ryan_quinlan_2_irsc_service_appendix_a_2008.doc

Solicitation No. XX-XXX-X-XX-XXXX

Ryan Quinlan 2 Stewardship: Appendix A

APPENDIX A

WORK ACTIVITY ITEMS – TERMS AND SPECIFICATIONS

1. Scope of Work Appendix A of this solicitation describes the contract requirement and specifications for services for a performance based, fixed price contract for the treatment of Products Other than Logs (POL) and slash. This includes felling, masticating, yarding/skidding, decking of POL material and/or removal of the POL material.

The timber harvest and removal requirements of this contract are outlined in Appendix B of this solicitation.

2. Project Location and Description

a) The project areas are located on the Pikes Park Ranger District of the Pike San Isabel National Forest. Vicinity maps showing project location and access, a brief location description, and other information regarding specific items are contained in the enclosed unit maps

b) Accessibility – All work areas, unless otherwise indicated on the Unit Data Sheet, may be reached by Forest roads that are accessible by standard two-wheel drive pickup during normal operating season. The Forest Service assumes no obligation to plow snow or do special maintenance to keep roads open. Spring and fall road conditions usually necessitate the use of a 4-wheel drive vehicle. During the Spring break up the Forest Service reserves the right to suspend harvest operations to protect forest road surfaces.

c) Restrictions – Timber Removal Specifications will apply. Other project specific restrictions may be included on unit data sheets or in Appendix B.

3. Contractor-furnished Equipment and Services

a) The Contractor shall provide sufficiently skilled labor, experienced supervision, transportation, equipment, operating supplies, incidentals and inspection services, except those items listed as Government-Furnished property, to perform the work in compliance with the contract.

b) The Contractor shall notify the COR of any changes in work schedule.

4. Definitions

a) Acceptable Quality Level (AQL) – The maximum percentage or proportion of nonconformities in a lot or batch that can be considered satisfactory as a process average.

b) Bole - The trunk or stem of a cut tree or snag.

c) Created Slash - Debris created from work under this contract including all cut trees and shrubs and their tops, trunks, and branches.

d) Cut Trees – Trees designated for cutting. Cut trees include diseased, damaged, defective trees and undesirable species provided in the specifications.

e) DBH (Diameter at Breast Height) – Outside diameter of the tree stem at a point 4-1/2 feet above the ground, measured from the high side of the base of the tree.

f) DIB (Diameter Inside Bark) - Diameter measurement of a standing tree or log in which the estimated or actual thickness of the bark is discounted.

g) Erosion control – Activities designed to prevent/reduce the delivery of sediment to area streams as a result of road building and/or timber harvest. Activities typically include grass seeding and/or installation of structures to trap moving sediment.

h) Landing Cleanup - A landing is considered a place where any logs or products are gathered for loading. Cleanup is the piling of logs and/or slash not meeting utilization standards.

i) Leave Tree – Any live tree that is selected or required to be left standing as provided in the specifications.

j) Leave Tops – The removing of tops and limbs of cut trees prior to the yarding of the trees.

k) Lopping and Scattering - Cutting limbs from the trunks of cut trees and moving and rearranging of slash concentrations to achieve slash depth required in the contract.

l) Machine Slash Piling – A method of piling slash with the use of mechanized equipment.

m) Mastication – The mowing/mulching/chipping of undesirable vegetation. Slash created during mastication shall not exceed 6 inches diameter and 72 inches in length and shall be spread to a depth of no more than 6 inches in depth.

n) Products Other than Logs (POL) – Trees to be cut that are greater than 5” DBH and up to 9.9” DBH for Ponderosa Pine and 5” DBH and up to 7.9” DBH for all other conifer. This material is subject to agreement for removal.

o) Residual Trees – POL and Sawtimber size trees that have not been designated for removal.

p) Stream Course: The area along a stream that has riparian vegetation and other riparian characteristics. Stream courses are noted on the project maps. They typically require special treatment which may include alteration to the tree cutting, slash treatment, vehicle travel, or fueling of saws.

q) Thinning – The cutting of trees in excess of those to be left for future management.

5. Performance Standards

Treatment of POL and slash.

Proposal may include use of manual or ground base equipment to accomplish task. Proposal may opt for removal of wood. All products meeting utilization specifications in Division A – Appendix B will apply and will be paid for at rates identified in * Schedule of Supplies/Services (Timber Products block 24) - Solicitation. Ground based equipment shall not be permitted on slopes greater than 35 percent, except steep pitches less than 40 percent for less than 200 feet.

5.1 Task:

Treatment of POL -

a) Treatment of POL – To masticate or cut, limb and deck at designated landings and/or remove all Live Ponderosa Pine POL between 5 inches DBH to 9.9 inches DBH and all Live other conifer POL between 5 inches DBH to 7.9 inches DBH.

5.1.1 – POL Designation.

a) See Solicitation 30.6

5.1.2 Cutting Methods

a) Unless specified differently on Unit Data Sheet (pages 8,9), POL cut tree diameter is from 5 inches DBH to 9.9 inches DBH for Ponderosa Pine and 5 inches DBH to 7.9 inches DBH for all other conifer.

b) Stump height of cut trees shall be no higher than 12 inches above ground level.

c) Trees shall be completely severed from the stump.

d) No cut tree shall be left suspended in or leaning against a leave tree or tree outside the unit boundary.

5.2 TASK: Slash Treatment

Unless specified differently on Unit Data Sheet, slash treatment refers to debris created from work under this contract including all cut trees and shrubs and their tops, trunks, and branches.

Slash Treatment type by unit is specified in the Unit Data Sheet. Criteria listed below will be followed for the appropriate treatment.

No thinning and/or logging slash shall be allowed outside the contract boundary, unless otherwise approved by the Contracting Officer. Land Survey Monuments – lop and scatter pullback within 25 feet. Machine piles shall be at least 25 feet from land survey monuments and bearing trees.

Contractor shall keep a tally of all slash piles created if the Machine Slash Piling option is selected for slash treatment. Slash pile tally shall be given to the COR at the close of each unit.

Contractor has the option of 3 slash treatments in dealing with the tops and limbs identified below for accomplishing slash treatment objectives.

a) Leave Tops – Contractor has the option for all Included Timber of having tops and limbs cut from stems prior to skidding. These tops and limbs shall be left in the cutting units where the timber is felled according to the Machine Slash Piling specifications.

b) Limb and Top Removal - Contractor has the option for all Included Timber of leaving tops and limbs of felled trees attached and yarding them to landings within the entire cutting unit as shown on the Contract Area Map. Tops and limbs which are lost on the way to the landing site due to normal felling, skidding and/or yarding operations are not required to be yarded but to be slashed to within 2 feet in height above ground.

c) Lopping and Scattering – Contractor has the option for all Included Timber prior to skidding operations of cutting all exposed tops and limbs. Such limbing shall be done to a top diameter of approximately 6”-sawtimber, 4”-POL inches diameter inside bark, at which point the top will be cut from the remainder of the stem. Limbs shall be severed from the remaining top and all limbs cut from the top and boles will not extend over 2 feet in height above the ground. No slash material shall be concentrated around the bole of residual trees.

d) Landing Cleanup - A landing is considered a place where any logs or products are gathered for loading. Logs not meeting utilization standards accumulated at landings shall be decked as agreed to in writing by the Forest Service. All slash accumulated at landings shall be piled, unless it is agreed in writing that slash can be thrown back into an area that is planned to be broadcast burned. Piling will be accomplished with a machine, of such size, that will cause minimal damage to the residual timber and with acceptable brush piling blade. Forest Service will need to approve the equipment and the type of brush blade.

Piles shall be windrowed.

Piles shall be reasonably compact and free of soil.

Piles will not be more than 20 feet in height, or 20 feet in width.

Piles shall be located at least 20 feet from residual timber and 100 feet from protected streamcourses.

Piles shall not be more than 75 feet long.

All objects that extend for more than 4 feet in any direction from the pile profile will be cut off and returned to the pile.

e) Machine Slash Piling - Contractor has the option of machine piling all slash meeting the following specifications in cutting units or portions of cutting units as shown on the Contract Area Map. Piles shall be compact, free of soil and of sufficient size to facilitate burning. Piles will be a maximum height of 10 feet and maximum width of 15 feet maximum length of 15 feet and shall be placed no closer than 50 feet from the outside perimeter of the unit, system roads, wet areas, or other areas designated on the ground by the Forest Service. No pile or windrow shall be closer than 20 feet from any standing residual trees. All material extending more than 4 feet beyond the outside perimeter of the pile shall be trimmed off and returned to the pile.

f) Mastication - Slash created during mastication shall not exceed 6 inches diameter and 72 inches in length and shall be spread to a depth of no more than 6 inches in depth.

5.3 TASK: Inoperable Areas

In-operable areas within stands designated for treatment. The contractor shall identify on the ground with flagging all areas deemed to be in-operable for safe operations in service work activities. If the government agrees that the area is in-operable the contractor may: 1) Propose an alternate treatment that alleviates the safety concern; if the government agrees with the proposal the area will be treated as agreed and the contractor will receive full payment at the normal contract rate, or 2) Request that the area be removed from the contract, in which case the government will use GPS to measure the affected area and remove it from the contract. The contractor will receive no payment for in-operable areas that are removed from the contract. For payment purposes in-operable areas that are removed from the contract will be rounded to the nearest ¼ acre.

6. Government Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan For all non-construction work activities other than POL thinning, inspection of the area shall be accomplished by 100 percent visual inspection of the unit and will be based on adherence to the contract specifications. Full payment will be made if 100% of the area meets contract specifications for treatment. Disincentive is Contractor rework to meet the 100% objective.

The Forest Service reserves the right to inspect POL thinning by any methodology that it deems appropriate; likely methodologies include periodic visual inspection or random plot basis. Full payment will be made if 100% of the area meets contract specifications for treatment. Disincentive is Contractor rework to meet the 100% objective or reduced payment if additional performance cannot correct the deficiency.

7. Plot Inspections

Should the contractor choose to use a plot system to conduct its Quality Control, the following form is recommended for recording the results.

Plot Inspection Form

Flag plot center – Write on flagging the plot number, date, and initials of inspector. Mark plot number on map.

Y or N

Acceptable Thinning Criteria:

POL – All identified trees need to be cut as identified in Solicitation 30.6.

Acceptable Slash Treatment Criteria:

Plot will be subdivided into four (4) quadrants based on cardinal directions. Each quadrant will be evaluated for compliance with all contract specifications as stated that pertains to that individual treatment. If two (2) or more quadrants fail to comply the plot will fail. If the plot does not fall on a pile the nearest pile will be evaluated.

Limb and Top Removal - Slash created through the timber removal and thinning activities shall be removed and pilled at approved landings. Tops and limbs which are lost on the way to the landing site due to normal felling, skidding and/or yarding operations will be slashed to within 2 feet in height above the ground.

Lopping and Scattering – All tops and limbs shall be required to be slashed to 2 feet in height above the ground.

Machine Slash Piling - Piles shall be compact, free of soil and of sufficient size to facilitate burning. Piles will be a maximum height of 10 feet and maximum width of 15 feet and maximum length of 15 feet and shall be placed no closer than 50 feet from the outside perimeter of the unit, system roads, wet areas, or other areas designated on the ground by the Forest Service. No pile or windrow shall be closer than 20 feet from any standing residual trees. All material extending more than 4 feet beyond the outside perimeter of the pile shall be trimmed off and returned to the pile.

Masticated Material - Slash created during mastication shall not exceed 6 inches diameter and 72 inches in length and shall be spread to a depth of no more than 6 inches in depth.

8. Performance Work Summary Table for POL treatments

Standard Quality

Assurance

Process Acceptable

Quality Level

(AQL)

Incentive/Deduction

9. Unit Data Sheet

Prescription

Slash created during mastication shall not exceed 6 inches diameter and 72 inches in length and shall be spread to a depth of no more than 6 inches in depth.

Slash created during mastication shall not exceed 6 inches diameter and 72 inches in length and shall be spread to a depth of no more than 6 inches in depth.

Slash created during mastication shall not exceed 6 inches diameter and 72 inches in length and shall be spread to a depth of no more than 6 inches in depth.

Slash created during mastication shall not exceed 6 inches diameter and 72 inches in length and shall be spread to a depth of no more than 6 inches in depth.

Slash created during mastication shall not exceed 6 inches diameter and 72 inches in length and shall be spread to a depth of no more than 6 inches in depth.

Slash created during mastication shall not exceed 6 inches diameter and 72 inches in length and shall be spread to a depth of no more than 6 inches in depth.

Slash created during mastication shall not exceed 6 inches diameter and 72 inches in length and shall be spread to a depth of no more than 6 inches in depth.