J-3_Rochester_CSE_Specs-Sample_Project-.docx

Service RFQ Rochester-Middlebury Ranger District CSE

Sample Project: Rochester 10 South CSE

1.5 - Statement of Work

SCOPE OF CONTRACT

It is the intent of this contract to procure Quick Plot common stand exams during the period of time of award until December 31, 2015 for the Green Mountain National Forest. The contract time extension will be based on the deliverable of 112 plots per month. The contractor shall furnish all supervision, labor, equipment, tools, materials, and incidentals thereto, except as otherwise noted in this solicitation or individual task order.

LOCATION AND DESCRIPTION

The inventory work is located in the southern portion of the Rochester-Middlebury Ranger District of the Green Mountain National Forest within the towns of Hancock (Addison County), Rochester (Windsor County), and Pittsfield (Rutland County) Vermont.

Accessibility of Project Areas In general, the project areas are accessible by Forest, Town and/or State roads. In some cases, foot travel will be necessary. The Contractor will need to coordinate with the COR for gaining access behind locked gates. The use of any vehicles will be subject to conditions of the Green Mountain National Forest Off-Road Vehicle Policy. A copy is available upon request.

1.5 – Statement of Objectives The Green Mountain National Forest proposes to contract for technical forestry services to conduct forest inventories using the Common Stand Exam (CSE) Quick Plot protocol. Its purpose is to obtain the site, setting, and tree characteristics and required to identify stand conditions and capabilities. Management decisions for the management of natural resources within compartment 10 South of the Rochester block will be made with the information provided to the Green Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forest.

Work includes collecting silvicultural and other pertinent data and may include examining aerial photographs to accurately delineate revised stand boundaries. This data is required so that current future timber harvest areas can be identified, negative impacts to natural systems can be mitigated, and the understanding of the natural conditions within the contract area are current.

Work shall consist of locating, establishing, measuring and recording data for sample plots. The work performed and the data collected shall be in compliance with the terms, specifications, conditions and provisions of this contract.

This contract is a Performance Based, firm-fixed price contract based on cost per plot.

1.5 – Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan Standard

· Data will not exceed allowable tolerances and errors for Quick Plot data as outlined in the Region 9 – Common Stand Exam Field Guide. The contractor will also complete the minimum number of required plots per month.

Quality Assurance Methodolgy

· The COR or their representative will randomly select and inspect 5% of the plots completed by the contractor using the standards and tolerances outlined in the Region 9 – Common Stand Exam Field Guide.

· The first 10 plots completed must be submitted for inspection within 14 days of the issuance of the notice to proceed unless inclement weather delays the start date.

Calculation of Acceptable Scores. A point deduction is given for each deficient entry or procedure within an inspection block. Acceptable tolerance levels for individual measurements are shown on the Inspection Forms. Any item or measurement indicated by inspection to be outside these tolerance levels shall be assigned a point deduction. Point deductions shall be calculated for each form within the inspection block and then averaged for a Total Score. An inspection block may fail based on a Form Score or the Total Score.

Scores for each Inspection Form are determined by the following method. The total point value is calculated by multiplying the point value of a field times the number of lines of data in that field. The number of errors, corresponding to each field, found during the inspections of the inspection block are recorded in Column C-Number of Errors. The deduction is calculated by multiplying Column C-Number of Errors by Column A-Point Value. The Point Deductions are totaled and divided by the total point value to determine the Total Form Score.

Total Form Score = (Deduct Points ÷ Total Points) X 100 = percent error.

The Total Score is calculated by averaging all the Form Scores. Errors in any field that have a Point Value of "unacceptable" will fail and the entire inspection block shall be returned to Contractor for rework.

· All Form Scores < 20% and Total Score < 10% = acceptable. Incentive applies.

· Any Form Score > 20% = unacceptable, all forms from entire inspection block, shall be returned for rework. Disincentive applies.

· Total Score > 10% = unacceptable, all work from entire inspection block shall be returned for rework. Disincentive applies.

Incentives

· All data is collected within tolerances and acceptable error in both the Region 9 – Common Stand Exam Field Guide and this contract, all data requested is provided, production is met, remarks are thorough, and the data works in FS Veg – Full Payment of Contract.

· Contractor meets all of the requirements for full payment and completes the contract 4 weeks prior to the contract deadline – 2% bonus based on the sum total of the contract bid price

· Contractor meets all of the requirements for full payment and completes the contract 2 weeks prior to the contract deadline – 1% bonus based on the sum total of the contract bid price Additional Requirement

· The Forest Service can direct the order in which work is accomplished on individual task orders.

· Data that is submitted by the contractor in the form of an ESRI shapefile will be projected into the coordinate system determined at the pre-work meeting.

Data and Reports Contractor shall provide the following data and reports.

1. Contractor shall provide electronic field data in Exams PC (.cse) file format on a read-only CD, or other electronic medium agreed upon at the prework meeting. The contractor must use the most current version of exams PC based on the time of the submission of the data. The data must also work in Exams for FSVeg and FSVeg.

1. Contractor shall provide an electronic map showing the GPS “track” of the travel route taken through each stand to the plot locations. The raw data used to create that map will be provided as an ESRI shapefile.

1. Contractor shall provide legible updated/refined stand delineations on compartment maps (3.3 Compartment Maps) provided above. If no changes are made then contractor will indicate why no change was made

1. Contractor shall provide a copy of the above compartment map identifying suggested stand prescriptions/treatments.

1. Contractor shall provide a table showing a crosswalk between GPS waypoints and plot numbers.

1. The contractor will provide either an ESRI shapefile or data the can be easily converted to a shapefile, Garmin waypoint data for instance, of all plot centers.

1. Contractor shall provide GPS data identifying features such as streams, trails, landings, cellar holes, stone walls, apple trees, and other stand features noted in stand remarks.

1. Prior to the omission of any table information the contractor must get approval from the COR. For instance, if the contractor does not have aerial photo information because they are using digital photography the contractor would not be required to populate the Photo ID column, but would rather be required to provide the Forest Service with a copy of the aerial imagery, gratis, that is utilized.

Plot Center Establishment The Contractor will use a GPS unit to navigate to the predetermined plot location.

Sample plot centers will be identified on the ground using a wooden stake (could be a piece of lumber or a cut shrub or branch), unless otherwise agreed upon with the Contracting Officer’s Representative. Tie florescent pink flagging on the stake to mark it. Stakes constructed of non-biodegradable materials are not permitted; i.e.: (PVC, Rebar, Polyethylene, etc.). Write the compartment number, stand number, plot number, examiner initials, and date on this flagging using permanent ink or grease pencil. Tie an additional 18-24 inch length of florescent pink flagging to two trees or branches, opposite plot center, at eye level near the plot center. Materials the Contractor uses to locate and mark plots shall be durable, which will last through all environmental conditions until inspections are completed.

1.9 – Work Plan

· Upon issuance of a task order the Contractor shall prepare a Plan of Operation including a schedule that demonstrates work will be completed within the performance period.

· The Contractor shall advise the Contracting Officer or COR of any periods that the Contractor will not be working that is not specified in the accepted Plan of Operation.

· The Contractor may update the work plan when work is in progress and the Contracting Officer may accept the updated work plan.

· If the Contractor requests camping, the Contractor shall prepare a Camping and/or Worksite Plan and operate in a manner that will protect the environmental resources and the public facilities. The Contractor shall be aware of and abide by the rules of the Green Mountain National Forest applicable to forest visitors. The contractor is responsible for campsite clean-up and employee conduct while camping on National Forest land. Requests for camping behind locked gates will require a two week notice and be evaluated on a case-by-case basis by the COR. If approved, approval will be granted by the Government in writing. Contractor shall submit camping requests in writing, specifying exact time and dates of desired use behind locked gates.

· Every 2 weeks the contractor will provide a copy of their corrected data for review and inspection. All data provided by the will be considered complete by the US Forest Service and eligible for inspection and subsequent grading/evaluation.

· At minimum, the contractor is required to complete 112 plots per month.

2.2 – Specifications

GOVERNMENT FURNISHED PROPERTY AND SERVICES.

The Government shall provide the Contractor the following listed materials, supplies, property or services, for use in the performance of this contract, hereinafter referred to as Government-Furnished Property. This property shall be used and maintained by the Contractor in accordance with the provisions of the “Government Property” FAR clause, (Reference Clause 52.245-4).

http://www.fs.fed.us/nrm/documents/fsveg/cse_user_guides/R9FG.pdf

*Exams Software and instructions

Data entry software.

Handheld Personal Data Recorder software.

Available from the following website:

http://www.fs.fed.us/nrm/fsveg/index.shtml

* User guides, field guides, appendices and software are free downloads available from the listed websites.

All Government-Furnished items shall be returned to the Government upon completion of the contract. Failure to do so may result in charges for damages or replacement.

COLLECTING DATA

The Contractor shall locate, establish, measure and record data using fixed and variable plots that shall be taken at each designated sample point. Common Stand Exam data shall be collected and recorded in accordance with Quick Plot procedures as described in the most recent version of the Region 9 – Common Stand Exam User and Field Guides, and Appendices, unless specifically modified by this contract. The Contractor shall collect data necessary to complete the contract. All data shall be taken in accordance with specific procedures provided by the Region 9 – Common Stand Exam User and Field Guides or as superseded by a portion of this contract. Unless otherwise superseded by this contract, the Region 9 – Common Stand Exam Field Guide, User Guide, and Appendices shall be the guiding document for this contract.

Tree Data Form

This form shall be created in the most recent version of the Exams software for FSVeg and used by the contractor and will include all of the information at the required accuracy located in the table below. The Contractor shall use a double plot system; a 1/100 acre fixed plot (11.8 feet radius) to sample small trees (seedlings and saplings less than 5” DBH) and a variable plot for larger trees (5” DBH and greater) using a Basal Area Factor of 10 (BAF 10). Tally all live conifer and deciduous trees for each plot. Tree height will be required for all small trees (<5” DBH), but not for large trees (> 5” DBH), except for site trees and broken top trees, which will require height measurements. Trees shall be sampled in a clockwise direction starting at true north.

Field Name Exam Level Quick Plot

Data Source

Site Trees* Site Trees will be predetermined and pre-assigned to plots.

Tree Class** The Contractor will give additional weight in determining the difference between “Unacceptable” and “Acceptable” in that the USFS will consider a tree “Acceptable” as minimal amounts of defect and/or damage AND respond to a crop tree release. An “Unacceptable” may have one or the other but not both.

The Contractor should consider the defining difference between “Unacceptable” and “Rough” is that the “Rough” Tree Class is pulp.

DBH***

The following size classes shall be used:

Small Trees <5” DBH (Fixed Plot) – Estimate to the nearest 1/10” DBH for trees taller than 4.5 feet up to 15 feet. DBH accuracy standard is +/- 0.5”. Trees taller than 15 feet, estimate to the nearest 1”. DBH accuracy standard is +/- 1.0”. Trees 0.1” – 1” should be treated as regeneration and the total number occurring in the fixed radius plot counted.

Large Trees > 5” DBH

The DBH accuracy standard is +/- 5 %. For example, if a tree actually measures 8.0 the acceptable range would be from 7.6 to 8.4. In this case, code 8.0 would be the correct entry.

Height**** The following size classes shall be used for small trees <5” DBH:

Stand Summary Form

The stand summary form shall be created by the contractor as a MS Word document (*.docx) and contain all of the information at the required information at the required accuracy located in the table below. This form will be transferred electronically to the USFS after all the Common Stand Exam plots within a stand are completed. The Contractor shall use the Stand Summary Form to ensure key features are checked for observation.

Exam Level Quick Plot

Data Source

Header Information

Tree Species

Trees

Plants

Wildlife

Logging

Cultural

Boundaries

Plot Data Form

The plot data for shall be created within the FS Veg environment, and contain all the information at the required accuracy located in the table below. The contractor shall use the Plot Data Form to ensure that key features are checked for occurrence and recorded.

Exam Level Quick Plot

Data Source

Header Information

Existing Vegetation Composition

Codes The Contractor shall use appropriate codes on all forms. Codes are available in the following appendices for USFS Region 9: http://www.fs.fed.us/nrm/documents/fsveg/cse_user_guides/R9_appendix.pdf