Attachement 10 Seed Project No. 3 Combined SOW-SOI-Maps Norwalk Fuels Mowing (1,452 acres).pdf

Attachment 10, Seed Project #3, SOW/SOI/MAPs Norwalk Fuels Mowing (1,452 acres)

Statement of Work (SOW)

OCALA NF – NORWALK FUELS MOWING

1. SCOPE OF SERVICES. The Contractor agrees to provide services related to the following scope of services and estimated timelines, hereinafter referred to as the “Scope of Services”:

A. GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS

This information is for the furnishing of equipment, materials, tools, labor, transportation, and supervision to mechanically mow using a rotary or drum cutter on 1,452 acres of National Forest land in accordance with specifications and provisions of these Project Specifications (dated June 29, 2022). This contract has one (1) bid item: mowing within a general/natural forest setting. One mow area consists of mowing 100-foot wide strips near private property. The same specifications will still apply in this area.

1) DESCRIPTION AND LOCATION - The project is located within the boundaries of the Ocala National Forest, Marion counties, Florida. Geo-referenced maps of project area are attached.

AREA

COMPARTMENT /

STAND

ACRES

(max.)

FOREST

CONDITION MOW / TREATMENT

1 104 / multiple stands 1,305 General

Forest Hardwood brush < 9" dia.

Sand pines < 9" dia.

2 101 / stands 9, 14, 10 77

General Forest

Hardwood brush < 9" dia.

Sand pines < 9" dia.

3 19 / multiple stands 70 General

Forest / Urban Interface

Hardwood brush < 9" dia.

Sand pines < 9" dia.

100-foot wide strips

TOTAL ACRES = 1452

NOTE: All diameters (“dia.”) are basal or stump height (approximately 4-6 inches above ground) and NOT Diameter at Breast Height (DBH). Basal, or stump height allows for post-treatment assessment of compliance with specifications without estimation.

2) PRE-BID TOURS – A pre-bid tour IS NOT scheduled at this time. All prospective bidders are highly encouraged to visit the sites prior to submitting bids. For more information, contact Jay Garcia, Ocala National Forest, by email: jay.garcia@usda.gov.

3) IMPORTANT INFORMATION ON WORK AREAS – All areas are marked with virtual boundaries delineated by geo-referenced PDF maps. A GPS-enabled smart device (tablet, phone, etc.) is required in each mowing machine. Mowing Areas ARE NOT flagged or otherwise delineated on the ground using either flagging or signage.

Many areas use existing boundaries such as roads. Some precautionary flagging may be hung by the COR along property lines, survey monuments, or other important markers.

4) ENVIRONMENT/CONDITIONS - Areas in sandhills and flatwoods habitats and are forested with trees, brush, and snags. Areas are older slash and longleaf pine forested areas with moderate to heavy encroachment of oaks, brush, and sand pines.

a) Intent – The overarching intent of this project is to reduce the brush component within these areas to facilitate future prescribed burning operations and to improve wildlife habitat.

5) SCHEDULE OF ITEMS: See Page 6

6) GOVERNMENT-FURNISHED PROPERTY: None

B. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

1) Equipment- All vehicles and equipment will be inspected prior to coming on National

Forest lands. It shall arrive cleaned and free of soil, weeds, and seeds, and be cleaned each time it returns to US Forest Service system lands. If vehicles and equipment leave National Forest systems lands re-inspection is required.

a) All equipment proposed to accomplish the work shall be of proper type, sufficient size, operated at sufficient speed, and in such mechanical condition as to meet with requirements of the work and produce satisfactory quality of work. The COR may order the removal and require replacement of any unsatisfactory equipment.

b) Oversized equipment or tracked equipment deemed likely to damage grasses or rut loose, sandy soils will not be allowed.

c) All equipment must be equipped with a protective canopy and fire extinguisher.

2) Mower - In order to produce acceptable results, it is recommended the contractor provided equipment is similar or equal to the following machinery brands: Hydro-Axe, Kershaw Klear-Way, or ASV Positrack. Effectively, the equipment should have a front-mounted, heavy-duty mower that is either rotary (horizontal spinning) or drum (vertical spinning) cutting head capable of cutting trees/brush up to 9-inch diameter (stump diameter).

3) Navigation and Positioning – Each piece of mowing equipment must be equipped with a

GPS-enabled smart device capable of location accuracy +/- 16 feet (5m) and the ability to load and navigate via geo-referenced Portable Document File (PDF) formats. The application may be similar or equivalent to “Avenza PDF Maps.”

4) Production Rate - The contractor shall provide sufficient personnel and equipment to average at least six (6) acres of production per operational day.

5) Mowing Operation Specifications:

a) Designation- All hardwoods and sand pines within the designated unit/area boundary shall be mowed or cut, unless marked as reserve trees. All vegetation taller than 1 foot from the ground will be mowed. All cut tree tops will mowed over as well.

b) Gopher Tortoise burrow protection zones (25 feet from burrow) shall be excluded from treatment and protected. The mower deck must be set at 8-inches above ground level to prevent killing gopher tortoises when mowing areas with dense coverage (cutting multiple stems at one time). Mowing individual small trees where the operator can clearly see the ground surrounding the trunk is exempt from this deck height restriction and may be mowed to a 2-4 inch stump. The equipment should not be driven within the buffer zone around the burrow entrance to prevent the collapse of the burrows. It is NOT NECESSARY to back the mower over these sites to access the brush. Vegetation within the burrow perimeter DO NOT need to be mowed and may be excluded from treatment.

c) Exceptions to cutting are:

i. All longleaf seedlings and saplings - Protect as many as possible from mowing treatment. Consideration is given for leaving trees (sand pines or brush) uncut to protect longleaf pines that are at least 3 feet tall. Due to density of the vegetation, some longleaf will be incidentally cut. The contractors’ work will be monitored closely to determine, if in the judgment of the inspector, that longleaf seedlings or saplings were cut by negligence or accident.

ii. All snags - Dead trees shall not be cut. Snags include burned lightered stumps and dead tree boles greater than 4 inches diameter, regardless of height.

iii. Multiple stemmed oaks - Where an oak has multiple stems arising from one root base and the main trunk exceeds 5-inch basal diameter, the entire plant (all stems) are considered to exceed the maximum diameter limit. DO NOT CUT the smaller stems.

iv. Reserve trees - Designated hardwood trees left uncut for mast production or den trees for wildlife. Such trees may be previously identified with ORANGE flagging by the COR.

d) No excessive rutting or soil disturbance - Equipment must not cause excessive soil disturbance or rutting. Turning areas and crossings must be kept to a minimum. Rutting in the stands will not be acceptable.

6) Resource Protection Specifications:

a) Erosion Control- the Contractor’s operation will be conducted as to avoid unnecessary soil disturbance and erosion. (See (5)(b))

b) Protection of Lands, Streams, Lakes and Reservoirs- the Contractor shall prevent pollution of the aquifer, sinkholes, wetlands, and lakes from silt, litter, fuels, oils, other chemicals, or other harmful materials. Contractor shall schedule and conduct operations to avoid siltation of wetlands, loss of embankment material during high flow periods, and interference with movement of migratory fish. Contractor shall avoid ponds, wet and dry, leaving a 50-foot buffer. No equipment shall be allowed in or travel through dry ponds or their grassy margins.

c) On-Site Maintenance and Refuse- Contractor shall remove from National Forest lands any trash, cans, food wrappers, residual maintenance materials/containers, et cetera deposited as a result of operations. If contractor-generated refuse is left in treatment areas, the COR may withhold up to 50% of the payment for that area until a remedy is completed and accepted.

d) Protection of Improvements- All survey monuments, road signs, traffic counters, and other improvements must be protected whenever encountered. If any of the improvements are damaged or destroyed, the Contractor will be responsible for all replacement costs.

e) Access- the Contractor shall protect all designated trails, numbered roads, ditches, fences, and other improvements in the project area. Contractor must not conduct any road or access improvements. Numbered roads shall be kept free from logs, slash, and debris.

Roads needing to be kept clear of debris are indicated on the Area Map with a route number. The contractor shall promptly repair any numbered road or designated trail that is damaged by operations.

f) Protection of Land Control Monuments- All land control monuments likely to be disturbed may be identified by 4x4-inch posted signs. Contractor may not damage these monuments or signs during operations.

7) Consideration of other laws and regulations - All worked performed under the Scope of Services shall abide by all laws and regulations pertaining to the management and protection of National Forest System (NFS) lands and adhere to relevant National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documentation and all mitigation identified therein.

8) Performance:

a) Period of Performance: September 12, 2022 – April 14, 2023

b) Schedule of Activities – The contractor is expected to conduct operations Monday through Saturday, excluding Federal holidays. Operations should be conducted during daylight hours with consideration given to later start times when adjacent to residential areas.

c) Recognized Federal Holidays: Labor Day, Columbus Day (2 total days).

d) Quality Control (QC) - The contractor shall develop and maintain an effective quality control program to ensure services are performed in accordance with this Performance Work Statement (PWS). The contractor shall develop and implement procedures to identify, prevent, and ensure non-recurrence of defective services. The contractor’s quality control program is the means by which he assures himself that his work complies with the requirement of the contract. After acceptance of the quality control plan the contractor shall receive the contracting officer’s acceptance in writing of any proposed change to his QC system.

e) Quality Assurance (QA) - The government shall evaluate the contractor’s performance under this contract in accordance with the inspection and acceptance specifications. This is primarily focused on what the Government must do to ensure that the contractor has performed in accordance with the performance standards. It defines how the performance standards will be applied, the frequency of surveillance, and the minimum acceptable defect rate(s).

9) Operational Coordination - The contractor shall coordinate all actions with the government employees with delegated authority.

a) Contracting Officer (CO) - full and complete contractual authority granted by their warrant.

b) Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) - Receives delegated authority from the CO to fulfill certain responsibilities and duties under the provisions of the contract. The COR

c) shall be designated at or prior to the Notice to Proceed is executed by the Contracting Officer.

d) Contractor (aka Prime Contractor) - The sole individual responsible for the satisfactory completion of required items, specifications, and compliance. The US government does not recognize ‘sub-contractors.’ Any work, actions, or items sub-contracted by the Prime Contractor are considered to be completed by the Prime Contractor.

e) Contractor’s Representative - An individual from the Contractor’s organization with on the ground experience of the Line Items and who has been given authority by the Contractor to act on their behalf in the absence of the Contractor. These authorities may include, but are not limited to: Requesting inspection of a completed area, agreeing to remedial actions when an area does not pass inspection, notifying the COR of instances of non-compliance with section B-5 Resource Protections Specifications, or requests for general guidance or information about specifications/areas/treatments/etc.

10) Inspection and Acceptance – Upon completion of an area, the Contractor, or designated representative, shall notify the COR so that an inspection of the area can be completed. The COR will complete the inspection within 2 operational days of notification. When remedial work is required, the COR and Contractor will agree upon remedy actions, timeline for completion, and re-inspection. The COR will ‘accept’ the area as completed when ALL specifications are satisfactorily met. Once accepted, the Contractor may submit invoices for partial payments. An individual area is the smallest unit of partial payment the government will process.

a) Method of Measurement – Acreage for treatment areas were determined by Geographic

Information Systems (GIS) data. Any areas of non-treatment shall be measured by the COR using a handheld Global Positioning System (GPS) unit an area traverse method.

Accuracy standards:

i) Position/location (PDOP) = +/- 16ft (5m)

ii) Area Determination= +/- 0.1 acre.

b) Basis of Payment – Payment will be made for the actual number of acres satisfactorily completed and accepted by the COR, multiplied by the contract unit price for the Line Item. (+/- 0.1 acre)

c) Minimum Acceptable Defect Rate – Areas that exhibit more than 5% defect rate in areas that meet the intent of this contract (refer to Section A.4.a- Intent) during the inspection process shall be remedied prior to acceptance.

i) Interpretation of Defect Rate – The inspection should focus on areas within 50-feet of suitable timber. Use stems or clumps of brush as a basis for estimation. If two (2) or more stems/clumps in 20 are left uncut; six (6) or more stems/clumps in 100 are left uncut, the treated area has a defect rate in excess of 5%. COR may use linear transects or 1/100th acre circular line plots for the basis of determination, if needed.

ii) Consideration - The inspection MUST CONSIDER ALL applicable contract specifications identified in Mowing Operation Specifications (B.5.a-c) and Resource Protection Specifications (B.6.a-f). Any non-treated areas that adhere with these specification are considered in compliance and not defective.

iii) Finally, the inspection may consider whether the completed treatment meets the intent of the contract for acceptance of treatment.

SCHEDULE OF ITEMS

Completion Period - From September 12, 2022 until April 14, 2023

Unit Acres Compartment 104 1,305 Compartment 101 77

Compartment 19 (100’ strips near private) 70 Total 1,452

Schedule of ITEMS

Item Item Description Qty Unit Unit Price Total

0001 Mechanical mowing of brush and small trees (less than 9 inches stump diameter) in general forest conditions.

1,452

Acre

*Overall machine width not to exceed 72 inches (6 ft.)

Total

Company Name: ____________________________________________

MAPS

Project Vicinity Map

Mowing Areas 1 & 2

Mowing Area 3