment is to reduce volatile fuel loadings and extreme fire danger and improve rangeland health and wildlife habitat. The Contractor will furnish all tools, labor, supervision, equipment, materials, supplies, transportation, training and incidentals necessary to accomplish the removal of trees and treatment of slash in accordance with the specifications provided. This contract is for the purposes of improving forest and rangeland health for the BLM.

CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS

1. Location of Project Area: The WLLRP-OSU area is located approximately 25 air miles south of St. George, Utah, in Mohave County, Arizona. This area is remote and there are no services outside of the neighboring town of St. George, Utah. Cell phone coverage is intermittent to non-existent. Satelite communication device is recommended for emergency contact in these areas. Roads to the site are dirt and not improved. 4-wheel drive, high clearence vehicles are required to access the project area. Roads do not exist in all parts of the project area and overland travel within the treatment polygons by the mastication machinery is expected. It will be the contractor’s responsibility to get the equipment to the work site. All work will be performed on land administered by the Bureau of Land Management. General-purpose maps will be included with each Task Order to give the minimum needs, for a contractor’s project bid. Once the project is accepted by the contractor, maps will be provided by and agreed upon by BLM and the contractor. See attached maps for any further information (Avenza ready pdf maps available on request).

2. Project Boundary Marking: The location and access to the areas are shown on the work location and project location maps. Most boundaries are adjacent to recent harvest units, or other natural or manmade features that clearly define the boundary as noted on the project area maps. Treatment units, as well as the two treatment categories are designated on Avenza ready maps (or similar). It is critical to implementation of this contract that smart phone, tablet, or similar device with software capable of viewing these digital maps are present on all machinery conducting this work.

Pre-work Conference:

A pre-work meeting will be held at the project area with the Contracting Officer Representative (COR) and/or Project Inspector (PI). The intent is to ensure the contractor understands markings, unit locations, digital map viewing requirements, and specifications of the contract, and review the contractor’s plan of operations. It is encouraged that all potential contractors complete a thorough site visit before bidding on the contract.

a) Location: Meetings shall be held at the project site, or as determined by the Project Manager.

b) Notification: 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, project drawings and specifications, construction schedules, payroll and payments, and administrative provisions of the contract.

c) Attendance: The Contractor, subcontractors, and the persons responsible for coordination of the work will be present at the meeting.

d) Presentation: The Contractor shall be prepared to summarize and explain procedures planned for each project and present the work schedule requested in the specifications.

Progress Meetings:

a) Location: Meetings shall be held at the project site, or as determined by the Project Manager.

b) Notification: Meetings may be called by either the Project Manager or the Contractor. Request shall state who should attend.

3. Access: Legal public access to the project area will be identified on a map prior to the contractor starting the implementation phase. Seasonal road closers may exist (contractor will be notified of closers upon award). Contractor will assume responsibility for any additional access if desired. If roads or any type of access become subject to damage, because of adverse weather conditions or other natural and or political reasons, the COR will relay information to the contractor, and a Stop Work Order may be implemented by the CO until other access can be decided.

4. Scope of Work: The WLLRP-OSU mastication project is 472 acres. The BLM requests initial bid of 472 acres for the Oak Spring unit. Vicinity maps and ortho maps for this unit is available in Attachment 1.

5. Treatment Specifications:

This contract consists of mulching pinyon pine and juniper stands, as well as some stands of sagebrush. Only areas shown on the project map will be treated. The project areas will not be flagged so contractor will need to utilize either GPS units or smartphone applications capable of utilizing pdfs to identify the work areas. A shapefile for GPS and a PDF map of the project area will be provided prior to work beginning. It will be the contractor’s responsibility to furnish either a GPS unit(s) or smartphone(s)/tablet(s) with PDF map application to be utilized in identifying project boundaries. There are two treatment categories, Early Seral category and Mid-Seral category. The pdf maps provided addresses both trees/acre remaining and the criteria for leave trees for each unit.

Oak Spring Unit total 472 acres:

· Early Seral category is approximately 178 acres of the project area. This category is defined as leaving 0 trees/acre and mowing or crushing 50% of the existing sagebrush.

· Mid-Seral category is approximately 294 acres of the project area. This category is defined as leaving approximately 4 trees per acre (TPA) and mowing or crushing 50% of the existing sagebrush. The leave trees may be clustered or clumpep together to benefit wildlife i.e. leaving 20 tpa would account for approximately 5 acres equivalent of leave trees. The trees remaining will favor the following criteria:

· Largest junipers and pinyons within that acre i.e. junipers greater than 20 inch DRC (Diameter Root Crown), and pinyon pine greater than 10 inches DBH (Diameter Breast Height). Trees that are masticated shall be completely severed with the stump height not to exceed 6 inches. No live limbs shall be left on the stumps of cut trees. Retention of 1 – 2 large snags/acre if present. Snags are defined as large, dead, standing, and sound junipers or pinyons.

Applicable to all units:

Treat all existing dead and down concentrations of limbs and tops that range from one inch to seven inches in diameter. Remove limbs greater than one foot in length from existing downed trees and reduce to the size of the woody debris specifications listed below.

Size of woody debris or “chips” upon completion of the project shall not exceed three inches in diameter and three feet in length. Average depth of the debris across the project area shall not exceed three inches with a maximum depth of six inches in isolated locations where dense vegetation exist.

Timing Constraints and Design Features:

The following Design Features are primarily the BLMs responsibility to implement and manage, but may explain necessary timing constraints for the different LRP units. BLM has managed these Design Features and timing constraints through incorporation in to the Contract Requirements through the above Treatment Specifications and the dates of Performance Period. If Performance Period extension is needed, the following considerations will be observed:

WLLRP-OSU Design Features:

• Existing snags, up to two per acre, would be retained within the project area. Criteria for retention should be the larger juniper or pinyon snags, particularly any with cavities suitable for nesting (NRCS 2013).

• Surveys for nesting migratory birds would be conducted prior to treatment and identified nest sites would be protected during nesting season (April 15-July 31). Identified nest sites would be protected during treatment by a no-treatment buffer of 200 meters (650 feet)(Reynolds 1992).

• If treatments are proposed between February 1 and April 14, surveys for nesting raptors would be conducted prior to implementation and identified nest sites would be protected until nestlings have fledged (USFWS 2015).

• To avoid adverse impacts to nesting pinyon jays, the proposed treatment areas would be surveyed prior to implementation and any identified nest colonies would be delineated and protected from tree removal (Latta et al. 1999).

CONTRACTOR FURNISHED EQUIPMENT:

1. Equipment Specifications: All equipment shall be in good mechanical condition and operated in a safe and proper manner. Both operator and equipment shall meet Occupational Safety & Health Administrations (OSHA) safety regulations and labor industry requirements for operating equipment in a forested environment.

The desired equipment for use on this contract is an excavator with specifications and capabilities similar to a Caterpillar 315, with a mulching attachment that performs closely to a Fecon or Denis Cimaf horizontal drum design, a vertical shaft rotary masticator head such as an AFE, or similar. However, all equipment meeting the following requirements will be considered:

a) Maximum operating weight without attachments of 57,200 pounds.

b) Minimum of 65 net horse power.

c) Tail swing not to exceed 10 feet, measured from center between tracks to tail when cab is turned perpendicular to the tracks.

d) Machinery capable of mulching/shredding live shrubs and trees of any size class typically found in a cliffrose site or pinyon and juniper woodland. Redcuing these to “chip” size not exceeding three inches in diameter by three feet in length.

e) Ability to achieve the desired stand condition without damaging leave trees.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

1. Notification of Cessation or Restart of work: The Contractor will notify the Contracting Officer and the Contracting Officer Representative prior to ceasing operations for three or more days, and before re-starting operations after a shutdown of three or more days. This can be done by phone, E-mail, or in person. Depending on time of year the work is taking place, there may be fire restrictions in place as well as potentials for work stoppage due to extreme weather conditions including rainfall which causes unnecessary rutting to red flag warnings with extreme fire potential. Coordination between the CO and the contractor will determine if these conditions are at a level requiring work stoppage.

2. Protection of Roads, Utilities and Improvements: Existing telephone, and transmission lines, fences, ditches roads, trails, and other improvements shall be protected as far as practicable at all times during the contract. All roads and ditches shall be kept free of slash and other debris resulting from the mastication operations. Damage to roads, utilities and improvements shall be promptly paid for or repaired to a condition which, in the opinion of the Authorized Officer, is at least as good as the condition just prior to damage.

3. Environmental Considerations:

a) Project sites will be cleaned up, and all refuse removed by the Contractor. The Contractor will be responsible for disposal of materials in a manner consistent with State, Federal and local laws and for all expenses incurred with disposal. Public or private access roads damaged by the Contractor will be restored at the Contractors expense to the same condition they were in at the commencement of work.

b) Use of 2-wheel and 4-wheel vehicles is permitted to access unit(s) via existing roads and trails only.

c) Travel within unit(s) and along existing roads and trails is prohibited if soils are wet to the point that rutting will occur.

d) Off-road travel will take place only within designated mastication unit(s) and only by designated equipment designed to be used for the project. Travel from unit to unit may only be done on roads and/or trails.

e) Contractor shall undertake every reasonable measure to minimize erosion and soil damage in connection with any operations under this contract. Contractor shall immediately discontinue any operations under this contract that due to weather or soil moisture conditions, such operations will cause excessive damage to the soil as determined by the Authorized Officer.

f) To reduce the potential for introduction of noxious weeds to the contract area, the Purchaser shall, prior to moving in motorized equipment to be used for mastication, clean all such equipment to remove all dirt, plant parts and materials that may carry noxious weed seeds. All equipment shall be inspected by the Authorized Officer prior to moving said equipment to the contract area.

g) Hazardous Materials:

a) Use of Hazardous Materials and/or petroleum products requires that all appropriate State and Federal Regulations be complied with including, but not limited to, Materials Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) on hand and use of necessary Personal Protective Clothing (PPE).

b) On-site disposal of Hazardous Materials or Waste including hydrocarbons is not authorized. On-site disposal will subject the contractor to at least the cost of reclamation and the appropriate disposal of contaminated soil.

c) Incidental (de minimus) leaks from fittings, gaskets or ruptured hoses will not subject the contractor to remedial requirements. These are considered to be normal and unavoidable losses. Continual leaks will be noted on inspection reports and correction through maintenance required.

d) Maintenance and repair operations that require the draining of engines or hydraulic systems may be conducted on site only if the fluids are captured, containerized, and removed from public lands for proper disposal.

e) Refuse Control and Disposal of Waste Materials: Contractor shall remove or otherwise dispose of all garbage, trash, litter, discarded equipment or parts, waste materials or other refuse resulting from Contractor’s operations. Waste materials, such as garbage, trash, oil, grease, chemicals and similar substances shall be disposed of in a manner that will prevent their entry into any water source in or near Contractor’s operations.

Preservation of Historical and Archological Data:

1. The Contractor agrees that should he or any of his employees in the performance of this contract discover evidence of possible scientific, pre-historical, historical, or archeological data he will notify the Project Manager immediately giving the location and nature of the findings.

2. Where appropriate by reason of discovery, the Project Manager may order delays in the time of performance and/or changes in the work. If such delays and/or changes are ordered, the time of performance and contract price shall be adjusted.

3. The Contractor agrees to insert this paragraph in all subcontracts, which involve the performance of work on the terrain of the site.

Protection of Cultural Resources:

Location of known historic or prehistoric sites, buildings, objects, and properties related to American history, architecture, archaeology and culture, such as settler or Indian artifacts, protected by American Antiquities Act of 1906 (16 U.S.C. 431-433), National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 470) and the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 (16 U.S.C. 470aa-ll) (36 CFR 296.4 and 36 CFR 261.9(g)), shall be identified on the ground by the Government. The Government may unilaterally modify or cancel this contract to protect an area, object of antiquity, artifact, or similar object which is or may be entitled to protection under these Acts regardless of when the area, object or artifact is discovered or identified. Discovery of such areas by either party shall be promptly reported to the other party and operations will be suspended at that location until the significance or potential significance of the site is determined.

Contractor shall protect all known and identified historic or prehistoric sites, buildings, objects, and properties related to American history, architecture, archaeology and culture against destruction, obliteration, removal or damage during Contractor's operations. Contractor shall immediately notify the Government if disturbance occurs to any known site and shall immediately halt operations in the vicinity of the site until the Government authorizes the Contractor to proceed. Contractor shall bear costs of evaluation and restoration in accordance with 36 CFR 296.14(c), provided that such payment shall not relieve Contractor from civil or criminal remedies otherwise provided by law.

If, in connection with operations, and human remains, funerary objects, and/or objects of cultural patrimony, as defined in the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (25 USC 3001 et seq., 43 CFR 10), are discovered, the contractor shall stop operations in the immediate area of discovery, protect the remains and/or objects, and immediately notify the Project Manager. The contractor shall continue to protect the immediate area of the discovery until notified by the BLM that operations may resume. Collection and/or additional disturbance of any human remains and/or objects as stated above is strictly forbidden. The locational information (i.e., GIS data, location drawn on a map) will be provided solely to the BLM. This information is confidential and protected under the Archaeological Resources Protection Act.

Public Access:

Access into and through the project site shall always remain open to the public. The Contractor will maintain roadways free of vehicles, tools, and debris.

Security of Equipment and Property:

The Contractor may leave equipment at the work site; however, the Contractor will be solely responsible for protection of equipment and is solely responsible if the equipment is lost, stolen or damaged.

Crew Supervision:

a) Contractor will designate one English literate supervisor who will be on-site during operation hours. Supervisors will be identified during the pre-work conference. Any changes in supervisory designations must be submitted in writing to the Project manager at least 24 hours prior to the change taking effect.

b) Person designated by the Contractor, as supervisor must remain with and effectively directs the crew by (1) making periodic inspections of the crew’s work, (2) advising them as to improper work methods, (3) providing instructions for correcting any improper work methods encountered.

c) While performing work during the COVID-19 pandemic, the contractor will be required to follow all federal, state, and CDC guidelines and regulations.

d) Emergency transportation will be always provided by the Contractor.

Detailed Unit Information: It shall be the responsibility of the Contractor (i.e. knowledge and experience of the project leader) to determine the quantity of work contained within the established boundaries of the project. Acreage of the unit was determined by calculations based on a horizontal plane using GPS technology. Project area boundary including leave areas will be furnished to contracter in a pdf digital format (geo-spatial referenced map i.e. suitable for Avenza software or similar). Contractor shall provide a digital device (smart phone, tablet, or similar) capable of viewing these maps. This digital data is not for public release, and shall be deleted by contractor once contract is completed.

a) Work Camps: Camping may be permitted on federal lands provided that “leave no trace” principles are applied. If camping is expected to last more than 14 days, prior written authorization must be obtained through the COR.

b) Work hours: under this contract shall be limited to the time between one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset each day.

c) Work Schedule: The work schedule will be submitted at the pre-work conference.

DELAYS:

The contractor is expected to complete all contract performance in a timely manner, regardless of the contractor or subcontractor's other workload, including any work being performed under other state contracts. A delay or failure to perform may be considered excusable when the delay or failure arises from causes beyond the control and without the fault or negligence of the Contractor or subcontractor. Examples of these causes are (1) acts of God or of the public enemy, (2) acts of the BLM in either its sovereign or contractual capacity, (3) fires, (4) floods, (5) epidemics, (6) quarantine restrictions, (7) strikes, (8) freight embargoes, and (9) unusually severe weather. In each instance, the failure to perform must be beyond the control and without the fault or negligence of the Contractor or subcontractor.

Upon request of the Contractor, the Contracting Officer shall ascertain the facts and extent of the failure. If the Contracting Officer determines that any failure to perform results from one or more of the causes above, the delivery schedule may be revised, subject to the BLM’s contract termination rights under the contract.

Note:

“Unusually severe weather” means weather that is outside the normal weather patterns for a specific area at a specific time of the year. For example, strong wind and snowstorms in fall and winter, or strong wind, rain or hailstorms in spring and summer are not considered unusually severe. An unusually severe snow, wind or rainstorm is one that is worse than even the harshest normal conditions during a season.

Safety and Health: Warning signs applicable to the work identified in this contract shall be placed along the road used to access the project area. If the contractor observes general public within the work area during operation, the contractor will stop work and ask the individuals to please vacate the unit. If the individuals will not leave, the contractor will move his crew to a different location; continue to work and document that the individual would not vacate the area. The documentation will be passed on to the COR. Contractor shall conduct all operations in connection with this contract in compliance with the applicable provisions of Federal, State, and local safety, health and sanitation laws, codes, and regulations, making it possible for the Authorized Officer to inspect such operations.

INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

1. Inspection:

(a) The Government COR and/or PI will make periodic inspections as a basis for acceptance and payment and recommendations for adjustments in work quality while work is in progress. The Contractor is encouraged to participate in inspections while they are being conducted.

(b) As the basis for payment, inspections for compliance with specifications will be made for work units reported as completed by the contractor. All plots will be averaged together to determine payment.

(c) A combination of Ocular or Physical Inspections will be made on a series of plots located at different intervals across each work unit. A sufficient number of plots will be taken to obtain at least one percent sample of the work unit.

(d) The following information will be recorded for each plot inspected if more than 10 percent of the treated area has these items found in them. The treated areas will get a failing grade if:

1. Stumps taller than 6 inches are present

2. Live limbs are left on the stump

3. Average depth of the debris across the project area shall not exceed three inches with a maximum depth of six inches in isolated locations where dense vegetation exist.

2. Determination of Work Quality Percentage:

Work quality percentages are derived from data developed from inspection plots. The final work quality percentage times the bid price determines the pay. A work quality percentage of 90 percent or higher will result in full payment. If any of the reasons stated above in the Inspection section part (d) are the primary reason for unsatisfactory work, the Contractor shall rework areas designated by the Government until satisfactory work quality is obtained.

3. Acceptance:

a) Satisfactory Work Quality: A minimum work quality standard of 90 percent is required.

b) Unsatisfactory Work Quality: Based on inspection results, if the work quality percentage falls below 90 percent, the Contracting Officer will immediately notify the Contractor in writing and instruct the Contractor to improve the quality of the work. If the quality of the work is not raised to an acceptable level within two consecutive workdays after written notification, the Contracting Officer may issue a stop work order.

GOVERNMENT-FURNISHED PROPERTY

The Government will provide the following items to the Contractor:

a) Various USGS 7.5 minute quadrangles (1:24,000 scales) of the project area (if requested). PDF maps that are geo-spatial referenced suitable for loading to a digital device (detailed in Contract Requirements #2 above).

b) There will be a BLM representative present (COR or PI) on the project for guidance and inspection.

PERFORMANCE PERIOD

The estimated dates for this project:

July 1, 2023 through January 15 2024 End Date: 1/15/2024, may be extended, however timing constratints may apply to specific units (see above Design Features).

WLLRP-OSU map.

Attachment 1. WLLRP Vicinity Map.

Attachment 2. WLLRP-OSU Map