WOODY_SPECIES_MANAGEMENT_TAs_50_51sow.docx

WOODY SPECIES MANAGEMENT TAs 50 and 51

THINNING TREATMENT METHOD

FORT HOOD MILITARY INSTALLATION

SCOPE:

To manage the overall vegetation (including, brush/slash, dead trees and understory as necessary) of designated areas in the more wooded sections of TAs 50 and 51 to improve heavy, full spectrum, maneuver training accessibility and TADSS capability across the landscape. Woody species management will be accomplished by the maneuver lane thinning method as described in the statement of work. All vegetation removal will either be cut or grubbed. All cut trees, wood, and vegetation (slash) will either be mulched or stacked for burning. Details for all activities are described in the statement of work. The period of performance for the overall requirement will be approximately 5 November 2012 through 8 March 2012.

Statement of Work:

1. The contractor shall provide all supervision, labor, tools, equipment, parts, repair, fuel, transportation, and any other supplies or services necessary to grub, cut, pile and/or mulch woody species in designated areas of TA 50 and 51 on Fort Hood. Work shall be accomplished in accordance with all laws, regulations, clauses, and requirements of the Department of Defense, Fort Hood, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Performance schedules shall be maintained and payment to the contractor shall constitute full compensation for the contract requirement.

2. The work area shall consist of approximately 1145 acres of maneuver lane thinning in designated areas of TAs 50 and 51. The acreage total is contingent upon available funding and performance during specified work period. This work is programmed to not be worked during the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) nesting season (15 March – 15 August). No work will occur within identified Endangered Species (ES) habitat areas (Job Site Map). The work shall consist of removing NRCS selected hardwoods and dead trees, all Mesquite, all Ashe Juniper, and selected trees / brush 5 inches and less in diameter at breast height (DBH) in the designated work site areas. All slash is to be treated as described in the below in 2.2.

2.1 Mesquite and selected hardwoods will be mechanically treated by grubbing, assuring the complete removal of the bud zone from the soil (approximately 6-14 inches below soil surface). Grubbing with a “stinger” attachment is preferred. No flat blading, corner blading or buckets shall be used. The contractor will be required to remove selected low hanging limbs up to 14 feet in height from old growth trees as needed. All other trees selected for removal including Ashe Juniper and dead trees will be mechanically or hand cut, leaving no stump greater than 2 in. in height. The work in the work area will be done in two phases. (Phase I will consist of the removal of all mesquite, all ashe juniper and selected dead. Phase II will consist of creating maneuver paths.) Maneuver paths will be placed where necessary to maneuver military vehicles safely and will be approximately 40ft. wide and 14ft. tall.

2.2 All cut/grubbed woody species (slash) and dead vegetation must be treated in one of the following ways: mulched or stacked for burning. If mulched, pieces shall be two to four inches in width and length and the material should be spread over the landscape no thicker than a two inch layer unless mulch is used as a soil erosion BMP determined by Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Contracting Officer Technical Representative. If stacked for burning, all materials will be piled approximately 8 ft. tall, 15 ft. wide and the length shall be between 40 ft (minimum) and 70 ft (maximum). All brush piles will be no closer than 40 ft. from another pile or from the drip line of hardwood trees 10" or greater at DBH (diameter at breast height). Piles will be no closer than 90 ft. from the centerline of improved tank trails, at least 150 ft from any identified endangered species (ES) habitat and no less than 300 ft from the installation boundary. All limbs that are cut from selected standing trees, including incidental wounds to trees, will be sealed by treating with paint or tree wound dressing spray. If any equipment is used on a diseased tree, living or dead, (as determined by NRCS personnel) the equipment must be sterilized by soaking equipment in a 20% bleach solution for at least 5 minutes and rinse with clean water before the equipment can be used on another living tree.

3. Work areas will be found using the Job Site Map provided by NRCS. The Job Site Map will contain pertinent information for the contracted work area including training area number, boundaries of job site, ES habitat boundary, installation boundary and acreage. Work areas will be flagged by NRCS personnel.

3.1 The (Contract Inspector) CI or (Contracting Officer Technical Representative) COTR shall issue a Job Site Map to the Superintendent. Within 5 working days upon receipt of the Job Site Map, the Superintendent will schedule a field visit, with the CI or COTR, to review work to be performed. Within 3 working days after this field visit, work shall commence. Work shall be continuous until all identified work areas on the Job Site Map is complete. Job Site Maps shall be issued on an “as needed” basis as work becomes available. Job Site Map shall be returned to the CI or COTR upon completion within 5 working days.

3.2 The Job Site Map will be portrayed by means of scaled aerial photography, site visit, and marking with flagging. All other areas shall be designated as “Out Areas” in which no work will occur and Contract personnel must not enter. Contractor has full responsibility to know boundaries of Job Site Map.

3.3 In the event contractor is unsure of work boundary, contractor shall stop work and immediately notify the CI or the COTR.

4. The contractor in a designated area of work, which they think has been completed to specifications, shall ask for a NRCS inspection after their quality control officer has reviewed the area, the CI will measure the acreage treated using a GPS/GIS technology. The CI measurements, not the contractor’s measurements, are what will be paid on. Inspections can be done no more than twice a week but must be done at least once a week. CI or COTR will supply the Contractor with Certification Maps showing the training area number, boundaries of completed job site, and acreage. Certification Maps will be given to the Contractor monthly, and this will be the basis of payment.

5. Work performance of the contractor shall average a minimum completion rate of 20 acres per work day. This is not a production goal, but a minimum standard of performance. Failure to meet these standards shall be considered poor performance and may result in contract termination.

6. Work schedule shall be Monday through Friday 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM, excluding Federal Holidays. There will be no work the Friday after Thanksgiving Nov. 23 and no work from Monday Dec.24 through Tuesday Jan. 1.

7. Weather Days - Work shall not be conducted when rain is occurring or conditions are unsafe (muddy, etc). In the event that work cannot be conducted on account of weather, the CI or COTR will declare a weather day. Contractor/NRCS will keep track of weather days in the event the contract will need to be extended.

8. Contractor is responsible for all their equipment on Fort Hood. The Government is not liable for damages or losses of equipment due to theft or vandalism.

9. All employees must attend Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) class before beginning work. The class is at no expense to the contractor and will take approximately 45 minutes. Upon detection of any suspected explosive device, the Contractor must not touch or move, immediately depart the area, and report the detection to EOD.

10. Ft. Hood contains archaeologically important cultural sites. Upon detection of any suspected archaeological materials, the Contractor must not touch or move, immediately depart the area, and report the detection to CI or COTR.

11. Contractor shall sign a “Hold Harmless Agreement” with Fort Hood to obtain an Access Pass for each employee and vehicle. The agreement and access passes are available from the Area Access Office on Fort Hood.

12. All persons driving on Ft. Hood must have a valid U.S. driver’s license; people with a non U.S. driver’s license will not be permitted to drive on Ft. Hood

13. Landscape is remote and difficult to traverse. Any vehicle on the job site shall be operated in a safe manner and be capable to traverse the landscape.

14. Rollover Protective Structures (ROPS). OSHA 1926, Subpart W. Overhead Protection, Sections 1001 and 1002 are applicable regardless of the year in which the equipment was manufactured and regardless of the struck capacity of the equipment.

14.1) Equipment Requiring ROPS. The requirements for ROPS meeting applies to crawler and rubber-tired tractors such as dozers, push-and-pull tractors, winch tractors, tractors with backhoes, and mowers; off high way, self-propelled, pneumatic-tired earthmovers, including scrapers, motor graders and loaders; and rollers, compactors, water tankers (excluding trucks with cabs). These requirements shall also apply to agriculture and industrial tractors and similar equipment.

15. Before beginning work on this contract, all employees must attend Environmental Management Systems Training. The training is 12 minutes long and can be found online at https://lmp.hood.army.mil. The Learning Management Portal can be accessed from any computer at any location. The portal tracks the training for you and will provide a certificate with the number of employees trained if training takes place in a group setting. Employees may also train individually.

16. Each job site shall be considered a hardhat area. All persons, including operators, are required to wear hardhats while operations are in progress. This item shall also include posting signage at all job sites. The sign shall measure at least 4 feet by 6.5 feet with red letters at least 6 inches high and white background. The signs shall read “NRCS PROJECT – WORK AREA – HARDHATS REQUIRED BEYOND THIS POINT”. The sign shall have a professional appearance. All hardhats must meet ANSI Z89.1 Class G, E, C Type I.

17. Sanitary facilities, such as chemical toilets, must be provided and located at the job site. These facilities shall not be located next to live streams, wells, or springs. They shall be located at a distance sufficient to prevent contamination of any water source.

18. The work site is on a military installation. Due to military training priorities, there may be times when work must be stopped or moved to other areas depending upon the needs of military training personnel. This may or may not occur but contractor must be willing to stop work (or re-locate if applicable) if necessary.

19. Contractor shall have a Superintendent available to the CI or COTR on site, at all times, during normal work hours, Monday through Friday 8:00am-4:30pm CST, excluding Federal Holidays. The Superintendent shall be the central point of contact with the NRCS for performance of all work under the contract. Superintendent shall be responsible for overall management and coordination of matters pertaining to the contract. Superintendent shall have a cell phone and be accessible to NRCS at all times during business hours. To aid in communication, Superintendent shall be able to speak, read, and write English and have cellular or mobile communications. Contractor must also have a Project Manager available to the Contracting Officer during normal work hours. The Project Manager must be able to bind the company.

20. Due to the volume of work; this contract requires 2 Government Contract Inspectors which allows the contractor to work in two separate groups. No more than two groups of contractor employees may work simultaneously.