Amendment_3_APPENDIX_A_Quidazoic.docx

Project Name: Quidazoic Fire Salvage Stewardship Amendment 3 Page 4 of 9

APPENDIX A – WORK ACTIVITY ITEMS

1. SCOPE OF CONTRACT

Description of Work: The intent of this contract is to secure services for mechanical fuels treatment within a portion of the South Fork of the American River watershed burned during the 2014 King Fire. Contract objectives are threefold.

The first objective is to reduce the fuel loading using a combination of mastication treatment and biomass cutting and piling in preparation for manual planting on lands where the timber and other vegetation were largely killed by the King Fire.

The second objective is to masticate the dead brush and dead trees within young conifer plantations within the King Fire area.

The third objective is to reduce fuel loadings in those areas where commercial harvesting will occur by cutting the un-merchantable timber and removing it to landing locations where it will be piled

Contractor Responsibility: The Contractor shall provide everything--including, but not limited to, all equipment, supplies, transportation, labor, and supervision--necessary to complete the project, except for that which the contract clearly states is to be furnished by the Government.

2. Project Location & Description

Refer to solicitation

· Item 1 Mastication and/or Biomass Cutting and Piling.

· Item 2 Biomass Cutting and Decking.

Note: The work described in Item 2 is associated with selected commercial timber harvest units.

Description: Item 1 treatment units are designated with orange and white candy-striped flagging. Signs identifying the treatment unit number are posted at the intersection of the treatment unit and access roads. Item 2 treatment units are designated with Blue flagging. Signs identifying the treatment unit number are posted at the intersection of the treatment unit and access roads.

Exclusions (non-work areas): Non-work portions of units may include creeks zones and riparian area zones (distance limits and location of these zones are shown on project maps). Other non-work areas are flagged on the ground and shown on project map. These areas include:

· botanical control areas (light green and pink flagging)

· cultural heritage control areas (light green and white flagging)

· snag retention areas or leave islands (red and black candy striped flagging)

· noxious weeds control areas (orange flagging with the words “NOXIOUS WEEDS”).

Accessibility: All units can be accessed from Eldorado National Forest system roads. The work units are accessible by 2-wheel drive vehicle during field season, but may require 4-wheel drive during wet weather.

Any prospective contractor desiring an explanation or interpretation of the solicitation, drawings, specifications, etc., must request it in writing from the Contracting Officer soon enough to allow a reply to reach all prospective contractors before the solicitation closing date. Oral explanations or instructions given before the award of a contract will not be binding.

3. Maps Maps showing the general vicinity and/or specific work areas are included in Section J. Maps are general in nature and are not to be considered as definitively identifying locations.

4. Restrictions on Work Work may be performed at any time during the period of the contract, except as outlined here. Nothing in this part shall be construed to take away any of the Government's rights under the Suspension of Work Clause (52.242-14). Restrictions are as follows:

1. In accordance with the fire plan included in Section H.28, A PAL Ev variance agreement may be obtained on a case by case basis. (See Fire Plan for details).

1. Wet weather soil restrictions shall apply. Operations may occur when soil is dry; that is, soil moisture in the upper 8 inches is not sufficient to allow a soil sample to be squeezed and hold its shape, or will crumble when the hand is tapped.

1. When the Contracting Officer (or designated representative) determines that adverse weather has made access too dangerous or that continued vehicular travel would cause unacceptable road damage.

1. Limited Operating Period (LOP), see section F.4

5. Technical Requirements

9-1 Definitions

Competing Vegetation: Refers to any of several woody shrubs that are potential competitors to existing live trees or future plantation trees, e.g. deer brush, huckleberry oak, manzanita, chinquapin and weak or small plantation trees that may crowd crop trees.

Damaged Tree: Any serious injury to a leave tree caused by the contractor’s performance of work, such as debarking, exposing the cambium on 25% or more of a trees circumference, or a top broken down to a 6” or more in diameter, or a combination of injuries likely to result in serious tree decay or mortality.

DBH: Diameter at Breast Height (4 ½ feet above the ground, measured on the uphill side).

Down, Large Logs: Existing down vegetative material greater than 12 inches in diameter on the large end and greater than 10 feet in length regardless of its state of deterioration.

Down Woody Material: Any piece(s) of dead woody material, including freshly cut material, dead boles, and limbs.

Effective Ground Cover: Any material on or near the soil surface that protects the soil against the erosive action of raindrops and overland flow (e.g., loose surface stones, duff, vegetative material, woody debris, leave trees, stumps, snags, downed logs).

Feller-buncher Piling: Vegetative material will be cut and piled using tracked equipment with a boom having an operating radius of at least 20 feet and equipped with an attachment head that can cut and carry severed trees in a vertical position for distances up to 100 feet and place cut trees in a pile.

Grapple Piling: Vegetative material will be piled using tracked equipment with a boom having operating radius of at least 20 feet and equipped with a grapple head.

Hardwood: A tree with broad leaves rather than needles (e.g., black oak, aspen, maple, dogwood).

Leave Tree: Regardless of size, ALL live hardwoods and any live conifer with >1% green crown remaining which do not pose a threat to safety. Hardwoods that are sprouting from their base are live trees, however for purposes of this contract, the dead portions of the stem would require treatment of the piece that meets hardwood minimum/maximum size requirements specified in the performance standards section of this contract.

Pile: Vegetative debris that is accumulated into a single concentration, free of dirt and arranged in a manner that facilitates efficient lighting and burning. Tree bole material is piled in such manner so that in general the tops and butts of the cut trees alternate in direction so as to facilitate pile compaction.

Slash: The residue left on the ground after logging or accumulating as a result of natural or other human activities

Snag: Any standing dead tree greater than 16 inches DBH and 20 feet tall.

9-2 Standards

Mechanical fuels treatment shall occur on slopes less than 35%, except short pitches (less than 100’ slope distance) may be treated up to 45% slope. All tasks and standards apply to mechanical treatment.

Primary Tasks

Item 1: Mastication and/or Biomass Cutting and Piling.

Masticate; or hand-cut or feller-buncher cut all dead vegetation greater than 3 feet tall and less than 20 inches DBH. Contractor may choose to use a combination of mastication and cutting and piling to maximize operation efficiency while also achieving project objectives.

All dead vegetation that is not masticated that is greater than 4 inches in diameter on large end and greater than 8 feet in length shall be cut and grapple piled or Feller-buncher piled within treatment units. Brush and hardwood skeletons that have re-sprouted are considered dead. Masticated material shall meet the sub task standards below.

Dead and damaged trees and other fire killed vegetation shall be masticated and/or cut and piled to the following standards

General Standards

1. Fire killed, non-hardwood vegetation greater than 3 feet in height and less than or equal to 20 inches at dbh will be treated.

2. Dead hardwoods less than an 8.0 inch dbh will be treated. Dead hardwoods 8.0 inches dbh or larger will not be treated unless necessary for equipment access.

3. Any size live conifers with greater than 1% green crown remaining shall be retained as Leave Trees (See Definitions). Selected leave trees shall not be damaged by the Contractor’s operations.

4. Fire killed trees greater than 20.0 inches dbh do not need to be treated unless the trees present a hazard to contractor’s operation. If cut, the trees may be retained as Down, Large logs and not piled by agreement with the Forest Service.

5. No vegetation treatment shall occur within stream course buffer strips shown on Contract Area Map or other Restricted Areas (See section 5, above) identified on the ground and shown on Contract Area Map.

6. All vegetative trees and brush shall be cut with a maximum allowable stump height of 6 inches as measured from the high side of the tree.

7. Contractor shall avoid disturbing all existing, down, large logs in order to enhance soil productivity and wildlife habitat and to insure effective erosion control.

Sub-Task Standards

Mastication Measurable Performance Standards

Vegetative Material shall be machine masticated (shredded, mulched, or chipped). Residual masticated vegetative debris resulting from contractor’s operations shall lie flat on the ground and generally not exceed 12 inches in height over 95% of the unit. Individual pieces of vegetative debris shall generally not exceed 8 feet in length over 95% of the unit. No masticated or cut material shall accumulate against leave trees.

Cut and Pile Measurable Performance Standards:

All standards shall be measured to 95% of any given specification. Piles shall be neat, compact and sufficiently free of dirt to allow consumption of the piled debris when burned. Piles shall be constructed by alternating the butt ends of the logs and tops to help provide fine material on either end of the pile, to achieve pile compaction and to help aid in ignition.

1. Maximum Pile height: No maximum height.

2. Minimum Pile height: Piles of vegetative material will have a minimum height of 8 feet. Vegetative material will be moved distances up to 150 feet or as necessary to attain minimum height or meet other pile location criteria stated in paragraph 3, below.

3. Piles shall be located to minimize damage to residual, live trees (at least 75 feet from the boles of live trees) when piles are burned. No piles shall be located within 50 feet of ephemeral stream channels or within 100 feet of intermittent or perennial drainages or 50 feet of treatment unit boundaries. No piles will be located within 150 feet horizontal distance of power lines or transmission lines.

4. If because of unit shape, presence of live trees or terrain conditions it is not possible to attain distance limitations specified in item 3 above, Contractor and Forest Service will agree on pile locations.

5. Piling shall be accomplished with minimal disturbance to top soil and existing Down, Large logs (See Definitions). Minimize turning of tracked equipment.

6. A fire line to mineral soil shall be constructed around each pile and shall be a minimum 36 inches width. Fire line will not contain any substantial quantities of dead, vegetative material.

Item 2: Biomass Cutting and Decking

1. Unless otherwise agreed, within all specified conventional harvest units designated in the above table, the contractor shall cut and remove all dead conifer trees, greater than 10” DBH and less than 20” DBH not identified as leave trees. Unless otherwise agreed, Biomass Cutting and Removal requirements shall be done concurrently with the logging activities. No biomass tree cutting shall occur within streamcourse buffer strips shown on Contract Area Map and leave islands identified on the ground and shown on Contract Area Map.

1. Unless otherwise agreed, within all specified swing logging harvest units and non-commercial units designated in the above table, the contractor shall cut and remove all dead conifer trees, greater than 10” DBH and less than 20” DBH not identified as leave trees in accordance with K-C.3.5# Designation of Timber and K-G.4.2# Ground Based Skidding (Swing Logging). Unless otherwise agreed, Biomass Cutting and Removal requirements in swing logging harvest units shall be done concurrently with the logging activities. No biomass tree cutting shall occur within streamcourse buffer strips shown on Contract Area Map and leave islands identified on the ground and shown on Contract Area Map.

1. Unless otherwise agreed, within all conventional harvest units designated in the above table, tree bole material greater than 10 feet in length from all hardwood and conifer trees required to be cut, including that material associated with the felling of hazard trees, shall be removed to landings or agreed upon disposal sites within the units and machine piled or decked in accordance with K-G.7# - Slash Treatment with the following exception. Leave two of the largest logs per acre that are greater than 15” large end diameter and 30’ long.

1. All stump heights, shall meet the requirements as stated in Appendix B-Division A.

Measurable Performance Standards (At 95% of bulleted items below)

· Cutting of all conifers as specified above

· Removal of cut trees to disposal sites as specified above

· Piling or Decking of removed material in accordance with Piling and Decking contractual specifications.

· Height of stumps after cutting

9-3 Contractor-Furnished Equipment

Ground-based equipment used by the Contractor shall have a factory rated ground pressure of 8 psi or less and a grapple or thumb and cutting or mastication head mounted on an articulating boom capable of reaching at least 20 feet. The power head(s) on the equipment shall be able to complete work within each item and task. This will include completing project area by minimizing ground impact with tracked equipment and power head(s). The power head(s) will need to accomplish multiple tasks within each unit. These tasks include, but are not limited to piling, mastication, cutting and moving cut vegetation to pile locations.

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