Attach 1 SOW Rivercane_Assessment.pdf

US Department of Agriculture (USDA)

Statement of Work

USDA FS, Southern Research Station

SRS HQ – RWU 4952

200 WT Weaver Blvd

Asheville NC, 28804

Rivercane Site Suitability Assessment for Post-Hurricane Helene Recovery

August 18, 2026

Contents Project General Information

1.0 Scope of Work

2.0 Background

Contractor Requirements

3.0 Technical Requirements / Tasks

4.0 Government Furnished

5.0 Deliverables / Schedule

6.0 Travel

7.0 Contractor’s Key Personnel

8.0 Security Requirements

9.0 Data Rights

10.0 Section 508 – Electronic and Information Technology Standards Attachment

Project Rivercane Site Suitability Assessment for Post-Hurricane Helene Recovery

General Information

1.0 Scope of Work

This contract supports a Congressionally funding allocation for Hurricane Helene disaster recovery assessment. This project focuses on rivercane (Arundinaria gigantea - a woody bamboo relative), to assess 1) its contribution to streambank stability, 2) persistence through historical high-water events, and 3) its potential as a restoration tool. The project assesses damage to riparian areas and site suitability for restoration efforts.

2.0 Background

Hurricane Helene caused devastating flooding across western North Carolina, significantly impacting river corridors across the region. Damage to riparian systems resulted in major economic impacts to the built environment, water-based recreation, and the local business that support this sector. The increasing frequency and intensity of flood events, such as those caused by Hurricane Helene, underscore the urgent need to understand the role of native vegetation in mitigating the impacts of natural disasters, and supporting recovery efforts. Rivercane ecosystems were historically widespread throughout the region but have been dramatically reduced in the past two centuries due to shifts in land use. Preliminary observations of damage to riparian systems suggest greater scouring impacts in areas without rivercane, whose dense rhizomatous networks aid in bank stabilization. Rivercane provides numerous ecosystem services and is also an important non-timber forest product (NTFP), contributing to economic livelihoods of Tribal Nations across the Southeast. Post-Helene, Western NC has experienced an upsurge in interest in restoring riparian corridors with rivercane. However, best science is needed to assess the impacts of flooding on extant populations of rivercane, and to guide successful, targeted restoration efforts.

Contractor Requirements

3.0 Technical Requirements / Tasks

This contract addresses two assessment objectives: 1) to determine if presence or absence of rivercane on the landscape mitigated Helene-related negative impacts on streambank stability and biological productivity and 2) to describe physical landscape characteristics of ideal restoration sites. Our approach will leverage existing remote-sensed data products produced by the FS Southern Research Station combined with rivercane patch polygon and point data to evaluate the contribution of rivercane to landscape resilience. The contractor will work with a Forest Service project lead, additional Southern Research Station scientists along with other technical professionals. The following tasks are required:

Goal One: To determine if presence or absence of rivercane mitigated bank erosion and damage, the contractor will examine impacts at locations where rivercane was present and absent along geomorphically similar reaches of the same stream in Helene-impacted watersheds of Western North Carolina. The contractor, in cooperation with the research team will use previously published rivercane patch location data to select at least 10 study sites and will explore a leaf-off IR imagery technique for selection of at least five additional sites. The contractor will employ existing, publicly available USFS Southern Research Station HiForm products to evaluate negative impacts to biological productivity and quantify vegetation indices for rivercane over the two growing seasons of the project. We will evaluate streambank impacts by comparing pre and post-Helene LiDAR data, using standard descriptors (e.g. Rosgen Stream Classification System, NRCS Stream Visual Assessment) and field verification.

Goal Two: The contractor will assess physical characteristics of a minimum of 10 existing rivercane sites using existing publicly available location datasets and determine common characteristics (e.g. geomorphic position, stream energy, watershed characteristics, stream sinuosity, distance to stream, flow accumulation) and make recommendations for restoration sites.

4.0 Government Furnished

N/A

5.0 Deliverables / Schedule. Timely submission of deliverables is essential to successfully completing this requirement.

Payment Procedures The Contractor shall be responsible for the preparation and submission of invoices in wwww.ipp.gov Payment shall be made based on completion of milestones and at percentages shown below based on total contract value. Contractor shall invoice only for work satisfactorily completed and accepted by the COR.

6.0 Travel

The contractor will be expected to travel to field sites within Western North Carolina. The travel does not need to be continuous, but on an as-needed basis across the duration of the project to fulfill objectives. Estimated travel days = 40.

Travel will involve day trips, and several overnight trips.

Delivery date Milestones & Deliverables Maximum Payment % / Due Date

From contract beginning to final data delivery

Bi-weekly or monthly virtual meetings with USFS and other research team members (timing TBD by research team)

5% / monthly

October 2026 Project methods developed. 5% / Due 30 days from issuance of award.

Nov 2026 – Jan. 2027

Field data collection initiated. Draft Report of ideal restoration site analysis.

15% / 10 days after analysis ends.

Dec. 2026-May 2027 Develop workflow for streambank assessment with existing Forest Service imagery products.

10% / 10 days after analysis ends.

February 2027 – July 2027 Field data evaluated; draft report on vegetative impacts through 2026 growing season completed

15% / 10 days after analysis ends.

July 2027-November 2027 Final Report on Ideal Rivercane Restoration Site Suitability completed

10% / 30 days after analysis ends.

November 2027 – March 2028 Second field data collection effort implemented. 10% / 10 days after analysis ends.

June 2028-August 2028 Final Report on Impacts to Streams and Biological Productivity completed

5% / within 30 days

September 2028 Final reporting and publication drafts completed 10% / within 30 days

Final Report Final report after completion of all contract rents (15% retainage required per Customary Progress Payments regulations FAR 32.501-1(a))

15% / within 30 days

Option Line for additional work if Necessary For following Period Oct 2028 – Sep 2029

Field data collection. Draft Report of ideal restoration site analysis. And Final Report FY29.

within 30 days

7.0 Contractor’s Key Personnel

- Provide Resume, demonstrating is a Scientists with PhD in Biologist with a concentration in forestry, ecology, and/or natural resource management.

- Fieldwork and data collection

- Three (3) years’ work experience in forest resources statistical applications. In Rivercane Site(Arundinaria gigantea - a woody bamboo relative)

- The offeror resume demonstrated how many years, and how many consultations per year, they advised scientists on research study designs, data analysis, and reviewing and improving their manuscripts before the scientist published their results in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.

8.0 Security Requirements

All data collected are to be kept strictly confidential and made available only to the research team. No reporting, manuscripts, or presentations can be made without the consent of the research team.

9.0 Data Rights

If data is to be produced, furnished, acquired, or used in meeting contract requirements, delineate the respective rights and obligations of the government and the contractor regarding the use, production, and disclosure of that data.

Insert Data Rights Here. The data shall be owned by the USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station.

10.0 Section 508 – Electronic and Information Technology Standards N/A

Attachment N/A