Statement of Work.pdf

PERFORMANCE STATEMENT OF WORK (PWS)

2010 North Zone WUI Thinning and Fuels Reduction Black Hills National Forest

SECTION 1 – GENERAL

1.1 Scope of Work

The purpose of this contract is to secure the services for hazardous fuels reduction and timber stand improvement on approximately 2500 acres of National Forest land on the Northern Hills Ranger District. The objectives of this contract are to reduce the potential of a wildfire reaching private homes adjacent to the National Forest and to provide strategic locations to help firefighters contain future wildfires. This will be accomplished by altering the surface fuel present and by breaking up the vertical and horizontal continuity of aerial fuels. Also, stand characteristics will be improved by selectively thinning the understory to leave the largest, healthiest trees.

To achieve these objectives, this contract will require reducing the density of trees from seedlings two feet high up to trees with a 7 inch diameter at breast height (DBH). The fuels reduction will occur on National Forest lands adjacent to private lands. This will require contractor concern for stand visuals after treatment and the protection of private property during the treatment.

1.1.1 Period of Performance:

All work included in this contract shall be completed and accepted by the Government no later than September 30, 2011. Operational restrictions apply to all work under this contract. Operational restrictions are identified in the Supplemental Specifications.

1.1.2 Location Description

The mechanical fuels reduction units, hand thinning with hand piling units are located on the Northern Hills Ranger District, Lawrence County, South Dakota. Refer to attached vicinity and treatment area maps. See Detailed Unit Information in Mechanical Supplemental Specifications and Hand Thinning with Piling Supplemental Specifications document.

1.1.2 Accessiblity

Specific site maps identifying units and access roads shall be provided to the contractor upon request and will be included with the contract package. The contractor shall notify the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) and obtain permission before opening roads or trails. Any roads or trails opened by the contractor to facilitate access will be effectively closed and accepted by the COR before payment for the unit will be made. All access routes to the units need to be identified on the contractor’s written plan of work and approved by the COR. Any subsequent changes will require the COR’s approval also.

1.1.5 Boundaries

Each project shall be marked seprately and all markings identifying units wihtin a project will be identified in the Supplemental Specification.

1.1.6 Contractor Representative

The contractor shall provide a contract representative for the performance of the work. The name of this person and an alternate(s) who act for the contractor when the contractor is absent shall be designated in writing to the Contracting Officer. The contractor representative or alternate shall have full authority to act for the contractor on all contract matters relating to daily operation of this contract. The contractor representative and alternate(s) must be able to read, write, speak, and understand English.

1.1.7 – Public Safety

When Contractor's operations are in progress adjacent to or on Forest Service controlled roads and trails open to public travel, Contractor shall furnish, install and maintain all temporary traffic controls that provide the user with adequate warning of hazardous or potentially hazardous conditions associated with Contractor's operations. This may require the use of flag persons in addition to signing or other methods of warning. A specific traffic control plan for the project shall be prepared by the Contractor and approved by the Forest Service prior to commencing operations. Devices shall be appropriate to current conditions and shall be covered or removed when not needed. Flagmen and devices shall be as specified in the “Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways” (MUTCD). See http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/

SECTION II - DEFINITIONS

2.1 Standard Definitions

Acceptable Quality Level (AQL) - The maximum allowable deviation from perfect performance that may occur before the Government will invoke payment deduction. An AQL does not allow a contractor knowingly to offer defective service, but limits reduced payment to circumstances in which defective performance results in a measurable reduction in the value of services rendered.

Average Spacing - The average distance in feet between desirable leave trees

Best Management Practice (BMP) – A generic term which describes alternative structural or nonstructural practices in accordance with the published South Dakota’s Best Management Practices for the manual erosion control and management of surface runoff. These practices are combined with the Forest Service’s Region 2 Watershed Conservation Practices, and 1997 Black Hills National Forest Plan with amendments. Together, they collectively describe standards and guidelines for effective methods to reduce, control and limit non-point source pollution. These practices may be reviewed by visiting the Internet at this site:

http://www.state.sd.us/doa/forestry/publications/bmp.pdf

Best Value – The expected outcome of an acquisition that, in the Government’s estimation, provides the greatest overall benefit in response to the requirement.

Bole – The trunk or stem of a tree.

Bucking – Cutting the bole to specified lengths.

Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) - A Government person appointed by the Contracting Officer to help the Contracting Officer with contract administration and surveillance

Cut Trees -- Trees that are not to be left as leave trees. Refer to Technical Exhibit A Tree Quality Criteria.

D.B.H. (diameter at breast height) – The diameter of a tree measured outside the bark at 4 ½ feet above the ground on the uphill side.

D.R.C. (diameter at root collar) – The diameter of a tree measured outside the bark at the root collar (ground level)-

Damaged Trees - Any tree with one or more of the following injuries:

1. Any tree greater than 1” D.B.H. that has any bark cut or removed to the cambium at or over 50% of the circumference of the bole.

2. Any tree that has had 50% or more of the live limbs or branches broken or removed by any operation.

3. Leans more than 10 degrees due to contractor’s equipment or skidded material striking the tree.

4. Has the top knocked out.

Defective Service - A unit of service work which contains one or more defects, or nonconformance with specified requirements.

Excess Trees - Uncut trees that are not needed to meet average spacing specifications and that do not possess the characteristics specified for leave trees.

Fragmentation – Breaking material into pieces across the wood grain and along the wood grain resulting in the removal of bark and the exposure of the inner wood to weathering.

Fuelbreak Construction: The cutting of trees less than 9” DBH and piling of existing and/or created slash less than 6” DIB in timber stands creating a break in fuel and slash free strip on the ground. . Desired spacing in fuel breaks is 16 feet by 16 feet. Fuel break construction may be accomplished through the use of hand piling, machine piling, chipping, or a combination of several treatments unless otherwise identified in the Supplemental Specifications

Government Inspector - A Government person responsible for surveillance of contractor performance

Improvement – All roads, trails, ditches, land survey corners, telephone lines, power lines, water lines, fences, buildings and structures, recreational development sites, research plots, septic systems, water guzzlers and similar items which the contractor must protect during operations.

Leave Trees – Trees which are not to be cut under this contract. This includes all trees larger than 7 inches in diameter. Leave trees are the tallest height, largest crown and straightest stem and are free of disease. Refer to Technical Exhibit A – Tree Quality Criteria.

Live Crown Ratio – Percent of live crown in relation to the total height of the tree

Lopping and Scattering – Cutting limbs from contractor cut trees and rearranging slash concentrations to achieve slash depth required in the contract. Lopping generally leaves branch and limb wood intact.

Machine –A machine with a ground pressure rating of no more than 10 PSI. The machine must be able to remove the trees around and next to the tree selected as the best leave tree without damaging it and be able to treat resulting and pre-existing slash to the stated specifications.

Overstory - The portion of the stand that receives full or partial benefit of the sun. Usually dominant and co-dominate trees of the stand. For the units described in Section 1.3, trees over 7” D.B.H.

Piling – Gathering and stacking of thinning slash into piles constructed and located as indicated by technical specification.

Performance Requirements Summary (PRS) - Identifies the key service outputs of the contract that will be evaluated by the Government to assure that contract performance standards are met by the Contractor.

Quality Assurance - Those actions taken by the Government to assure services meet the requirements of the Performance Work Statement (PWS).

Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) - An organized written document used for quality assurance surveillance. The document contains specific methods the Government will use to perform surveillance of the contractor.

Quality Control - Those actions taken by a contractor to control the performance of services so that they meet the requirements of the PWS.

Random Sampling – A sampling method in which each service output in a unit has an equal chance of being selected.

Slash – limbs, branches, tops, and unmerchantable bole wood, etc., pre-existing and resulting from contractor’s operations.

Snag - A standing dead tree over 8 inches D.B.H. and 10 feet in height.

Stump Height - Stump height shall not exceed six inches from the ground on the uphill side or four inches above natural obstacles.

Thinning and Slash Treatment - The cutting of trees in excess of those left for future management and treatment of the associated slash.

SECTION III- GOVERNMENT FURNISHED PROPERTY, MATERIALS, SERVICES

The government will provide copies of Performance Work Statement and unit maps upon request of the contractor.

SECTION IV- CONTRACTOR FURNISHED ITEMS/SERVICES

The contractor shall furnish everything required to perform this PWS.

SECTION V—PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT TASKS AND CRITICAL SUBTASKS

5.1 Precommercial Thinning: The contractor shall select trees that meet the definition of leave trees to a desired spacing identified in the supplemental specifications for each Bid Item. Thin conifer trees that meet the definition of cut tree or less desirable leave trees first– see Exhibit A - from 2 feet in height to 7 inches dbh

The most desirable trees or trees identified as leave trees shall be left to spacing detailed in Supplemental Specifications. See Technical Exhibit A for tree quality criteria. Due to variability of terrain, slope and stand conditions, a variance of up to 4 feet may be utilized for spacing purposes in order for the contractor to select the most desirable leave trees or remove trees that meet the definition as cut or less desirable leave trees.

Conifer trees are the desired species to be cut. In areas where pine and spruce coexist, favor pine.

Aspen, Birch, and Oak hardwoods greater than 4” drc are not targeted for removal; however, if some hardwoods have to be cut for operational purposes, the resulting slash will be treated in a manner consistent with Subtask 5.2.

In cases where power saws are used for thinning, cut trees shall be felled away from unit boundaries, roads, telephone and power lines, trails, fences, streams, private property, structures, and established survey markers.

Stump Height – Trees shall be severed below the bottom of the lowest green branches. Within all work units the cut trees shall be cut so the stump height will not exceed 6 inches measured from the ground on the uphill side or 4 inches above natural obstacles (boulders, down logs, etc.) unless otherwise agreed in writing. High stumps resulting from the contractors operations shall be trimmed by hand.

Stump shall be cut to an angle that is less than 30 degrees from horizontal.

5.2 Mechanical Mastication: The contractor shall mechanically treat pre-existing and contractor created slash so that branch and limb wood is separated from the bole of the tree and fragmented (see Section 2 for definition of fragmentation).

Maximum acceptable slash depth is 9 inches. Thinning slash and any slash previously on site shall be treated in a way as to lie as close as possible to the ground.

Residual material following mastication shall not lie within a stream course, cut bank, roadway or road ditch.

Branch and limb wood shall be separated from the bole of the tree. Branch or limb wood shall not exceed 3 feet in length. The bole of the tree shall not exceed 10 feet in length.

If mechanical treatment is impossible due to natural features in the treatment areas use power saws. In all areas where power saws were used to treat slash – slash shall be piled. Contractor will provide the COR piled locations by a GPS or map. Piles constructed by hand shall be in accordance with Technical Exhibit B.

5.3 Lop and Scatter: In units not identified for mechanical mastication, contractor shall treat created slash so that material does not exceed 12 inches above the ground surface.

Boles of cut material shall be bucked into lengths 10 feet or less

It is preferred that lop and scatter material not lie at the base of leave trees.

5.4 Fuelbreak construction: Trees that meet the criteria of leave tree shall be left to an average spacing of 16 feet by 16 feet. Contractor shall selectively thin trees that meet the definition of cut tree or less desirable leave trees first Trees cut shall be between 2 feet in height to 7 inches dbh. Contractor created and pre-existing slash shall be piled to meet criteria described in Technical Exhibit B.

Due to variability of terrain, slope and stand conditions, a variance of up to 4 feet may be utilized for spacing purposes in order for the contractor to select the most desirable leave trees or remove trees that meet the definition as cut or less desirable leave trees.

All material 2 inches in diameter and 3 feet long and longer shall be placed into piles, located within the unit, for burning.

All material to be piled shall be cut into 6-foot lengths or shorter before piling.

Piles shall be constructed so that fine material (needles) and small diameter material (twigs) compose the internal portion of the pile

Piles shall be constructed in compact “teepees”

No piles shall be constructed within 50 feet of any road or driveway, private property boundaries and structures.

No piles shall be constructed within 50 feet of any hiking trails or snowmobile trail

No piles shall be constructed underneath power lines.

Leave 50 feet of 10-inch diameter or greater material per acre to meet Forest Plan standards for wildlife habitat.

5.5 Environmental Considerations: The contractor shall minimize damage to residual leave trees, soils, roads, etc.

Each unit shall contain an average of 50 linear feet per acre of downed logs 10 inches in diameter and greater after treatment.

Tree damage (see definitions) in excess of 10% across a unit area will result in monetary damage to be paid by the contractor to the Forest Service.

To reduce the risk of soil compaction due to mechanical activity associated with the cutting and slash reduction activities, units will only be mechanically cut and treated when soil surface is dry, snow cover exists, or frozen ground conditions are present. Hand felling is permissible during wet periods

Damage to fences caused by the contractor shall be repaired immediately at the contractor’s expense.

Contractor damage to fences shall be repaired by the end of the workday that the damage occurs.

5. 6 Submittals

QUALITY CONTROL PLAN: The contractor shall establish and maintain a complete Quality Control Plan acceptable to the Government to ensure the requirements of the contract are provided as specified.

WORK PLAN: The contractor provided Work Plan shall describe how the contractor plans to perform the project, including methods, personnel, and equipment.

PROGRESS SCHEDULE: The contractor shall prepare and submit a practical schedule showing the order in which the contractor will perform the work and the dates on which the contractor contemplates starting and completing each task.

Means of Quality Measurement –

Visually review contractor’s work, and perform random sampling if necessary. Contractor generated inspection records may be reviewed by the Government for results

Penalties for Un-Acceptable Work By The Contractor

(1) Contractor shall rework at no cost to the Government all work performed which does not meet the minimum acceptable quality level. (2) Contractor shall bear the cost of extra inspections (at rate of $30/hour per inspector & .25/mile) by the Government if the Government has to perform extra monitoring of the Contractors work. (3) Government may accept the Contractors work, but at a reduced payment rate. (4) The Government may secure the services of another contractor to bring the Contractor’s work up to the acceptable quality level prior to final payment, with the Contractor paying for the rework by second contractor. (5) The Contractor may pay for excessive damage to leave trees within the work units.

Incentives for Acceptable Work By The Contractor

The Contractor shall receive a good performance rating and receive recommendations for awards of similar work in the future.

SECTION VI – GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS/INDUSTRY STANDARDS/ STATE STANDARDS/

GOVERNMENT STANDARDS/TECHNICAL EXHIBITS

Attachments, including vicinity maps and exhibits, if required are included in the contract package and available from the COR.

SECTION VII – PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS SUMMARY

TASK/SUBTASK PERFORMANCE

STANDARD

ACCEPTABLE

QUALITY LEVEL

(AQL)

MONITORING

METHOD

DISINCENTIVES FOR

NOT MEETING

STANDARDS

5.1 Precommercial Thinning: The contractor shall select trees that meet the definition of leave trees to the desired spacing identified in the supplemental specifications for each Bid Item.

Thin conifer trees that meet the definition of cut tree or less desirable leave trees first– see Exhibit A - from 2 feet in height to 7 inches dbh

Thin unit to a desired spacing of 14 feet by 14 feet plus or minus 4 feet (10 feet to 18 feet)

Conifer trees are the desired species to be cut. In areas where pine and spruce coexist, favor pine. Aspen, Birch, and Oak hardwoods greater than 4” drc are not targeted for removal; however, if some hardwoods have to be cut for operational purposes, the resulting slash will be treated in a manner consistent with Subtask 5.2.

In cases where power saws are used for thinning, cut trees shall be felled away from unit boundaries, roads, telephone and power lines, trails, fences, streams, private property, structures, and established survey markers.

Stump Height – Trees shall be severed below the bottom of the lowest green branches. Within all work units the cut trees shall be cut so the stump height will not exceed 6 inches measured from the ground on the uphill side or 4 inches above natural obstacles

90% Acceptable Level of performance

Review contractor’s records of inspection system and sampling results

Perform periodic on-site inspections

Inspections conducted through ocular inspection

Verifying compliance of contractor through inspection of 1/20 th acre plots if needed.

Rework at contractor’s expense

No payment will be made for less than 90% AQL

Contractor is responsible for re-inspection costs when inspections exceed two inspections per unit

Poor performance rating

5.2 Mechanical

Mastication: The contractor shall mechanically treat pre-existing and contractor created slash so that branch and limb wood is separated from the bole of the tree and fragmented (see Section 2 for definition of fragmentation).

Maximum acceptable slash depth is 9 inches. Thinning slash and any slash previously on site shall be treated in a way as to lie as close as possible to the ground.

Residual material shall not lie within a stream course, cut bank, roadway or road ditch.

Branch and limb wood shall be separated from the bole of the tree. Branch or limb wood shall not exceed 3 feet in length. The bole of the tree shall not exceed 10 feet in length.

If mechanical treatment is impossible due to natural features in the treatment areas use power saws. In all areas where power saws were used to treat slash – slash shall be piled.

Contractor will provide the COR piled locations by a GPS or map. Piles constructed by hand shall be in accordance with Technical Exhibit B.

Acceptable level of performance records of inspection system and sampling results

Perform periodic on-site inspections

Inspections conducted through ocular inspection Verifying compliance of contractor through inspection of 1/20 th needed when inspections exceed

5.3 Lop and

Scatter: In units not identified for mechanical mastication, contractor shall treat created slash so that material does not exceed 12 inches above the ground surface.

Boles of cut material shall be bucked into lengths 10 feet or less

It is preferred that lop and scatter material not lie at the base of leave trees.

90% Acceptable Level of performance

Review contractor’s records of inspection system and sampling results

Perform periodic on-site inspections

Inspections conducted through ocular inspection

Verifying compliance of contractor through inspection of

No payment will be made for less than 90% AQL

Contractor is responsible for re-inspection costs when inspections exceed

5.4 Fuelbreak construction:

Trees that meet the criteria of leave tree shall be left to an average spacing of 16 feet by 16 feet.

Contractor shall selectively thin trees that meet the definition of cut tree or less desirable leave trees first Trees cut shall be between 2 feet in height to 7 inches dbh. Contractor created and pre-existing slash shall be piled to meet criteria in Technical Exhibit B.

Due to variability of terrain, slope and stand conditions, a variance of up to 4 feet may be utilized for spacing purposes in order for the contractor to select the most desirable leave trees or remove trees that meet the definition as cut or less desirable leave trees.

All material 2 inches in diameter and 3 feet long and longer shall be placed into piles, located within the unit, for burning.

All material to be piled shall be cut into 6-foot lengths or shorter before piling.

Piles shall be constructed so that fine material (needles) and small diameter material (twigs) compose the internal portion of the pile

Piles shall be constructed in compact “teepees”

No piles shall be constructed within 50 feet of any road or driveway, private property boundaries and structures.

No piles shall be constructed within 50 feet of any hiking trails or snowmobile trail

No piles shall be constructed underneath power lines.

Leave 50 feet of 10-inch diameter or greater material per acre to meet Forest Plan standards for wildlife habitat.

90% Acceptable Level of records of inspection

Inspections conducted through ocular inspection

Verifying compliance of contractor through inspection of when inspections exceed

5.5 The contractor shall minimize damage to residual leave trees, soils, roads, etc.

Each unit shall contain an average of 50 linear feet per acre of downed logs 10 inches in diameter and greater after treatment.

Tree damage (see definitions) in excess of 10% across a unit area will result in monetary damage to be paid by the contractor to the Forest Service.

To reduce the risk of soil compaction due to mechanical activity associated with the cutting and slash reduction activities, units will only be mechanically cut and treated when soil surface is dry, snow cover exists, or frozen ground conditions are present. Hand felling is permissible during wet periods

Damage to fences caused by the contractor shall be repaired immediately at the contractor’s expense.

Contractor damage to fences shall be repaired by the end of the workday that the damage occurs.

Acceptable level of records of inspection

Verifying compliance of contractor through inspection of 1/20 acre plots if needed

Inspection conducted through ocular inspection when inspections exceed

5.6- Submittals

Quality Control Plan (QCP)

Work Plan

Progress Work Schedule

All submittals are received within 10 days after contract award

QCP includes contractor’s inspection system and the method for identifying and preventing defectives in the quality of service performed.

Includes method and frequency of inspections

On-site records of all quality control inspections are submitted weekly

100 % compliance

Submittal Review

Will not issue Notice to Proceed until acceptable submittals are received.

MEASUREMENT AND PAYMENT

Acreage

Approximate acreage was determined by differentially corrected Global Positioning System (GPS) data traverses or using other existing GIS coverages. Refer to Table 1.3 for unit by unit acreage.

Remeasurement of Units:

The government provides acreage values as estimates only. The contractor should offset any discrepancies by an associated quote. For example, if the contractor feels the acreage is more than is indicated, the lump sum quote should be higher. The government will not re-measure the units under any circumstances. The project is being let as lump sum. It is the offeror’s responsibility to determine the amount of work required to complete the project as a whole.

Payment

Payment will be made at the full contract unit price for each Task and Related Subtasks where the Contractors work complies with the Acceptable Quality Level for the Task and Related Subtask. See Acceptable Work Quality Level for Thinning And Related Subtasks.

Work by the Contractor which does not meet the Acceptable Quality Level for the task and related subtask is unacceptable and may not be paid for, depending upon damages suffered. If the Contractor does not perform rework to bring their work up the acceptable quality level, at a minimum, the Government will do the following:

(1) Determine what it would cost to secure services to bring the Contractors work up to the described Acceptable Work Quality Level as defined in Sections 5 and 7, and the cost of performing this work will be deducted from the contract price; (2) make deductions from the contract price for unacceptable damage; (3) damages for work that cannot be redone will be determined by the Contracting Officer and the amount of these damages will be deducted from any payment to the Contractor. (4) The Contractor’s quality of work falls below Acceptable Quality Level and cannot be reworked, unit will not be accepted and Contractor will not be paid.

If the Government determines that the Contractor is doing an inadequate inspection of their contracted services, and the Government is forced to spend more than a reasonable amount of time inspecting the Contractors work, the Contractor shall pay for the Governments increased inspection time. Contractor shall bear the cost of extra inspections (at rate of $30/hour per inspector & .25/mile) by the Government if the Government has to perform extra monitoring of the Contractors work.

Each treated unit will be paid for as a separate unit. No partial payments for partially completed units will be made. No payments will be made for less than 50 acres, so units less than 50 acres will be combined with other units for payment. The contractor will notify the COR when a unit is completed and inspected. The government will verify the inspection within seven days and payment will be recommended to the contracting officer. A maximum of 24 payments will be paid by the government for completed work on this contract. The contractor shall adjust payment invoices accordingly.

SECTION VIII - GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS/INDUSTRY STANDARDS/STATE STANDARDS/GOVERNMENT

STANDARDS/TECHNICAL EXHIBITS

Technical Exhibits A and B attached:

Technical Exhibit A

TREE QUALITY CRITERIA

The contractor shall use these guidelines to select and leave standing the best trees in the treatment areas.

Tree Quality - Trees that are selected to be left to meet the spacing specified in the thinning guides, shall be desirable leave trees. The contractor shall first select the most desirable leave trees as defined in paragraph one below. In areas where there are not enough trees with the most desirable characteristics available to meet the specified spacing, the contractor shall select less desirable leave trees as defined in paragraph 2 below. All hardwood species shall be considered the most desireable species. Otherwise, ponderosa pine shall be considered the desirable species. All pine and spruce shall be removed from within hardwood clumps. Refer to the following for examples of Most Desirable, Less Desirable, and Cut Tree characteristics:

1. Most Desirable Leave Trees - Trees that possess the following characteristics shall be the first choice for desirable leave trees:

a. Dominant Trees - Trees which are taller on the average when compared to other trees in the unit. These trees are not severely suppressed.

b. Co-dominant Trees - Trees of average height when compared to other trees in the unit. These trees are not severely suppressed.

c. Healthy Foliage - Foliage shall be dark green in color with a full crown over one-third or more of the trees.

d. Straight Bole - The bole or stem of the tree shall be relatively straight.

Trees shall have a single branch terminal.

e. Free of Physical Damage - Trees shall not have physical damage from fire, animals or weather on more than one-fourth of the circumference of the bole or more than three feet of length of the bole.

f. Free of Disease Damage - Trees shall not have disease damage such as gall rust, peridermium cankers and stalactiform rust. Symptoms of gall rust are galls on the branch and stem. Symptoms of peridermium cankers are the presence of cankers on the bole and branches. Symptoms of stalactiform rust is elongated, diamond-shaped cankers and associated resinosis.

g. Free of Insect Damage - Trees shall not have insect damage from Mountain Pine Beetles and Ips Beetles. Symptoms of Mountain Pine Beetles are small red to yellowish pitch tubes (less than one-fourth inch) and boring dust in bark crevices and round the base of the tree. Symptoms of Ips Beetles are dead tops and group killings without pitchout tubes.

h. The trees with the best single leader growth.

2. Less Desirable Leave Trees - When the prescribed stocking level of most desirable leave trees cannot be achieved with trees that possess the most desirable characteristics, the contractor shall select trees with less desirable characteristics in the priority listed below:

a. Minor Defect - Trees with minor defect such as a sharp crook or a small amount of animal damage.

b. Suppressed Trees - Trees that have been severely suppressed. These trees are usually characterized by extremely short or nonexistent internodes, twisted gnarled stems, or an extreme sparseness of foliage.

c. Other Live Trees - Trees other than insect or disease damaged trees with 1/4 live crown.

d. Multiple Stems - Trees forked at or below ground level. Two or more stems originating from the same base. Multiple stem trees will be left only if needed for spacing purposes. Either both stems shall be cut or both stems shall be left.

e. Physical Damage - Trees that have physical damage on half or more of the bole circumference and greater than three feet in length. Physical damage is damage caused by equipment, falling trees, lightning, wind, animals, etc.

3. Cut Tree Characteristics - Cut trees shall be those trees that are not to be left as leave trees.

a. Crooked Bole - Those trees with deformation so pronounced that one straight, eight-foot piece cannot be cut from the bottom twelve feet of the tree.

b. Broken Tops - Tree tops broken as a result of physical damage.

c. Multiple Stems – Trees forked at or below ground level. Two or more stems originating from the same base. Either both stems shall be cut or both stems shall be left.

d. Trees with active peridermium cankers anywhere on the tree bole.

e. Trees with broken tops and live crown ratios less than 30%.

f. Trees which are overtopped and growing into the crown of an adjacent larger tree.

g. Trees without broken tops with live crown ratios less than 20%.

h. Bark Beetle infested trees or trees exhibiting signs of Mountain Pine Beetle infestation.

Tree Size - The contractor shall select cut or leave trees in accordance with these tree size guidelines:

Trees under 7.0 inches D.B.H. - Live ponderosa pine over two feet in height and up to 7.0 inches D.B.H. shall be cut unless they qualify as a desirable leave tree or they are needed to maintain the specified average spacing intervals.

However, in no case shall any ponderosa pine tree under 7.0 inches D.B.H. be left closer than fourteen feet to any other pine or as specified in table 1.3.

Tree Spacing The average spacing requirements for the treatment areas is 14 X 14 feet (See Table 1.3 for unit by unit spacing requirements). The purpose of having variability in spacing is to allow the contractor to choose the best trees available while still achieving the targeted number of stems per acre in the residual stand. Two trees may be left closer than the average spacing, but the average spacing distance shall be maintained around the two trees.

Tree Felling - Care shall be taken to minimize damage to leave trees. Trees shall be felled so they lie on the ground. No hang-ups will be permitted.

Stump Height - Trees shall be cut below the bottom green branches. Stumps shall be cut as close to the ground as practicable and in no case to a height greater than six inches above the ground on the high side.

Stumps shall be cut to an angle of less than 30 degrees from the horizontal. Trees shall be completely severed from the stump.

Technical Exhibit B

Piling Specifications

Minimum Distance—distance between the edge of the brush pile and the perpendicular edge of the nearest tree branch (the dripline). This distance is two times the average diameter of the brush pile.

Pile height—the minimum height of a brush pile is 5 feet, the maximum height is 7 feet.

Pile diameter—the minimum diameter of a brush pile is 4 feet, the maximum diameter is 8 feet.

Material size—material 2 inches and greater and 3 feet long and longer will be piled using the “haystack” method—tree stems to the middle with the needles out. Hand piled material will be cut to lengths of 6 feet or less. All material up to 7 inches in diameter and 6 feet in length will be hand piled.

D = Diameter H = Height