A22 - Attachment 0001 - 2023 BEAVER ISLAND HREP STANDS A AND B PLACEMENT SOW.pdf

2023 BEAVER ISLAND HREP STANDS A AND B PLACEMENT SOW

This is the Statement of Work (SOW) for the project that will be the first task order issued under the Forest Services MATOC. The table below provides details on the SOW for Beaver Island Habitat Rehabilitation and Enhancement Project (HREP), which is the first task order that will be executed under the resultant MATOC.

Table 1 - Management Areas Included with abbreviated Timber Stand Improvements and Planting Effort Specifications

Pool Management Area

Treatment

14 Stand A

Geometric Thinning 18” diameter at breast height (dbh) trees marked by govt.

Dominant Thinning 6” to <16” dbh suppressed trees marked by contractor; coppice cut Free Thinning – all dbh size classes of mulberry marked by contractor; high stump and herbicide treated Plant 600 containerized trees evenly throughout

14 Stand B-1

Dominant Thinning 12” dbh trees marked by govt.

Free Thinning 4” to <12” dbh suppressed trees marked by contractor; coppice cut Free Thinning – all dbh size classes of mulberry marked by contractor; high stump and herbicide treated

14 Stand B-2 Plant 100 containerized trees evenly throughout Plant 100 containerized shrubs in lower elevation

Dredge

Placement

Plant 2,150 containerized trees and 1,000 containerized shrubs into designated planting areas Monitor and identify undesirable vegetation for mowing and/or herbicide treatment

Government guided site visits will be provided to look at the management areas where work is to be conducted prior to the bid submission deadline. All locations are accessible by the public and available to access independently without governmental staff being present. Guided site visits will be provided only on coordinated dates. If interested in a guided site visit, a formal request must be made through the contracting office. All areas vary in current vegetation development, condition, and densities.

Questions arising for guidance to view treatment locations that require further details beyond what is included in this scope of work will require to be submitted in writing to the contracting office.

Treatment Areas The treatment areas are all located on the downstream half of Beaver Island, which is in Navigation Pool 14 near Clinton, IA, spanning from river mile 516 to 513. In total, there are approximately 121 acres included within the treatment areas. Only Stands A and B-

Attachment 0001 - 2023 Beaver Island HREP Stands A and B Placement SOW

1 will have thinning treatments. Stands A and B-2 will include planting efforts. The placement areas will only have planting efforts and vegetation maintenance.

General Area Description The USACE fee title portion of the treatment areas are included in the General Plan Lands and are managed by the FWS. All areas are within the Upper Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Refuge, Savanna District. The main interior lakes and back water sloughs of Beaver Island are currently under dredging efforts for an active construction contract.

Dredge and placement activities are likely to be completed in the Fall of 2023. Access through the central backwater areas of Beaver Island will require coordination and permission from USACE until the construction contract is closed out. Stands A and B are accessible from the slough side of Beaver Island, which is the western side of the island. The dredge placement planting areas are only accessible from the southern inlet into the interior lakes of Beaver Island. See attached map for reference of general access to work areas. There is no land access to treatment areas.

Treatment Area Work Execution Timeline

1. The contractor is to provide an initial acknowledgement from the nursery(ies) that they will have availability of the correct species by quantities requested for the fall 2023 planting seasons and have that provided no later than 27 June 2023.

2. Marking efforts for trees to cut in stands A and B may proceed post award and be completed no later than 15 August 2023.

3. The contractor is to confirm and provide final documentation from the nursery(ies) that trees have grown to meet height requirements for the fall planting efforts of 2023 no later than 21 September 2023.

4. All tree cutting work may proceed after 01 October 2023 and must be completed no later than 31 March 2024.

5. Stand A must have 20 acres of tree cutting work completed by 25 October 2023.

6. Fall 2023 planting efforts may proceed after 10 October 2023 and must be completed prior to frozen ground conditions or by 05 December 2023. This will include half of the required trees and shrubs planted into the dredge placement areas, all the required trees and shrubs planted in Stand B-2, and 200 trees required to be planted into Stand A.

7. Vegetation monitoring and subsequent treatments in the placement areas may proceed after 01 May 2024 and must be completed by 28 September 2024.

8. The contractor is to provide an initial acknowledgement from the nursery(ies) that they will have the availability of the correct species by quantities requested for the fall of 2024 no later than 01 July 2024.

9. The contractor is to confirm and provide final documentation from the nursery(ies) that trees have grown to meet height requirements for the fall planting efforts of 2024 no later than 25 September 2024.

10. Fall 2024 planting efforts may proceed after 07 October 2024 and must be completed prior to 13 November 2024. This will include the remaining trees required to plant into Stand A and the remaining trees and shrubs to plant into the dredge placement areas.

USACE Notification to Contractor Work is ongoing to build and final shaping of dredge placement areas within the lower lakes of Beaver Island. These are the dredge placement work areas that are included in this task order. Placement areas need to meet specifications identified under the ongoing construction contract prior to any planting efforts. USACE will determine if portions of the planting area need to be avoided for the fall 2023 planting season.

Notification of specific planting locations within the dredge placement areas will be provided no later than 17 August 2023.

Treatment Area Work Exclusion Dates Access to the treatment areas will remain open without restriction from the western edge of Beaver Island from Beaver Slough. However, access from the inner lakes of Beaver Island is restricted, requiring notification to USACE and coordination of an approved work plan to include dates of entry, vessel to be used, duration of effort, and any pertinent information that may conflict with work being implemented by other contractors within the inner lake general area until the construction contract is closed out.

Pre-Work Meeting/Submittals The contractor must contact the COR within five days of task order award date to schedule the pre-work meeting. This may be conducted by phone or email to the COR.

The pre-work meeting may be held in person or by phone call, or USACE-hosted Web- Ex online meeting, at the discretion of the Government. The Contractor must provide all listed post award submittals that are required for this MATOC task order by the scheduled meeting date, or provide an explanation and anticipated date for competition of any remaining submittal not prepared in writing. The contractor will not be allowed to proceed with work items until complete approval of submittals, at the discretion of the Government.

Government Supplied Information Post Award Details of tree species, quantities, and spacing per planting area will be provided prior to planting efforts. This information may include spatial data, maps, drawings, spreadsheet list, and site visits. Distribution of tree species and planting density may vary. The format of the spatial data will be an ESRI ArcGIS-based shape file. The coordinate projection will be in NAD 83 UTM 15 North. Management area and treatment location area maps will be provided with the task order posting.

Requirements to be met per Treatment Area Any effort requiring the fleeting of a barge to complete work will require only using approved areas of shoreline that have been designated as such by the government.

Designation of fleeting zone(s) along the shoreline will be determined post award upon submission of intended zone(s) by the Offeror at least two months prior to intended use.

Reasonable rejection or modification of requested fleeting zone(s) by the Government will not constitute a change or changed conditions.

Tree and Shrub Order Acknowledgment from the Nursery(ies) Trees and shrubs are to meet the specifications of required minimum containerized pot size and are to meet the minimum tree height listed in Table 1 and Table 2. Minimum height requirements may require purchase of larger containerized pot size depending on growing season and availability from tree nurseries. Early communication with the nursery(ies) is expected to occur to ensure that tree and shrub species requirements will meet contract specifications at the time of planting. There is no maximum tree or shrub height limit; the preference of the government is to obtain the tallest stock that is available per required minimum containerized pot size. Seed source by county and state confirming wetland parent trees and shrubs is also required with the provided documentation from the nursery(ies).

This phase requires deliverables at four separate intervals through the execution timeline. Reports and documentation will be provided to USACE to meet this requirement. Each interval will require communication with the nursery and ability to deliver tree and shrubs at the time of planting seasons.

1. June 2023: acknowledgement to include confirmation from nursery(ies) that there are enough quantities per species that will be available to likely meet size requirements by 2023 fall planting season. Including the nursery(ies)’ known quantities and sizes that will be requested for the 2024 fall planting season.

Confirmation that all species meet the seed source requirements.

2. September 2023: acknowledgement to include that all species being delivered for the fall 2023 planting effort meet the size requirements.

3. July 2024: acknowledgement that there are enough quantities per species that will be available to likely meet the size requirements by the 2024 fall planting season. Confirmation that all species meet the seed source requirements.

4. September 2024: acknowledgement to include that all species being delivered for the fall 2024 planting effort meet the size requirements.

Table 2 – Fall 2023 Planting List: Stand A, Stand B-2, and Dredge Placement

Table 3 – Fall 2024 Planting List for Stand A and Dredge Placement

Beaver Island – Stand A

Treatment Area The treatment area is 54 acres in size. Tree density varies across the entire stand.

Stand A has an average of 140 trees per acre, 130 basal area per acre, and includes a mixture of diverse bottomland tree species. The stand includes a high amount of oak and hickory in the canopy. The understory is variable in density, where natural regeneration is very minimal. Blue heron rookery nests have been identified in the southern portion of Stand A; canopy trees will not be cut within near proximity of trees that have heron nesting.

General Silvicultural Treatment Description The objective of the thinning treatments and planting efforts is to increase species and structure diversity within the stand, by only cutting enough trees necessary to achieve improved sunlight availability. To reduce the amount of larger diameter trees that need to be cut from the canopy to create adequate growing space for planted trees to establish, all suppressed trees less than 16 inches diameter at breast height (dbh) will be cut. The Government will mark trees to be cut from the canopy; trees marked by the Government will be greater than 18 inches dbh. The contractor will mark the suppressed trees that range from 6 inches to 16 inches dbh. Planting of containerized trees will be done after tree cutting work has been completed. Trees will be planted into canopy gaps and be evenly spaced throughout the entirety of Stand A.

Phase 1 – Marking Trees to Cut Trees are to be blazed clearly with tree marking paint or tree flagging that is to be visible from all sides or faces of said trees to identify clearly the selection to be cut. Mulberry trees are to be marked by a different schema than other tree species. All tree species ranging from 6 inches to 16 inches dbh that have a suppressed growth form are to be marked to be cut. All mulberry trees of all diameter classes are to be marked to be cut.

Suppressed growth form will include trees that have flattened out crowns, broken tops, dead main leader, tree lean greater than 30 degrees, excessive epicormic branching, heart rot, hollow base, or greater than 50 percent of tree crown die back. Trees that are suppressed are estimated to be on average 60 trees per acre; there are portions of the stand that have less or more of the stand average. Mulberry trees are not present in over half of the stand. Mulberry densities range from scattered individuals to isolated patches where they are present.

Any changes to the specifications of tree marking or cutting efforts may be done by the discretion of the COR in the event of a discovery of a Bald Eagle nest or rookery nest or distinct change in forest dynamics that was/were not previously identified. Adjustments in treatment boundary will result in no net change in treatment acreage.

Phase 2 - Thinning: Cutting all marked Trees in Stand A Only after passing QA inspection of Phase 1 may any work in Phase 2 proceed. All trees that are marked to be cut are to be cut down. Marked trees to cut include the trees marked by the government (trees greater than 18 inches dbh) and the trees that were marked by the contractor. Trees that are greater than 18 inches dbh will vary by number of trees per acre. There will not be more than 8 trees per acre marked to be cut down that are greater than 18 inches dbh. For the trees that are greater than 16 inches dbh, stump height is to be less than 3 feet above the ground from the high side of the stump.

All mulberry trees are to be cut down and not have a stump that is less than 2 feet from the high side of the stump. Only mulberry trees are to have an herbicide application to the cut stump. A dye is to be included in the herbicide mix to indicate basal stump application has been made. The herbicide must have the active ingredient of triclopyr and be at a 3 precent concentration. All tree species, other than mulberry, that are 6 inches to 16 inches dbh are to be coppice cut. The tree will be first felled with a stump higher than 12 inches above the ground. Then a second cut (the coppice cut) will be made clean through the stump from one side to the other leaving a stump no shorter than 2 inches and no taller than 4 inches on the high side from the ground. The second cut of the stump is to be done in a manner to ensure that the stump has no cracked fiber and the cambium is intact completely around the entirety of the stump to increase the viable potential of stump sprouting for coppice.

Phase 3 – Containerized Tree Planting with GPS Locating Planting efforts will follow all conditions specified below under the heading of “Containerized Tree and Shrub Guidelines”. Specific tree quantities per species to be planted in this stand will be provided prior to planting efforts. Tree planting locations and spacing will be determined by the contractor. Trees are to be planted into canopy gaps and not be directly under the lean or crown of a residual tree remaining after the tree cutting efforts. Planted trees must be at least 20 feet away from the main stem of any residual tree and any planted tree. Planted trees must be at least 10 feet away from any coppice cut stump. No more than 15 trees per acre may be planted. No less than 7 trees per acre may be planted. Tree species are to be randomly distributed across the planting area. Trees are to be planted as evenly across the stand to allow for planting into adequate locations that will provide unrestricted vertical growth. If there is any portion of the stand that these conditions are unable to be met for tree planting spacing, adjustments may be done by the discretion and approval of the COR.

Beaver Island – Stand B-1

The treatment area is 25 acres in size. Tree density varies greatly. The work area ranges from an average of 140 to 250 trees per acre for most of the work area and there is approximately 10 acres that is on average 780 trees per acre. With the wide variety of trees per acre, the entire work area is on average 150 basal area per acre and includes a high amount of oak and hickory. The understory is the most variable in tree density.

General Silvicultural Treatment Description The objective of the thinning treatments and planting efforts is to increase species and structure diversity within the stand, by cutting back trees that are restricting growth of oak and hickory saplings and midstory sized trees while achieving improved sunlight availability overall throughout the work area. Only some canopy tree species will be targeted for removal, and overall a low quantity of canopy trees will be cut. The majority of cutting will target silver maple, hackberry, and scattered mulberry trees below the canopy. The majority of tree cutting will be of trees that are greater than 4 inches dbh and less than 12 inches dbh. The Government will mark trees to be cut that are greater than 12 inches dbh. The contractor will mark the suppressed trees that range from 4 inches to 12 inches dbh. There will be no planting.

Phase 1 – Marking Trees to Cut Trees are to be blazed clearly with tree marking paint or tree flagging that is to be visible from all sides or faces of said trees to identify clearly of the selection to be cut. Mulberry trees are to be marked by a different schema than other tree species. All tree species ranging from 4 inches to 12 inches dbh that have a suppressed growth form are to be marked to be cut. All mulberry trees of all diameter classes are to be marked to be cut.

Suppressed growth form will include trees that have flattened out crowns, broken tops, dead main leader, tree lean greater than 30 degrees, excessive epicormic branching, heart rot, hollow base, or greater than 50 percent of tree crown die back. Trees that are suppressed are estimated to be on average 70 to 150 trees per acre; there are portions of the stand that have less or more of the stand average. Mulberry trees are not present in over half of the stand. Mulberry densities range from scattered individuals to isolated patches where they are present.

Any changes to the specifications of tree marking or cutting efforts may be done by the discretion of the COR in the event of a discovery of a Bald Eagle nest or rookery nest or distinct change in forest dynamics that was/were not previously identified. Adjustments in treatment boundary will result in no net change in treatment acreage.

Phase 2 - Thinning: Cutting all marked Trees in Stand B-1 Only after passing QA inspection of Phase 1 may any work in Phase 2 proceed. All trees that are marked to be cut are to be cut down. Marked trees to cut include the trees marked by the government (trees greater than 12 inches dbh) and the trees that were marked by the contractor. Trees that are greater than 12 inches dbh will vary by number of trees per acre. There will not be more than 15 trees per acre marked to be cut down that are greater than 12 inches dbh. For the trees that are greater than 16 inches dbh, stump height is to be less than 3 feet above the ground from the high side of the stump.

All mulberry trees are to be cut down and not have a stump that is less than 2 feet from the high side of the stump. Only mulberry trees are to have an herbicide application to the cut stump. A dye is to be included in the herbicide mix to indicate basal stump application has been made. The herbicide must have the active ingredient of triclopyr and be at a 3 precent concentration. All tree species, other than mulberry, that are 4 inches to 16 inches dbh are to be coppice cut. The tree will be first felled with a stump higher than 12 inches above the ground. Then a second cut (the coppice cut) will be made clean through the stump from one side to the other leaving a stump no shorter than 2 inches and no taller than 4 inches on the high side from the ground. The second cut of the stump is to be done in a manor to ensure that the stump has no cracked fiber and the cambium is intact completely around the entirety of the stump to increase the viable potential of stump sprouting for coppice.

Beaver Island – Stand B-2

The treatment area is 3 acres in size. There is limited tree survival in this work area.

General Prescription This stand will only have planting of early successional species and wetland shrubs.

The intent behind this treatment is to increase woody stem growth and improve overall forest structure from planting efforts. No tree cutting work will occur.

Phase 1 – Containerized Tree and Shrub Planting with GPS Locating Planting efforts will follow all conditions specified below under the heading of “Containerized Tree and Shrub Guidelines.” Specific tree quantities per species to be planted in this stand will be provided prior to planting efforts. Tree planting locations and spacing will be determined by the contractor. Trees are to be planted into canopy gaps and not directly under the lean or crown of an existing tree. Planted trees must be at least 20 feet away from the main stem of any existing tree and any planted tree. Trees are to be planted evenly across the stand to allow for planting into adequate locations that will provide unrestricted vertical growth. Shrubs are to be evenly distributed and planted throughout the stand. Planted shrubs must be at least 5 feet away from any existing or planted tree or planted shrub. If there is any portion of the stand that these conditions are unable to be met for tree planting spacing, adjustments may be made at the discretion and approval of the COR.

Beaver Island – Dredge Placement planting Areas

The treatment area is approximately 39 acres in total top elevation footprint. There are five (5) dredge placement planting areas all together. Each dredge placement area is at some level of tree establishment post final shaping efforts from construction work. There was a previous contract to plant 1,600 containerized trees and 2,400 containerized shrubs into some of the work areas. The trees are each marked by 6-foot feet fiberglass orange pennant flags. Shrubs are planted in tight cluster patterns. During the 2023 growing season, portions of this treatment area may or will have vegetation treatments conducted.

General Prescription The dredge placement area will have planting efforts to fill in areas that are void of natural regeneration of early successional species. Shrubs will be planted into areas that have not previously had shrub planting efforts and may include areas that shrub establishment was not successful. Diverse tree species will be planted evenly throughout all dredge placement areas. In total, 2,150 trees and 1,000 shrubs will be planted over two different planting seasons into the treatment area. This will account for most of the planting work for this contract. Additionally, during the 2024 growing season, unwanted herbaceous growth that is prohibitive to tree growth and establishment will have treatments implemented to promote improved growing conditions for trees and shrubs.

Phase 1 – Fall 2023 Tree and Shrub Planting Planting efforts will follow all conditions specified below under the heading of “Containerized Tree and Shrub Guidelines.” Specific tree quantities per species to be planted in this stand will be provided prior to planting efforts. Approximately half of the trees and half of the shrubs will be planted in the fall of 2023. Tree planting areas will be provided to the contractor by the Government. The government will provide a list of species that are considered diverse, early successional, or shrub post award. Diverse tree species will be planted approximately 40 feet apart from any planted diverse tree.

Early successional species spacing for planting will vary dependent on density of natural regeneration and previously planted tree survival. Shrubs will be planted into clusters of 20 shrubs per cluster. Shrub cluster areas will be provided by the Government. Shrubs are to be planted three (3) to five (5) feet apart from any other planted shrub within the planted cluster. The contractor will provide planting spacing design after the Government has provided the planting areas. Once the planting design is approved by the COR, the contractor may proceed with planting efforts.

Phase 2 – Vegetation Monitoring and Control The contractor is to conduct monitoring for unwanted vegetation within the tree and shrub planted areas. At a minimum, the contractor will need to assess the dredge planting areas twice during the 2024 growing season. The contractor is to provide a work plan to include the frequency of monitoring efforts to identify unwanted vegetation and then provide the recommendation of vegetation control. Non-woody (herbaceous) vegetation to be considered unwanted may include: Japanese hops, poke weed, pig weed, bur cucumber, reed canary grass, giant ragweed, or any other identified herbaceous vegetation that would be detrimental to tree and shrub establishment and growth. All woody species natural regeneration is to be considered desirable and allowed to grow. Areas including dense volunteer tree growth from natural regeneration must be excluded from any mowing or herbicide application to control unwanted herbaceous vegetation. COR has full discretion on determination of what vegetation is to be considered unwanted and noxious. The contractor may decide method of vegetation control and proposed action must be approved by the COR prior to implementation. If herbicide application is part of the proposed action, a filled out CEMVR form 55-E of anticipated use must be provided and approved by the COR prior to implementation. The contractor is not required to mow vegetation considered not to be noxious by the COR or vegetation that is shorter than two (2) feet in height. The contractor is to control unwanted vegetation, at the minimum, within five (5) feet from any planted tree and shrub that would be considered detrimental to development of said tree or shrub. For considerations of cost line item 0017, vegetation control is to not exceed 20 acres of cumulative actual vegetation treatment area for the first treatment.

For considerations of cost line item 0019, vegetation control is to not exceed 10 acres of cumulative actual vegetation treatment area for the second treatment. For both vegetation treatments, less than the maximum acreage is acceptable if the COR determines there is not unwanted vegetation per the contractors reports from monitoring efforts to meet the total maximum acreage. Natural regeneration must be avoided during vegetation control efforts. Every measurable ¼ of an acre of natural regeneration damage observed (i.e., stumps, overspray) will require planting four (4) 5-gallon trees;

species selection require approval of the COR. Planted trees and shrubs are also not to be damaged during vegetation control treatments. Damage to planted trees and shrubs under the count of 20 total individuals will not require any replanting work. Every tree and shrub over the allowable 20 damaged will each require planting a replacement 5-gallon tree during fall planting season. Damage to planted trees and shrubs to require replanting will include: being cut off, damage to the bark greater than ½ inch across, herbicide killed, or snapped main stem. Payment for this line item will be reduced by $200.00 per tree or shrub that is to be replanted during the fall planting season. The final remaining balance for this line item may be invoiced upon completion of any re-planting efforts required. The requirements identified for the initial tree and shrub planting effort will need to be followed and match required QA quality measures under “Containerized Tree and Shrub Guidelines”.

Phase 3 – Fall 2024 Tree and Shrub Planting Planting efforts will follow all conditions specified below under the heading of “Containerized Tree and Shrub Guidelines”. The remaining trees and shrubs to plant into the dredge placement areas will be planted in the fall of 2024. Tree planting locations will be provided to the contractor by the Government. Diverse tree species will be planted approximately 40 feet apart from any planted diverse tree. Early successional species spacing for planting will vary dependent on density of natural regeneration and previously planted tree survival. Shrubs will be planted into clusters of 20 shrubs per cluster. Shrub cluster locations will be provided by the Government.

Shrubs are to be planted three (3) to five (5) feet apart from any other planted shrub within the planted cluster. The contractor will provide planting spacing design after the Government has provided the planting areas. Once the planting design is approved by the COR, the contractor may proceed with planting efforts.

Containerized Tree and Shrub Guidelines Containerized tree/shrub roots and potting material is to remain moist from the delivery out from the nursery to the time of being planted into the ground. Trees are to not have terminal leaders broken off during transport and handling efforts. Preference of the government is to consider palletizing trees and shrubs at the nursery to reduce damage during transport. Handling, staging, and storage of trees must meet nursery standards preventing unnecessary stress and/or damage to the trees. All trees must be inspected and approved by USACE prior to planting. At the time of inspection, the COR and/or QAR(s) will determine if tree/shrub roots are moist, that roots are not frozen, terminal leader is intact, tree/shrub height is correct, quantities per tree species is correct, and handling of trees meet requirements of this contract and industry standards. Failure to pass any of these requirements is subject to rejection of all or individual trees and shrubs which will require replacement at the cost of the contractor. Rejection of trees at any time from delivery and during staging prior to being planted will be replaced at no additional cost to the government.

During planting operations, all trees must be inspected for circle roots; roots growing around the edge of the containerized pot that are greater than ¼ in. in diameter. All circle roots must be properly pruned as discovered while removing trees from their individual containerized pot: roots are to be cleanly cut, not to be torn or shredded off.

Proper tree and shrub handling and planting techniques must meet nursery industry standards. The hole dug for the tree must be wide and deep enough to plant the root ball without smashing the roots during back filling of loose soil around the roots. The tree/shrub needs to be planted with the top of the root flare at or just below ground level.

Loose soil must be placed above the root mass during planting and is to not exceed 1 inch above the top of the root flare in depth. The soil is to be gently backfilled around the roots so that there are no air gaps between the root mass of the tree and edge of the dug hole. All nursery materials must be removed from the tree prior to placing the tree in the ground and properly disposed of; this is to include bamboo posts, fasteners, labels, pot, etc. Mixing of species during planting efforts is required for random distribution of species throughout the planting area. Trees and shrubs are to be planted so that the terminal leader is orientated vertical without any significant lean past 10 degrees. Every tree will additionally have a field marker flag installed. The field marker flag must be of ¼ inch fiberglass post with a large pennant flag. The flag is to be installed through the root mass of the tree into the soil deep enough to anchor the tree in position. All flags will be orientated to the same side of the planted tree per field determination with the contractor and COR. All these considerations will be used as metrics during QA inspection; failure to achieve above 95% accuracy will require rework at no additional cost to the government.

All planting efforts will require spatial data delivery. GPS locating individual planted trees is required to include tree species and height from the ground to the terminal leader. Tree species is to be provided in USDA plant symbol code. Tree height is to be provided by the nearest foot rounding down from actual height. The Government will provide USDA plant codes and spatial data collect format to use. The contractor may provide an alternative spatial data format prior to planting efforts for approval by the COR. Shrubs will be individually GPS located in Stand B-2. Shrubs will have a central GPS point located when planted in clusters by species. Shrubs will follow the same requirements of recorded species and heights as required for trees. All considerations for spatial data delivery will be used as metrics during QA inspection, failure to achieve above 99% accuracy will require rework at no additional cost to the government.

Any planting stock substitutions may be authorized by the discretion of the government to meet required planted quantities per species and height requirements. All proposed substitutions must be provided in writing to include quantities by species and by height in units of 6 inches. Documentation from at least 3 nurseries, meeting planting material requirements, must be provided to show lack of availability to approve any substitution.

Quality Control/Quality Assurance The MATOC agreement, task order, and QASP address quality control and assurance measures. Acceptable Quality Levels (AQL) are identified by category of required services in the QASP. QA inspections will determine if work meets AQL to avoid rework or reduction in payment. Meetings or site visits will be scheduled to AQL levels if needed.

Measurement and Payment The measurement of meeting contract requirements and payment will be determined per line item. The cost per unit per line item is to include all labor, travel costs, equipment, materials, mobilization, demobilization, and any other associated costs.

Contractor Submittals with Bid

1. The contractor is to provide a cost per unit per line item and the total amount of all line-item totals added up.

2. Identify potential pesticide applicators and provide applicator license per applicator.

Contractor Submittals Post Award

1. Work plan schedule per MATOC scope of work.

2. List of employees per MATOC scope of work.

3. Accident Prevention Program

4. Quality Control Plan

**NOTE: To protect the privacy of the Contractor, all Contractor employees, and all sub-contractor employees, background checks, OPSEC SOPs, E-Verify, and I-9 forms must be submitted with a cover sheet stating the contract number (e.g., W912EK-15-C- XXXX), title of project, and the company's point of contact information, in a sealed envelope/container and mailed to:

Security Office U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Rock Island District 1500 Rock Island Drive Rock Island, IL 61201

Security Clause 1.

AT Level 1 Training. All Contractor and sub-contractor employees requiring access to non-public or private Government property must complete Anti-Terrorism (AT) Level 1 Training within 30 calendar days after notice to proceed date. AT Level 1 Training is available at the following website:

https://jkodirect.jten.mil/Atlas2/faces/page/login/Login.seam. The required training is under the heading “JS-US007-14: Level 1 Antiterrorism Awareness Training”.

Contractor employees who have a Common Access Card (CAC) may log in with their CAC. Contractor employees without a CAC must log into the “Non-CAC users” link and need to complete the training all at once, as no record of training must be maintained aside from the certificate that is printed upon completion. All AT Level 1 Training certificates must be submitted to the Contracting Officer within 5 calendar days of completion.

Security Clause 2(b).

For Access and General Protection Policy and Procedures. All Contractors and sub-contractor employees must comply with installation and facility access guidelines and rules. Contractor workforce must comply with all personal identity verification requirements as directed by Department of Defense, Department of the Army Headquarters, Rock Island District and/or local policy. In addition to the changes otherwise authorized by the Changes clause of this contract, should the Force Protection Condition (FPCON) at any installation or facility change, the Government may require changes in Contractor security matters or processes.

In support of Rock Island District evaluation of personnel authorized for access to Federal facilities, the Contractor must submit background checks that have been conducted by a bonded third party within the last 6 months of Notice to Proceed date and authorize reports to be provided to the Rock Island District Security and Law Enforcement Office by the third party. The background check will cover, at a minimum, the ten years covering states the employee has lived in, national criminal records check which includes felony and misdemeanor offenses, Department of Motor Vehicles records, and a national sex offender registry check, submitted 14 days prior to accessing the project site.

Identification Badges: The Contractor must be responsible for furnishing a photo identification badge/card to each employee prior to the employee's work on-site, and for requiring each employee engaged on the work to display identification. At a minimum, the badge must have the following items shown, the employee’s picture, employee’s name, and company name working for. The badge will be prominently displayed unless restricted for safety concerns, in which case it will be available for immediate display upon request (carried on person).

As employees are added or deleted from the submitted and approved Access Control List (ACL), this information will be reported immediately to the Contracting Officer (KO).

Added employees will not be permitted on-site until requirements of this paragraph are completed, submitted, and approved.

Disqualifying factors include, but are not limited to:

(1) Criminal conduct, in particular violent crime and sex offenders;

(2) Habitual use of intoxicating beverages to excess as evidenced by Driving under the influence or public intoxication records; or

(3) Any illegal activity or other disqualification which makes the individual unfit for service (e.g. drug trafficking or procurement fraud).

In addition to the submitted background checks, supplemental agency checks may be performed at the discretion of the Rock Island District security personnel. The Contractor agrees to cooperate and ensure that Contractor personnel provide any documentation required to complete these checks. Any person lacking proper identification credentials or deemed a security threat may be denied access to the project. Such action in no way relieves the Contractor from performance of the Contract.

The Rock Island District retains the right to deny any Contractor and sub-contractor employee from working on a contract awarded by the Rock Island District based on final background investigation results. All information received as a result of a background check will be handled according to Privacy Act regulation.

In the event that an unexpected change in personnel is required, due to sudden absence of a critical path employee, the Contractor must immediately contact the Contracting Officer to coordinate obtaining written approval from the Security Office for new/additional personnel to be brought on site prior to background check acceptance.

Contractor must submit Personnel Change Request Form and will receive written authorization from the Security Office prior to bringing new personnel on site, and ensure a background check is sent to the Rock Island District Security Office no later than ten days from written notice of approval. The Rock Island District reserves the right to terminate access of the employee upon completion of the Government’s review of the background check and the Contractor must be notified immediately of any such Government decision.

In the event of an unforeseen change in work site conditions which may require a contract modification, and the contractor is required to immediately add personnel, a Personnel Change Request Form will be submitted to and approved by the Security Office prior to bringing new personnel on site, and ensure a background check is sent to the Rock Island District Security Office no later than ten days from written notice of approval. The Rock Island District reserves the right to terminate access of the employee upon completion of the Government’s review of the background check and the Contractor must be notified immediately of any such Government decision.

Subcontractor personnel not expected to be on the worksite for more than 15 days may be allowed on site with the following conditions:

1) Employee will be on site a total of 15 days or less, for the duration of the project.

2) Employee is added to the ACL as a short term employee.

3) Employee is escorted while on site. This is defined as being in the line of sight of an identified contractor employee who has a background check on file with the Rock Island District (as noted on the ACL).

4) Each contractor employee can sponsor only five short term employees at a time.

Foreign National employees: Due to a difference in background check procedures for long term foreign national employees, all such employees must provide a photocopy of their passport to the Rock Island District Security Office NLT 30 days prior to arrival on site. Short term foreign national employees (e.g. specialists with a two week period of performance) may work on site with the following conditions:

1) Foreign national employee will be on site a total of 15 days or less, for the duration of the project.

2) Foreign national employee will comply with E-Verify requirements E-Verify paragraph).

3) Approved and identified contractor employee must escort the foreign national employee at ALL times while on site.

4) Each contractor employee can sponsor only one short term foreign national at a time.

Security Clause 15.

Pre-screen candidates using E-Verify Program. The Contractor must pre-screen Candidates using the E-Verify Program website (http://www.uscis.gov/e-verify) to meet the established employment eligibility requirements. The Contractor must ensure that the Candidate has two valid forms of Government issued identification prior to enrollment to ensure the correct information is entered into the E-Verify system.

Documentation of company enrollment in E-Verify, via a print screen of the company profile within the E-Verify system, must be submitted to the Security Office no later than 3 business days after the initial Notice to Proceed.

*When contracts are with individuals, the individuals will be required to complete a Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. This must be given/coordinated with the designated Government representative. This Form will be provided to the Security Office after Notice to Proceed is given.

Personnel Change Request Form Contract #_______________ Date___________ We, _____________________, respectfully request to add/replace (circle one) personnel to the jobsite due to the following situation:

Personnel to be conditionally added to the ACL (escorted by):

Background checks (if required for a long term employee) must be submitted by close of business on (insert proposed date): ________________

(Insert signature block)