Attach 01_SOW_NNIS FALL Mastication.pdf

SECTION C – DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATIONS/STATEMENT OF WORK

DESCRIPTION AND LOCATION

Contractor shall furnish all labor, materials, equipment, tools, transportation, supervision and supplies required to perform NNIS mastication of herbicide-treated openings on the George Washington & Jefferson National Forests, Eastern Divide Ranger District in Craig and Giles Counties, Virginia and Monore County West Virginia. No materials or labor will be furnished by the Government unless specifically identified in the “Government Furnished Property Clause.”

SITE VISIT

There is no scheduled site visit at this time. Time and date to be determined later. Please contact Mark Miller at 540/239-3520.

Gates will be open and geo-referenced Avenza maps will be made available during the pre-bid time period to provide access for inspection of areas. For further information you may call Mark Miller at 540-552-4641.

Offerors are urged to inspect the contract area to view current conditions.

SITE CONDITIONS – DIRECTIONS

NNIS Mastication

The contract areas are located on the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, Eastern Divide Ranger District in Craig and Giles Counties, Virginia and Monroe County West Virginia.

The areas to be treated are primarily wildlife openings that have not been actively managed over the last 10-25 years and where non-native invasives species (NNIS) have proliferated in the openings and into the surrounding forest. These areas were treated with herbicide within the last 2-3 years and have significant dead standing stems and some undesirable shrubs, saplings and trees mixed in.

Minie Ball-spring 2026

Trout Branch Wildlife Openings- spring-early summer 2026 (Light and medium mastication-majority of edge has dead AO)

Peaceful Valley West Wildlife openings- spring 2026 (light and heavy mastication)

Contract Areas – Directions.

1. Trout Branch (Monroe County, WV)

5-7 Miles West of the town of Paint Bank VA. See Vicinity map

• Light to medium to Autumn Olive and Multiflora Rose in scattered wildlife opentings and into surrounding forested areas. Scattered pine and hardwood trees in the opening.

• These polygons were treated with herbicide in 2026.

2. Peaceful Valley (Craig County, VA)

3-5 miles Northwest of New Castle. See Vicinity map

• Light to heavy to Autumn Olive, Multiflora Rose and Tree of heaven in scattered wildlife opentings and into surrounding forested areas. Scattered pine and hardwood trees in the opening.

• These polygons were treated with herbicide in 2026.

3. Minie Ball road (Giles County, VA)

2-3 north of Mountain Lake. See Vicinity map

• Light to moderate to Autumn Olive and Multiflora Rose in scattered wildlife opentings and into surrounding forested areas. Scattered pine and hardwood trees in the opening.

• These polygons were treated with herbicide in 2025.

Bid Item 1: 5 areas, totaling 59 acres, as follows:

Item

Area/Unit

Area Name

Acres

Boundary

1/1

Trout Branch Unit 4

Blue flagging or

Avenza map

2/1

2/2

2/3

Peacful Valley Unit 1

Peacful Valley Unit 2

Peacful Valley Unit 3

2/4

2/5

2/6

2/7

Peacful Valley Unit 4

Peacful Valley Unit 5

Peacful Valley Unit 6

Peacful Valley Unit 7

3/1

Minie Ball Unit 1

(north part of unit)

*(only Blue-flagged area is intended to be masticated)

>>>>>>> GRAND TOTAL = 35 ACRES <<<<<<<

121 - The general location of and access to the contract areas will be shown on the project area maps and vicinity maps of the area. These maps are attached.

DIVISION 200 - TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

210 - Trees to cut

Cut and masticate all Pine tree species less than 10” Diameter at Breast Height (DBH).

(There are scattered small to medium pine trees within some of the units) Cut and masticate all hardwood trees less than 6” DBH that do NOT have an ORANGE band at eye level. (Very few of these) Cut and masticate woody shrubs and vegetation within the boundary of the unit.

• Do not cut any ORANGE-banded trees in the units. These are leave trees.

• Dead trees and woody vegetation are to be cut and masticated too.

• Avoid skinning of residual trees designated in ORANGE.

• A few short access road prisms will need to be cleared or masticated to allow for access of equipment to treatment units. This area has been calculated and incorporated into the treatment unit acreages.

• Cutting and masticating NNIS that occur along boundary of treatment units, as reflected on Avenza maps, is required.

• Where BLUE flagging is missing, extent of unit to be treated will be determined by AVENZA map.

211- Cutting Methods

Trees shall be cut and masticated flush to the ground (not to exceed 1 inch from the ground).

It is desired that trees be cut as close to ground level as possible. Ground level is considered from the uphill side of the stump.

212- Disposition of Felled Trees

Trees, shrubs and woody vegetation that is masticated shall be left on site and spread reasonably evenly across the unit. No windrowing of material will be permitted.

220 - Resource Protection

221 - Stream, Lake and Reservoir Pollution Prevention

The contractor shall take sufficient precautions to prevent pollution of lakes and streams by fuels, oils, and other harmful materials. All streams will be kept free of all contractor generated debris.

230 - Access

The contractor will protect all trails, roads, ditches, fences, and other improvements in the project area. Roads and trails will be kept free of logs, slash and debris. Roadways, ditches, and road banks shall be free of all contractor-created slash and limbs. The road area prism to be kept free of slash is defined as the top of the cut bank on the uphill side of the road to the bottom of the road bank below the road.

Any road or trail used by the contractor that is damaged by his operation will be promptly repaired by him. Access guidelines will be provided by the COR. Access into some areas requires some walking.

240 - Protection of Trees

The contractor will use every precaution necessary to prevent damage to trees not to be treated.

250 - Final Cleanup

Before final acceptance, all trash, rubbish, and debris generated by the contractor's operation will be removed from National Forest land.

260 - Protection of Archeological /Historical Resources

The contractor, upon discovery of suspected archeological or historical materials, will cease work in the vicinity of such material and immediately notify the COR. There are no sites designated as such in the project area.

DIVISION 300 - INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

320 – Inspection

Inspection of work performed under this contract will be made by the COR or the designated field inspector as the work progresses at such intervals as are necessary to ensure compliance with the contract specifications. At a minimum, the contractor will be required to contact the COR or field inspector prior to leaving the work area to facilitate prompt and timely inspection and the efficient operation of the contractor and their crew.

COR will accept contractor work for each individual treatment unit. In addition, any roads or trails in the work area must be free of contractor created slash (excluding masticated material) and any materials used by the contractor must be cleaned up and removed from National Forest land.

320 – Satisfactory Treatment. It is inherent that some vegetation will be improperly treated, and some degree of allowance should be made for improper treatment when the area is otherwise considered satisfactory. Therefore, an allowance will be made for acceptance of an area as satisfactorily treated if at least 95% of the designated vegetation or unit area has been treated in accordance with the contract specifications. However, 100% of the treatment unit area must show an attempt at mastication.

Pictures of successful and accepted NNIS mastication- summer of 2025

DIVISION 400 - MEASUREMENT AND PAYMENT

410 – Method of Measurement. Acreage listed in the bid schedule was determined by GPS for this contract and is considered actual acreage. The acreages shown in the Schedule of Items have not been reduced to account for inclusions which are unsuitable for spraying due to standing water or buffer strips (described in section 220 (c) above). Though some of these inclusions exist within the project area, no reduction will be made in the contract payment to account for them.

If the contractor requests a remeasurement of any unit and the results of the remeasurement show that the acreage is more than 15% different from original measurement, the Government will pay at the unit price for the number of acres shown on the remeasurement and the cost of the remeasurement itself. If, however, the remeasurement shows the acreage to be within the 15% allowable variation, payment will be for the original acreage for that unit and the contractor will pay for the cost of the remeasurement. The Forest Service will determine the method of remeasurement.

The Forest Service will perform all remeasurements.

420 – Basis of Payment. Payment will be made at the unit bid price for the total number of acres satisfactorily completed and accepted. Invoices should be submitted unit by unit as the work is completed and accepted.