PHASE_3_Baca_canyon_contract.doc

PHASE 3 - BACA CANYON FUELS THINNING

PART I – THE SCHEDULE

SECTION B – SERVICES AND PRICES

TREE THINNING

B- 1.

Furnish all equipment, labor, supplies, supervision, transportation, and incidentals to perform precommercial tree thinning and work in accordance with the specifications contained herein. There is no Government-furnished property or materials for this project.

B- 2. Schedule Of items Bid Item 1 – Baca Canyon Fuels thinning

BID

ITEM #

Lop & Scatter Slash

Baca Fuels

Thinning Unit 1

B-3 The contractor shall provide a contract representative for the duration of contract work. The name of this person and an alternate(s) who shall 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.

B-4 Contract Time Requirement by Contract Item/Sub item Item

(or Subitem) Estimated

Beginning Date Within 10 days of contract award Contract Time 90 Calendar Days

The Contractor shall maintain progress at a rate which will assure completion of work within the calendar time specified above. The Government will issue a Notice to proceed as soon as weather and ground conditions are favorable for work. The count of contract time will start on the date contractor signs the Notice to Proceed. A pre-work conference will be held as close to the starting date of contract time.

If fire danger becomes extreme, the thinning may be stopped until conditions become less severe. No days will be charged against contract time during this time period. Contract time will be suspended if winter weather conditions preclude access to the project area.

B-5 Measurement

The acreages were measured on a horizontal plane within the established boundaries.

The Contractor may at any time after award but before final invoice is submitted, request remeasurement of any treatment area. The request will be made in writing. Remeasurement must be made within the established boundaries of the treatment area. If remeasurement indicates a variance of 5 percent or less from the acreages stated in the contract, the Contractor shall pay for the actual cost of remeasurement, and no adjustment shall be made in the acreage. If remeasurement indicates a variance greater than 5 percent from the acreages stated in the contract, payment will be based on the remeasured acreage, and the government will pay for the remeasurement.

After inspection of completed acreage, the Contracting Officer will calculate the pay rate. The pay rate will be calculated by multiplying the inspection percentage times the contract unit price per acre. When the per cent of satisfactory thinning is 90 per cent or greater, payment will be made at the contract unit price. Pullback, lopping and scattering of slash will be considered incidental to thinning and no separate payment will be made.

The area will be thinned in an orderly manner to facilitate inspection and calculation of partial payments. The contractor may choose his starting point against the boundary and may proceed in the direction of his choice. However, the contractor will not be permitted to move to a new starting point and leave unthinned areas between completed areas. The order in which units are thinned will be determined by Contracting Officer or his representatives.

B-6 Cut Trees The number of residual trees after thinning process is estimated to range from 50-109 trees per acre. Tree species include Southwestern White Pine, Ponderosa Pine, Douglas Fir, Engelmann Spruce, Blue Spruce, White-Fir.

PART I – THE SCHEDULE

SECTION C - DESCRIPTION OF WORK/WORK STATEMENT

C-1 .Scope of Contract This contract requires tree thinning, and related work in compliance with its terms, specifications, and provisions. This includes furnishing labor, equipment, supervision, transportation, operating supplies, and incidentals except those items listed as government-furnished property.

C-2.

Location/Description Unit Number Township Range Sections

T.25 N.

R. 14 E.

8, 9,16,17 Access to unit is generally good. A four-wheel drive vehicle is recommended to access the units in wet weather.

Bid Item 1

Unit 1 is accessed by traveling East from the city of Taos on Highway 64 about 20 miles, then North on Forest Road (FR) 706 for approximately 1 1/2 mile. Unit is located on the West side of FR 706 (See Exhibit 2). The unit boundaries are marked with two horizontal bands Orange paint and Orange glow flagging facing into the cutting unit.

C-3.

List of Specifications

3.1. Performance Standards Common To All Units

3.2. Selection Of Leave Trees

The contractor shall select the trees to leave. Leave trees shall generally be those of the tallest height, largest crown, and straightest stems that are free of damage due to insects, disease, physical, or mechanical causes. If no healthy undamaged tree exists at the required spacing interval, trees with minor damage may be left. If no healthy tree with minor damage exists, all trees shall be cut. Trees 2 feet tall to the maximum diameter limit of 12.0” DBH shall be thinned to the optimum leave spacing. Thin conifers trees 2’ tall to 12.0” DBH from below, to an average spacing of 25’X 25’with a 25% variance (19’-31’). Residual spacing is measured off all trees with the exception of aspen and snags. No live aspen or southwestern white/limber pine shall be cut. All other conifers under the maximum cut DBH limit of 12.0” that are not considered leave trees shall be cut. Apply a radial thin (2x the drip line) around healthy individual Ponderosa Pine and Douglas-fir >16 inch.

3.3. Leave Tree Priorities

The contractor shall select leave trees in the following order:

1. Free from insect, disease, or mechanical damage

2. Healthiest crown

3. Tallest tree

4. Straightest stem

5. Preferred leave species

1. SWWP/LP

2. Ponderosa Pine

3. Douglas Fir

4. Engelmann Spruce

5. Blue Spruce

6. White Fir

3.4. Cut Tree Priorities

The following trees shall be cut regardless of spacing:

1. All trees between 2 foot tall and 12.0” DBH that are infected with dwarf misteltoe

2. All trees up to the maximum DBH of 12.0” with live crown ratios of 25% or less.

3. All trees up to the maximum DBH of 12.0” which have been severely defoliated:

a. 12 inches or more of the tree top is dead or

b. 75% or more of the tree's needles have been defoliated.

3.5 Stump Height – Removal Of Live Limbs

Stump height shall not exceed 6 inches on the high side of the stump or 4 inches above natural obstacles. All felled trees shall be completely severed from the stumps. All live limbs below the stump height shall be removed, except when prevented by natural obstacles. Along roads, the high side of stump shall face toward the road where possible.

3.6 Piling

Piling is not required under the terms of this contract.

3.7 Bucking

Bucking is not required under the terms of this contract.

3.8 Lopping

All slash created as part of the thinning process will be lopped to a depth of 2 feet from ground level.

3.9 Slash Pull Back

Slash shall be pulled back at least 7 feet from the centerline of low point of intermittent drainages and fence lines and 15ft from base of trees > 18inches dbh. Remove slash from raod generated form thinning.

3.10 Hang-Up Trees

No cut trees shall be left hanging on leave trees. All hung up trees shall be brought to the ground.

3.11 Pruning

When mistletoe infections are within 4 feet of the ground, the infected branches on the tree may be pruned off instead of felling the entire tree.

C-4 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.

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

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

Quality Assurance - Those actions taken by the Government to assure services meet the requirements of the technical specification.

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

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

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.

C-5 Technical Definitions.

The following definitions are provided to aid in understanding:

Average Spacing - The average of the distances between all leave trees necessary to provide the desired number of leave trees per acre.

Bole - Tree trunk or main stem of a tree.

Bucking – Cutting the bole to specified lengths.

Buffer - A wide strip of uncut trees separating or bordering sensitive areas such as streams or riparian zones.

Co-dominant - Trees that are not as tall as dominants, with crowns receiving overhead light. They may be confined laterally by dominants and usually make up the main canopy with the dominants.

Conifer - A cone-bearing tree with needles.

Crook - A defect in trees, consisting of an abrupt curvature or bend.

Crown - That portion of a tree which has green needles or leaves.

Cut tree - Trees designated to be cut down.

D.B.H. (Diameter Breast Height) - Diameter of the trunk measured at a point 4-1/2 feet above the ground level on the uphill side of a tree.

DRC (Diameter root collar) – Diameter of the trunk of a tree measured at ground level.

Damage - Includes any defect or deformity of a tree resulting from agents such as wind, snow, animals, insects, disease, and equipment, and evidenced by such things as dead or broken tops or trunks, crooks, and deep scars.

Dominant - Trees that are somewhat above the general level of the canopy and are exposed to full sunlight from above and to a certain extent laterally.

Excess Trees - Uncut trees that do not meet specifications and should have been cut.

Excessive Damage - Contractor-caused damage to leave trees in excess of contract specifications. Excessive damage will include damage to the bole of the tree where the wood is exposed, broken out tops, root damage as evidenced by lean or splitting of the bole, and any tree pushed out of the soil.

Existing slash - Debris created prior to work under this contract (both natural and as a result of previous operations).

Girdling - A cut through the bark and cambium tissue completely encircling the tree trunk for the purpose of killing the tree.

Hangup Tree - Any tree with one end suspended more than 3 feet off the ground.

Intermediate - Trees that are definitely subordinate in position receiving direct sunlight only through holes in the canopy. All trees of this class are subject to strong lateral competition.

Leave Trees - Any tree that is selected or required to be left standing as provided in the specifications.

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

Live Limb - A woody stem that exceeds 2 inches in length with green needles or leaves growing from the tree bole.

Lopping - Cutting limbs and boles of trees to reduce depth of slash created by felled trees.

Minor Damage - Crooks in the trunk which are offset less than 3 inches from the long axis and within 13 feet of the ground, no forks, broken top, or bark damage extending more than one-fourth of the circumference of the tree.

Missing Leave Trees - Those trees cut that should have been left.

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

Pull-back - Pulling thinning slash, by hand methods, back into thinned unit to clear roadway, drainage ditches, culverts, stream channels, trails, etc.

Riparian - Vegetation bordering watercourses, lakes, bogs, and seeps.

Roads - The area between the outside edges of the fillslope and backslope.

Sanitation - The felling, pruning, or girdling of disease infected or disease susceptible trees to protect residual trees from infection.

Scattering – Moving and rearranging of slash concentrations to achieve slash depth required in the contract.

Shrub - A woody plant with no main stem which does not usually grow higher than seven feet (i.e., brush).

Slash - Limbs and trunks of downed trees and brush.

Spacing - The horizontal distance from the trunk of one leave tree to the trunk of the next nearest leave tree.

Sweep - Gentle curve any where in the bole of the tree.

Thinning - The removal of excess trees in order to accelerate growth on selected residual trees by reducing competition for soil moisture, nutrients, and sunlight.

Thinning slash - Debris created from work under this contract, including all cut trees and shrubs (tops, trunks, branches).

C-6 Inspections The Contracting Officer shall make periodic inspections. The Contractor or his representative is encouraged to observe the inspection and will receive inspection summaries upon request.

C-6.1 Inspection Plot Size and Sample Procedure Plot size specified for this contract will be 1/20th acre (26.3 feet) circular plots. A series of plots distributed over the entire unit sufficient to yield at least a 1-percent sample of each unit shall be taken. Plot centers shall be marked and numbered.

C-6.2 Inspection Quality Evaluation Each plot will be examined to record findings on the items listed below:

1. Number of leave trees that should have been left.

2. Number of trees that were left.

3. Number of missing leave trees.

4. Number of satisfactory leave trees.

5. Number of excess trees.

Upon inspection of all plots for a unit, the quality of thinning shall be calculated as follows:

1.0 - (No. of missing leave trees + No. of excess trees) x 100 = Quality %

(No. of trees that should have been left)

C-6.3 - Rework and Reinspection After Rework When inspection results are below 90 per cent and excess trees constitute any part of the deficiency, payment will not be made until the excess tree deficiency has been corrected. Inspections after rework will be made in the same manner as the first inspection but on different plot lines. The Contractor shall pay for inspections necessitated by the rework.

The COR or inspector may require the Contractor to rework any area that has not been thinned to specifications (for example, mistletoe infected trees that should have been cut or missed clumps of trees), even though the overall inspection for the unit may exceed 90 per cent.

C-6.4 - Reinspection of Thinning Upon Contractor Request

If the original inspection results are unacceptable to the Contractor a second inspection will be done. However, the inspection pattern will be shifted. If the inspection procedure shows less than 5 per cent variance from the first inspection, the Contractor shall pay the cost of the second inspection, and the result of the first inspection will be used in determining payment. Requests for reinspection must be in writing.

PART III - LIST OF DOCUMENTS, EXHIBITS, AND OTHER ATTACHMENTS

SECTION J - LIST OF ATTACHMENTS

Exhibit 1 - Vicinity Map

Exhibit 2 - Project Map

Exhibit 3 - Mistletoe Rating Diagram

Exhibit 4 - Fire Restriction

Exhibit 5 – Evaluation Criteria

Baca Canyon Fuels Thinning Exhibit 3

The following procedure which uses Hawksworth's 6 class rating system will be used to rate dwarf mistletoe infections:

Step 1: Divide the crown into thirds

Step 2: Score each third

No Infection = 0

Light Infection = 1

Heavy infection = 2

Light Infection -one-half or less of the total number of branches in the third infected.

No prominent witches' brooms.

Heavy Infection -more than one-half of the total number of branches in the third infected or one or more witches'brooms.

Step 3: Add the 3 scores together to determine the mistletoe rating for that tree.

Example:

- 0

/ o

- 1

/ o o

- 2

/ o

0 + 1 + 2 = 3

The mistletoe rating for this tree is 3.