Apndx_A_work_statement_perf.doc

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Appendix A – Buckeye

Appendix A PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT – Thinning, Pruning, Weeding, Slash Piling & Hazard Fuels Reduction and Re-arrangement.

The objective is to remove unwanted trees from the units and to increase the area available for growth to crop trees. The Contractor will leave a select number of the healthiest, most vigorous, and best-formed trees of the preferred species spaced throughout the treatment unit. Fuels reduction and rearrangement reduces fuel concentrations to minimize intensity and severity to surrounding leave trees.

The technical specifications are based on the overall composition and condition of the stand, and are intended to be guidelines for achieving a high quality final product in a professional manner. Contractor is expected to use silvicultural knowledge to identify and adjust to variations within the stand.

1 - Slash Piling - Schedule of Items 1.1 – Portions of Units 1,2,3,4,5,6

Slash Piling – The objectives of piling is reduction of hazard fuels do to concentrations of fine activity fuels above acceptable levels found approximately 200 feet either side of the roads and in and adjacent to the camping areas. Fine fuels are consider to be all materials less than 6 inches in diameter including tops, limbs and thinning slash. Course fuels are generaly 6 inches and larger in diameter and scattered across the area. Acceptable levels is approximately 5 tons of coarce fuels per acre. Areas to be piled will be identified on the contract map and the outside boundaries on the ground by a dot of white paint.

Slash Piling

a. Activity slash both harvest, pre-commercial thinning/weeding, pruning slash including tree limbs and tops less than 6 inches in diameter will be piled either by hand of machine. Incidental amounts of fine slash can be left in the area or to be scattered over landings, skid trails and temporary roads. Location of piles should be in openings if possible but not open meadows.

STANDARD FOR PERFORMANCE ELEMENT for Slash Piling

1. Hand or machine piles will be a minimum of 4 feet on a side and 4 feet high.

2. Machine or hand piles not including landing piles will be less than 8 feet on a side and 6 feet high.

3. Handpiles will be no closer than ten feet from residual trees including snags over 12” DBH.

4. Machine piles will be no closer than 12 feet from residual trees including snags over 12” DBH.

5. No piles should be under the live canopy of trees.

6. Piles will not be on or next to down logs.

7. Machine piles will be grapple piled.

8. Piles will be compact and free of soil.

9. No piles within 100 feet of the reservoir, live streams and 50 feet of intermittant streams.

2 - Thinning/Weeding/Pruning - Schedule of Items 2.1 - Units 2,3,4,6

Thinning/Weeding/Pruning - The objectives of thinning is to remove excess trees to promote growth and increase resilience of leave trees to fire, insects, and disease. The objectives of weeding are to remove the damaged, diseased or other competing non commercial species from healthy conifer stands. Weeding also includes the remove of invading conifers from aspen clones in order to promote the growth and retention of aspen within treated stands. Pruning is the removal of ladder fuels to reduce fire hazard, ladder fuels include the following species; ponderosa pine, juniper and pinyon pine.

Thinning/Weeding

a. Cut trees shall include ponderosa pine trees 2 feet in height or taller that are less than 8.0 inches DBH (Diameter at Breast Height). Cut juniper and pinyon 2 feet in height or taller when next to a desirable tree species (aspen, ponderosa pine), juniper and pinyon trees greater than 12 inches DBH can be girlded. The above conifer species will be removed for a 30 feet radius from around Ponderosa pine greater than 18 inch DBH and and 40 feet foot radius from yellow-barked Ponderosa pine; conifers will be removed for a 15 foot radius around 12 inch diameter (DBH) and less Ponderosa pine and a 20 foot radius around Ponderosa pine greater than 12 inch DBH to 18 inches in diameter. The above conifers will be removed within and around aspen clones for a distance of 1 ½ tree lengths of he clone. Leave all aspen trees regardless of spacing, except when cutting is necessary to provide safe access to fell a cut tree. Where no eight inch diameter or larger leave trees are present normal tree spacing will be 15 by 15 feet. Thinning shall generally be from below favoring the trees with the tallest height, fullest crown, and straightest stem, which are free of damage due to insect, disease, and physical or mechanical damage. The amount of thinning and/or weeding will vary due to the variation found in the stands. Emphasis is on quality crop tree selection rather than spacing.

b. Hardwoods (gambel oak, maple, mountain mahogany or serviceberry) 3 feet in height or taller that are less than six inches DRC (diameter at root collar) that are within 8 foot radius of the selected leave trees will also be cut and felled. In areas where pinyon pine, juniper, gamble oak or other brush species exist and no trees of the desired tree species exist, no thinning, weeding or pruning shall occur.

c. Infected Tree Treatment - Dwarf mistletoe infected trees less than 8 inches DBH shall be cut when they are adjacent to uninfected trees of any size. In areas where all trees are infected, thin according to spacing and selection guidelines. Branch pruning rather than felling is encouraged to reduce mistletoe ratings to one or less if the infections are at least 6 inches from the tree bole. The Hawksworth mistletoe rating divides the live crown into thirds and rates each third of live crown as no mistletoe (0), light mistletoe (1), or heavy mistletoe (2). No mistletoe would have a rating of zero. A Hawksworth level of three could be heavy mistletoe in the lower third (2), light mistletoe in the middle third (1) and no mistletoe in the upper third for a total score of three (2+1+0=3).

Pruning

a. Limbs of conifer trees (live and dead over one foot in length) will be pruned (severed within one inch of the bole of the tree) for a height of five feet around the base of all live trees 3 inch DBH to 8 inch DBH, but no more than 40 percent of the crown to be pruned. Caution will be needed not to cut into the bole of the tree causing damage.

STANDARD FOR PERFORMANCE ELEMENT – Thinning, Weeding & Pruning

1. Trees less than 2 feet tall shall not be considered in spacing requirements.

2. If a decision is made to fell a tree that is forked below DBH, both stems of the tree will be cut. If no other trees are available within specified spacing and variance the tree (both stems) may be retained.

3. For thinning, normal tree spacing will be 15 by 15 feet, to provide for a natural stand structure and selection of desirable trees spacing may vary by 50 percent.

4. The maximum allowable stump height is 6 inches measured from the high side of the tree, except when prevented by natural obstacles.

5. All live limbs below the cutting point shall be removed.

6. Trees shall be completely severed from the stump.

7. Stumps shall be cut at a relatively flat (less than 30%) angle.

8. Cut trees including brush shall be felled away from unit boundaries, roads, and fences. Any trees falling on such areas shall be removed.

9. All cut trees including brush shall be felled a minimum of 8 feet away from all live leave trees and snags over 12” DBH, if necessary trees will need to be bucked and moved.

3. Fuel Rearrangement - Schedule of Items 3.1 – Units 2, 3, 4, 6 / Items 3.2 - Units 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

The objective Fuel Rearrangement is to lower fuel height and reduce fuel concentrations to minimize intensity and severity to surrounding leave trees. Lopping is the cutting of limbs off of the cut tree boles to a designated top diameter and severing the top. The maximum fuel depth will be no greater than 18 inches. Fuel rearrangement is the slash resulting from thinning, weeding, pruning and lopping will be pulled away from live trees and scattered. Raking of the needle concentrations under larger trees with deep undisturbed needles layers to protect trees and root systems prior to burning

Lopping/ Slash Pullback– 3.1 Cutting of all limbs (dead or live) shall be cut from the trunk of all felled trees to a slash depth not greater than 18 inches from the ground and tops cut off at 3 inch diameter. Slash Pullback all cut material from thinning, weeding, pruning and lopping (including logging slash in all units) will be placed a minimum of 8 feet away from the trunk of any live leave tree and snags over 12” DBH. Large concentrations of slash that cannot be spread in a manner that will minimize intensity and severity of fire to surrounding trees should be scattered in an opening, on skid trails, temporary roads or piled. Trees felled within aspen clone will be lopped but not required to be moved away from the live aspen trees. Units 1 and 5 will not be pre-commercially thinned under the stewardship contract and will not require lopping or pruning. Slash created during harvest in the all units will be lopped under the timber sale portion of the contract.

Fuel Rearrangement – 3.2

Larger trees designated with a band of orange paint, yellow barked trees with or without orange paint over 18 inches in diameter and all marked wildlife trees with deep undisturbed needle layers will be raked if not already disturbed during skidding or fuel rearrangement. The intent is not to remove the needle layer but to disturb the continuity. Dead trees marked with a band of orange paint or over 12 inches in diameters will be treated by raking of needles away from the tree bole.

STANDARD FOR PERFORMANCE ELEMENT – Fuel Re-arrangement

1. Lopping requires that all limbs (dead or live) shall be cut from the trunk of all felled trees to a slash depth not greater than 18 inches from the ground and the tops cut off at 2 to 3 inches.

2. All cut material from thinning, weeding, pruning and lopping (including logging slash in all units) will be placed a minimum of 8 feet away from the trunk of any live leave tree and for snags over 12” DBH.

3. Rake needles and twigs under all yellow barked ponderosa pine and marked wildlife trees. Area to be rake is under the canopy or drip line of the tree. Needles are to be disturbed to break up the continuity of the needle bed.

4. Rake litter (needles/twigs) way from the base of dead trees and snags 12 inches DBH and larger for a 3 foot radius and scatter material to reduce fire intensity in all units.

Measurable Performance Standards

The performance standards are listed for each work item, these standards and specifications will be used in the inspections to measure contractor compliance.

Tree thinning, weeding, pruning

Acceptance will be determined based on the Contractor’s quality control inspection and verified by the Government monitoring and will be based on adherence to the specifications stated in the contract.

If Category B excess trees (refer to Inspection Plot form, R4-2400-4) contribute to the deficiency, acceptance and payment will not be made until the deficiency has been corrected unless the Contracting Officer determines excess tree deficiency to be minor or an isolated situation that will not result in any material differences in the total number of trees to be left.

Lop and scatter/slash pullback/raking.

Acceptance will be determined based on the Contractor’s quality control inspection and verified by the Government monitoring and will be based on adherence to the specifications stated in the contract. Noncompliance with any of the specifications will classify the treatment as unsatisfactory and rework will be required to bring the treatment up to specification standards.

Acceptance Acceptance will be determined based on compliance with the contract specifications. Noncompliance will result in non-acceptance of the work. If the Contractor’s work is determined to be unacceptable, the Government may initiate any remedies described in FAR 52.212-4 (a) inspection/acceptance.

If the initial work is unacceptable to the Government, the Contractor may re-work the area if deficiencies can be corrected. The Government will assess the re-work after receiving the Contractor’s inspection records which reflect that all work meets specification standards.

The Government will assess the Contractor the actual costs of conducting the additional quality assurance after rework. Items that may be included in the actual damages includes but is not limited to: wages of the COR and Government inspector(s), costs of vehicles, meals and lodging that are incurred during the additional quality assurance.

Inspections The COR or a designated representative shall make inspections. For contract compliance the government will conduct visual inspections, with random plots, on each unit to determine compliance with work specifications. Initial inspection of thinning, weeding, and pruning will consist of a review of the trees cut, leave trees, trees condition and spacing. All slash work of piling, lopping, scattering, pull back and raking will be either acceptable or unacceptable. When all work appears satisfactory at the 90% level, it will be accepted. When work appears unsatisfactory, the contractor will be responsible for rework to correct the problem. The Contractor and or their representative are encouraged to observe the inspection process and will receive inspection summaries upon request.

If the contractor disagrees with the random walk thru results of the Forest Service, the contractor may request a formal systematic sample across the unit. The following inspection method will be used.

b. Inspection Plot Size and Sample - A series of 1/50th acre circular 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. Inspection Quality Evaluation- Each plot shall be examined to record findings on Form 2400-4 (Exhibit A) for the items listed below:

1. ACCEPTABLE TREE AND TREES ABOVE MAXIMUM DBH (Columns 3 and 4) -

Includes acceptable leave trees and trees above the maximum DBH designated for not cutting. The total of Columns 3 and 4 must not exceed the maximum acceptable trees per plot (S1 and S2).

2. CREDIT FOR NONSTOCKED SPOTS (Column 4) -

Includes the number of spots nonstocked on individual plots that are not stocked due to in-sufficient original stocking or a missing tree cut because of insects and disease or other damage. (S3 and S4).

3. SURPLUS TREES AND TREES SPECIES IGNORED (Column 5) -

Includes surplus of acceptable trees above the maximum allowable tree per plot. (S2 and **).

4. CATEGORY "A" TREES (Columns 6 and 7) - Includes leave trees cut and leave trees left not meeting contract specifications. (A1-A5).

5. CATEGORY "B" TREES (Column 8) -

Includes excess trees that should have been cut and stumps with live limbs. (B and B1).

6. CATEGORY "C" TREES (Column 9) -

Includes trees not completely severed from stump, hang-up trees, high stumps, trees left with excess damage and disease). (C1 - C7).

d. Thinning Quality Calculation- Upon inspection of all plots for a unit, the quality of thinning shall be calculated as follows:

1.00 - | Col. 6 + Col. 7 + Col. 8 | X 100 = Percent Quality

| Col. 3 + Col. 4

e. Category "B" Trees- When inspection results are below 90 percent and category "B" TREES constitute any part of the deficiency, Stewardship Credits will not be credited to the account until excess tree deficiency has been corrected. Inspections after rework shall be made in the same manner as the first inspection but on different plot lines.

f. Category "C" Trees- The total number of CATEGORY "C" TREES shall not exceed 6 trees per acre. Stewardship Credits will not be credited to the account until the deficiency has been corrected. The Category "C" Trees are not included in the thinning quality calculation because these deficiencies are generally not critical to the primary stocking objectives for the thinning project.

g. Re-inspection - If the original inspection results are unacceptable to the Contractor and a second inspection is requested without rework, the same inspection procedure shall be used. However, the inspection pattern shall be shifted. If the second inspection shows an acceptable result, the work will be considered accepted and appropriate credit will be entered into the account.

h. Acceptance of Slash Treatment- Acceptance for slash treatment shall be determined by inspections of the area and shall be based on adherence to the specifications. Non-conformance with any of the specifications shall classify the treatment as unsatisfactory and rework shall be required to bring the treatment up to specification standards.