Attach A - Statement of Work.pdf

Introduction/Background

Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie (Midewin) is the largest portion of the Peacetime conversion of the former Joliet Army Ammunition Plant. Throughout the transformational process of war plants to prairie plants, bombs to butterflies, and rails to trails Midewin represents the largest prairie restoration attempted in the United States east of the Mississippi River. While less than

3% of Midewin’s 20,000 acres can be classified as upland prairie remnants, it is considered the crown jewel of public open lands in the greater Chicagoland area. It can take up to a decade to restore farmed landscapes to prairie and another decade to monitor the vegetation changes and grassland bird habitat use to produce a restored prairie.

Agricultural special use permits or leases are used for resource management purposes;

specifically to control invasive plant species until areas can be converted to native vegetation or grassland wildlife habitat. Grazing is used as a management tool to control grass height and provide habitat for grassland wildlife. In alignment with the Prairie Plan there will be an increase in the number of acres grazed as agricultural crop lands are removed from crop production and converted to pasture for cattle grazing. This will improve management of grassland bird habitat for better distribution of cattle within the allotments.

Statement of Work

The project area includes the livestock handling facilities area, owned by the United States

Forest Service (USFS), Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie. This project is taking place to refence an allotment. The project is located in Florence Township T33N R10 E Section 3.

The scope of work for the Fence Installation Project includes the installation of approximately

12,000 linear feet of six (6) strand barbed wire, four (4) single h-braces, forty-four (44) double h-braces and two (2) sets of 10’ gates, one (1) 10’ gate, and one (1) 4’ gate.

The existing 5 strand barbed wire fence, line posts, wood braces and associated fencing components will be taken down and removed from the site project. New 6 strand barbed wire fencing will be constructed.

The project shall include all labor, materials and equipment required to furnish and install the above referenced items. The selected contractor will be responsible for ensuring all needed components for complete fence installation are provided as well as ensuring all components of the fencing are installed and all remaining materials and garbage are removed from the project site.

Specifications

Item 1: Installation of Barbed Wire

The fence is to be constructed in as straight a line as possible; the FS will flag the location of the fence line before construction begins.

• Barb wire shall be galvanized 12 ½ gauge barbed wire, six strands high. The bottom strand shall be no more than 12 in. from the ground across terrain. Across depressions, large draws and live streams fencing needs to be installed in a manner that will prevent damage to the main fence.

• Steel t- posts shall be spaced no farther than 16 feet from each other, shall be 6 ½ ft. long and must be in the ground a minimum of 18 inches. If rock is hit, a hole must be drilled and the post driven into the ground as far as possible, or until it is solid. The t-posts shall be rated at 1.33 pounds per lineal foot in accordance with ASTM A702.

• Wire shall be attached to steel posts by use of manufactured clips or by two turns of 14 gauge or heavier galvanized wire.

Wood posts, t-posts or other structures needed for the installation of the fence will not be placed within the bed of any drainages or waterways.

Items 2 & 3: Horizontal Braces

Wooden corner posts shall be approximately 8 inches in diameter and 8 feet long treated round posts and shall be set at a maximum depth of 42 inches.

Installation of single horizontal brace

• Horizontal braces shall not be located any further than 1,000 feet from each other, or as needed for turns, gates, or in locations agreed upon by the contractor and Forest Service

COR or inspector.

• Galvanized staples shall be used to affix barbed wire to wooden posts. The staples must be 1 ¾ inch long, should be driven diagonally with the wood grain and at a slight downward angle to avoid splitting the post and loosening the staples and space should be left between the staple and post to permit movement of wire.

Installation of double horizontal brace

• Double panel braces shall be located at all gates and corners where the fence makes significant turns. The cross brace should be at least 8 feet in length. A tension member composed of two complete loops of number 9-gauge wire shall be used. The tension wire shall extend from a point approximately 6 inches below the top of the brace post to near the ground level of the post being braced.

• Smooth wire shall be galvanized 12 ½ gauge high-tensile wire and will have permanent in-line strainers as needed and splices shall be by mechanical connectors.

• Galvanized staples shall be used to affix barbed wire to wooden posts. The staples must be 1 ¾ inch long, should be driven diagonally with the wood grain and at a slight downward angle to avoid splitting the post and loosening the staples and space should be left between the staple and post to permit movement of wire.

Where uneven terrain or bend in the line requires additional bracing with either single or double panel braces, they shall be placed as needed with permission of the COR. Wood posts, t-posts or other structures needed for the installation of the fence will not be placed within the bed of any drainages or waterways.

** Any damage done to adjacent row crop fields will be the responsibility of the contractor**

Item 4: Installation of Gates

• Double panel braces shall be located at all gates.

• Gates shall be ten (10) foot and a single gate four (4) foot in length, 2 inch heavy steel tubing, 16 gauge, with 6 full length horizontal tubes that are welded to the frame and shall be equipped with 2 heavy duty adjustable hinges and a catch chain.

• Cattle gates 10 feet in length or greater shall also have at least one vertical support.

General Specifications

Work under this contract will not be performed when ground or access road conditions would result in damage to access roads or to the natural resources. If precipitation makes the ground wet enough to cause rutting, then work will be temporarily suspended or the contractor can bring in machinery that won’t cause ruts. Soil ruts deeper than 2 inches or covering more than 10% of the designated work area must be avoided or mitigated by the contractor. Mitigation would include filling in the ruts and possibly seeding the area with appropriate plant species. Any instance of ruts will be reported to COR. Contractor is responsible to plan accordingly based on weather and ground conditions.

Contractor’s equipment (heavy equipment or off-road equipment) must meet fire and safety requirements. All equipment must be steam cleaned or run through a car wash prior to coming on site to remove any invasive plant species seeds. Compressed air cleaning may be an adequate cleaning method, but must be approved by the COR. COR or designated Inspectors will inspect equipment upon being brought onto Midewin for the first time, or subsequent returns if the equipment is taken off site and returned.

Any spill of fuel or hydraulic fluid greater than one (1) pint must be immediately reported to the

COR or PM. Contractor personnel must have training to ensure they are qualified to identify such releases and are competent to provide proper cleanup and reporting. All spilled materials and impacted soils will be removed and properly disposed as necessary.

The contractor shall provide all expertise, labor, supervision, services, materials, equipment, tools, supplies, transportation, licenses, permits, worker personal protective equipment (PPE), and incidentals necessary to perform the required work, for which the desired outcome is in strict accordance with the standards in the contract. The contractor shall perform and accomplish the work in accordance with all applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and ordinances.

Project Area Description

The project area is a previously grazed cattle allotment. Work will be performed on uneven grassy, rocky and/or bare soil terrain. The project site is open, there is no protection from the elements. Ground must be dry for work to begin. Access to the site is restricted to normal business operating hours agreed upon by the COR and contractor ahead of time. All project reviews will be held at the project site. If additional meetings are required the COR will arrange for a meeting space within the main Supervisors Office.

See attached map for further information. More detailed maps are available upon request.

Arrange site visits with Kelly Gutknecht, Range Management Specialist, at 815-423-2116.

Period of Performance

The period of performance for this project is thirty (31) days, beginning on 1 July 2023 through

31 July 2023. All work must be scheduled to be completed within this timeframe. Any modifications or extensions will be requested through the Contracting Officers Representative and Contracting Officer for review and discussion.

Required Documentation

Offeror shall include the following information in their offer. Failure to include this documentation may result in rejection of the offer.

• Prices as indicated in the Schedule of Items

• Previous experience on similar projects with references.

• List of the equipment and labor (crew) you plan to use on this project to accomplish the work in accordance with the proposed work schedule.

Acceptance Criteria

Once all project tasks have been completed, the project will enter the handoff/closure stage.

During this stage of the project, the COR will inspect the project site to ensure deliverables have been met and have been met to the desired quality of the Forest Service. After the inspection the

COR will acknowledge acceptance of all project deliverables and that the contractor has met all assigned tasks. Any discrepancies involving completion of project tasks or disagreement between

Midewin and the chosen contractor will be referred to the Forest Service Contracting Officer for review and discussion.

Other Requirements

Site Visit

Offerors are required to inspect the site where services are to be performed and to satisfy themselves regarding all general and local conditions that may affect the cost of contract performance, to the extent that the information is reasonably obtainable. In no event shall failure to inspect the site constitute grounds for a claim after contract award.

Window Placard

The selected contractor will need to obtain a Midewin window placard and appropriate keys for accessing the project site. These can be obtained from our Administrative Support Clerk. Keys must be returned before close of business each day and may be picked up each morning.

To obtain keys and placards the contractor will need to provide a driver’s license. All vehicles accessing the site will need to have a window placard. Upon project completion all keys and placards must be returned before payment will be remitted.