Attachment_1_Draft_Work_Requirements_RFI_9_21_1.docx

Off‑Range Corral (ORC) Services Receiving, Preparation & Maintenance Covered States: AZ, CA, CO, ID, KS, MT, NE, NM, NV, SD, TX, UT, WY

Background Wild horses and burros on BLM‑administered public lands are protected under the Wild Free‑Roaming Horses and Burros Act (16 U.S.C. 1331–1340). To maintain ecological balance, excess animals are removed from the range and cared for in Off‑Range Corrals (ORCs) until placement into private care via adoption, sale, or transfer. ORCs serve as initial receiving, preparation, and maintenance facilities supporting humane care, conditioning, and movement of animals.

Scope of Work The Contractor shall provide all labor, land, facilities, supplies, equipment, feed/supplement, and water necessary to perform ORC services. Facilities and handling must meet or exceed CAWP standards for Off‑Range Corrals. Services include receiving and sorting; daily care; preparation procedures (aging, freezemarking, microchipping, vaccinations, deworming, blood draw, castration); humane handling; hoof trimming, recordkeeping; and support for transport and private care placement events. Contractors shall operate Off‑Range Corral facilities in California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, and Arizona to perform full receiving and preparation activities. They may be considered for maintenance activities as well. While facilities located in Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota, and Texas shall perform maintenance and private‑care placement activities only, as these states are not eligible to conduct initial receiving or preparation operations.

A. Facility Description A.1 Corral Facilities Fence heights: 72 inches (horses) and 60 inches (burros); built of stout materials (pipe, portable panels, steel, lumber with non‑chew surface). Barbed wire/single‑strand smooth wire are prohibited inside corral construction. Mesh openings ≤ 2 × 4 inches and install three 2 × 8‑inch sight boards on the upper portion spaced ≤ 12 inches; horizontal openings ≤ 12 inches.

Space per animal ≥ 400 ft² per animal in holding pens and for sick/infectious/injured/weak animals, with overhead shelter and windbreak; ensure drainage to prevent mud and maintain dry resting areas.

Alleys ≥ 10 feet wide, sorting gates solid or covered to restrict vision, mitigate dust per COR direction; remove manure every ≥ 6 months (or as COR directs); comply with CAFO requirements for storage/drainage and provide covered feed storage.

Non‑contracted ORC areas must have separate loading/off‑loading chutes, squeeze chutes, pens, alleys, feed, and water; any other livestock must remain ≥ 50 yards from contracted WHB areas.

A.2 Holding Pastures (optional adjunct to corrals) Pastures must connect (“feed into”) corral facilities, land must be contractor‑owned/controlled, free of hazards, no public roads/ROW within pasture.

Burro pasture fencing: ≥ 48 inches, ≥ 4 strands of barbed wire spaced ≤ 12 inches; electric (“hot”) wire is not authorized. Horses may only be maintained on pasture if perimeter fencing meets corral fence requirements above. Move animals to corrals within 24 hours of COR notification; pasture‑held animals follow the same vaccination/hoof trimming/deworming schedules as corral‑held animals.

A.3 Loading, Unloading, and Sorting Areas Chute/ramp must safely unload/load straight‑deck semitrailers, chute floor ~4 feet (or adjustable), sides ≥ 6 feet, solid, width ~32 inches, and catwalk on at least one side. Stock trailer clearance ≤ 12 inches (burros) and ≤ 18 inches (horses). Provide crowding tub or alley with ≥ 3 partition gates; ≥ 2 sorting corrals each ≥ 3,000 ft² accessible from unloading chute, maintain all‑weather access.

A.4 Covered Working Area Covered working area over the hydraulic chute with walls blocking prevailing winds and weather; concrete floor ≥ 4 inches; single‑file alley ~28–32 inches wide and ≥ 20 feet long, with ≥ 3 control (slider) gates; provide 110V/220V power. Include an enclosed, weather‑protected space with power for vaccine refrigeration; if office is not adjacent, provide one restroom (permanent or portable) at the working area.

B. Animal Care Capabilities B.1 Feeding & Water Feed 2–2.5% of body weight (dry matter), increase as needed to maintain body condition. Hay must be leafy, green, long‑stem, well‑cured, free of dust/mold/weeds/foreign material, permitted hay types: grass, grass/alfalfa, alfalfa at USDA “good” quality or better; prohibited: byproduct feeds, ammoniated hay, urea, fermented feeds, ground hay, haylage, silage, liquid supplements. Pasture forage must sustain body condition, special rations may be directed by BLM or a veterinarian.

Provide hay tests to BLM within 48 hours of COR request. BLM may conduct random sampling, replace unacceptable hay at no cost. Feeding sites must allow simultaneous access for all animals plus +20% bunk/stanchion space for timid animals; feed placed ≤ 2 feet from chest; stanchion spacing 12½"–13¾", clean feeders/stanchions/bunks/aprons regularly. Feed bunks and mangers should provide a minimum of 36” of linear space per animal. Provide salt and minerals in each pen. Water must be fresh and clean and continuously available; troughs cleaned ≥ bi‑weekly and ice removed daily as needed.

B.2 Receiving & Preparation (Receive and Prep Corrals) Upon arrival, load/unload, sort and segregate animals, verify neck tags/freezemarks and place in appropriate corrals (primarily by sex/age/species). For newly received or corral‑born animals, prepare for private care placement (aging, freezemarking, microchipping, tagging, vaccinations, deworming, blood draw, castration, physical description). Preparation tasks requiring veterinary services will be supported by Government‑provided veterinarians per Section G.

B.3 Body Condition Score (BCS) Within 2 months of arrival from another ORC or 2 months post‑weaning, maintain BCS ≥ 5; minimum acceptable BCS 4 ≤ 5% of animals may be < BCS 5; no animals < BCS 3 unless COR approves (e.g., recent gather arrivals).

B.4 Hoof Trimming Trim ≥ every 6 months; trim ≤ 60 days before shipment/adoption unless COR directs otherwise. Contractor provides labor/equipment/supplies for trimming in the Government‑provided hydraulic chute; acceptable tools include angle grinder with specified discs/pads, finish to natural angles and apply mustang roll.

B.5 Health Care Contractor restrains/moves animals and may administer scheduled vaccinations/deworming per IM 2023‑028, document each procedure (ID, type, date) and submit to COR within 1 business day if BLM is not present. Use one sterile needle per animal; dispose sharps per OSHA 29 CFR 1910.1030.

Euthanasia follows PIM 2021‑007, non‑emergency decisions jointly by BLM/vet, emergency authority by either; carcass disposal per state sanitation laws; report all deaths to COR by end of next business day with ID/age/description and probable cause.

C. Personnel Mandatory CAWP training for all Contractor staff. BLM provides access, Contractor furnishes completion certificates to COR/CO, refreshers annually or as needed. BLM provides training on freezemarks, microchips/scanning, and WHB preparation techniques prior to animal arrival, Contractor, COR, and CO coordinate training.

C.1 Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities All personnel working in the Off-Range Corral (ORC) must:

Be physically capable of performing outdoor work in varying climatic conditions.

Possess knowledge, skills, and ability to safely handle wild horses and burros, including those with little or no prior human exposure.

Be trained to perform required duties such as sorting, loading, animal movement, restraining animals for veterinary procedures, identification verification, and supporting preparation tasks (freeze marking, microchipping, etc) COR may direct/reassign personnel to ensure humane handling; COR may remove individuals endangering WHBs. Contractor certifies personnel have no animal‑cruelty convictions/indictments.

C.2 Farm Project Manager (PM) Requirement The Contractor shall designate one Farm Project Manager (PM) who:

Has a minimum of three (3) years of supervisory experience with knowledge of animals.

Has full authority to act on all matters of contract administration, performance, communication with the COR, proposed modifications, and signature authority for contract documents.

Ensures adequate daily staffing and supervises all Contractor personnel performing ORC functions.

Must remain in the position throughout contract performance unless changed with Contracting Officer (CO) approval, following the SOW’s substitution procedures. Substitutions are prohibited during the first year except for illness, death, termination, or CO approval.

D. Capacity Contractor shall state proposed maximum capacity by species (XX number of horses and/or XX number of burros) and demonstrate sufficient pens to house the proposed maximum, sorted by species, sex, age, temperament, health status, and physical condition. Facilities must maintain staffing and infrastructure to support sustained operations at that capacity.

E. Logistics Provide all‑weather access to loading/unloading sites; adequate parking for stock/horse trailers; and compliant sorting flow (crowding tub or alley with partition gates; sorting corrals) per Section A.3.

F. Compliance Meet current CAWP standards for ORC facilities, transport, and adoption events; task orders may prescribe alternate methods for specific work. CAWP assessments may occur randomly; reports (with PII/SSI/proprietary info redacted) are posted publicly after Contractor review.

Obtain and maintain CAFO permits and reporting; construct/maintain infrastructure for compliance; maintain required records throughout performance and provide to CO upon request.

G. Government‑Furnished Property, Supplies, and Services Government Furnished Material (GFM): BLM provides freezemarking irons, RFID microchips & reader, vaccines/dewormer, neck tags/ropes, and miscellaneous medical supplies (needles/syringes, wormer guns, liquid nitrogen, etc.)

Government services: BLM provides staff for initial preparation (e.g., freezemarking, microchipping, castration); oversight/documentation of maintenance health care; onsite paperwork and fee collection at onsite placement events; 2‑day notice prior to scheduled veterinary services/prep (except emergencies). BLM prepares shipment paperwork and enters health records in official systems; provides necessary veterinary services; conducts random hay sampling and covers lab costs; facilitates CAWP training; and provides completed NEPA documents, if applicable.

H. Public Access & Private Care Placement Events For maintenance facilities only, the Contractor participates in ≥ 6 placement events per 12 months (onsite and/or virtual). Onsite: ≥ 50 WHBs available; Contractor handles logistics (sorting, haltering, loading), signage, parking; provide 90‑day notice to BLM. Virtual: Contractor obtains high‑quality photos/videos for ≥ 50 animals ≥ 30 days before the event; support adopter pickup onsite or coordinate shipment/off‑site pickup with COR. BLM approves paperwork and collects fees.

Public/media access: identify public‑accessible areas; restrooms available during onsite events; media/humane/interest group tours only under COR approval with BLM present; refer public information requests to FOIA; Contractor shall not release information/data.

I. Reporting & Records Maintain facility inventory identifying animals by freezemark/microchip/description, record pen location, sex, age group, per‑pen counts and update bi‑monthly. Record hoof‑trimming by ID/date and submit to COR next business day after trimming and with monthly invoices. Record deaths promptly with probable cause and submit with monthly invoice. Retain all records and make available to CO upon request.

J. Safety Plan Provide a safety plan detailing continuity of feed/care during emergencies (fire, flood, heavy snow), backup water capability, frequency of safety briefings, and required PPE.

K. Security Safeguard equipment and GFP, secure facilities/equipment/materials after hours. Perimeter fencing must entirely enclose facility grounds; ≥ 48 inches with 4‑strand barbed wire (≤ 12 inches spacing); lockable entry gates for non‑work hours.

L. Place of Performance — Covered States Arizona (AZ), California (CA), Colorado (CO), Idaho (ID), Kansas (KS), Montana (MT), Nebraska (NE), New Mexico (NM), Nevada (NV), South Dakota (SD), Texas (TX), Utah (UT), Wyoming (WY).