Attachment 1 - Natural Resources Conservation Service Statement of Work for National Resources Inventory Grazingland FIeld Study Data Collection N Nevada.pdf

FY 2020 NRI STATEMENT OF WORK

FISCAL YEAR 2020

NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE

STATEMENT OF WORK FOR NATIONAL RESOURCES INVENTORY

GRAZINGLAND FIELD STUDY DATA COLLECTION

NORTHERN NEVADA

A. GENERAL:

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), an agency of the United States Department of

Agriculture is mandated (through the Rural Development Act of 1972, the Soil and Water Resources

Conservation Act of 1977, and other supporting legislation) to assess the status, condition, and trends of soil, water, and related resources on the Nation’s non-Federal and Federal lands. Resources inventory legislative authorities, NRCS policy, and responsibilities for conducting the NRI are contained in NRCS

General Manual 290, Part 400. In order to accomplish this task, the NRCS will award one contract that requires the successful contractor to collect Grazingland resources data on selected sample sites (points) for the 2020 National Resources Inventory (NRI), Grazingland Field Study in Northern Nevada.

B. DEFINITIONS:

1. Contracting Officer (CO). The duly appointed and warranted government agent authorized to enter into, administer or terminate contracts and make related determinations and findings. The contracting officer is the only person authorized to contractually obligate the government. The contracting officer is responsible for ensuring performance of all necessary actions for effective contracting, ensuring that the requirements of all pertinent laws, regulations, etc. have been met, ensuring compliance with the terms of the contract, and safeguarding the interests of the United States in its contractual relationships. The contracting officer ensures that sufficient funds are available for government contractual obligation and ensures that all contractors receive impartial, fair and equitable treatment in the solicitation process.

2. Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR). The Contracting Officer will appoint and delegate in writing limited authority for certain contract-related decisions to an NRCS employee who will serve as the

COR. The COR Appointment Letter details exactly what responsibilities lie within the scope of the COR's authority. The COR will notify the CO of recommendations for technical acceptance or rejection by the

Government of all articles and services required to be furnished and/or performed under the contract; will receive, for the Government, all articles and services called for by the contract and will represent the

Contracting Officer in the technical phases of the work. The COR monitors the Contractor's performance to ensure compliance with technical requirements of the contract, verifies and certifies that the items have been inspected and meet the requirements of the contract. The COR notifies the CO if performance is not meeting the requirements of the contract.

C. REFERENCE MATERIALS:

1. Instructions, 2020 NRI Handbook of Instructions for Grazing Land On-Site Data Collection https://grazingland.cssm.iastate.edu/reference-materials

2. Appendix C - Landowner Contact Guide, Access Record, and Contact Letter Example

3. Field Book for Describing and Sampling Soils USDA NRCS. ftp://ftp fc.sc.egov.usda.gov/NSSC/Field

Book/FieldBookVer2.pdf/

4. Technical Reference 1734-4, 1999, Sampling Vegetation Attributes http://www.blm.gov/nstc/library/techref.htm/

5. NRCS Field Office Technical Guide, Nevada http://efotg.nrcs.usda.gov/efotg locator.aspx?map=NV/

6. NRCS National Range and Pasture Handbook, 1997 as amended http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/national/landuse/rangepasture/?&cid=ste lprdbl043084

7. Technical Reference 1734-6 2005, Interpreting Indicators of Rangeland Health, Version 4

8. USDA NRCS National Plants Database at http://plants.usda.gov/java/

D. CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT

The NRI program is based upon rigorous scientific sample survey protocols. These protocols include maintaining and protecting the integrity and confidentiality of data gathering sites. USDA and NRCS policy states that: “The geographic locations of data gathering sites used for USDA’s NRI are not public information and are to be used only for purposes of official NRI data gathering activities or for such purposes approved by the Secretary”. All of the contractor’s data gatherers shall sign a Confidentiality

Statement under United States Code (USC), Title 18, Section 1905; USC, Title7, Section 2276 and USC, Title 7, Section 2240 for non-disclosure of confidential information relative to data site locations and/or private/corporate non-use of composite data. The Confidentiality Statement shall be signed prior to starting data collection. The NRI data that identifies owners, operators, or data collection sites are not to be released to the public. Attachment “Confidentiality Certification and Request for Access to National

Resources Inventory (NRI) Data” will be provided to the awardee for completion prior to contract award.

E. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

Attend NRCS provided training Training and calibration must be successfully completed by

April 21-23, 2020 and prior to commencing field data collection.

Field Data Collection Commence on or about May 1, 2020; Data collection complete no later than 4PM PT September 25, 2020. See

Attachment 5 Expected NRI Data Collection Periods Across

Nevada.

Data transmission to ISU server Sample points must be electronically transferred to the ISU server no later than 10 days after commencing field data collection at the point. All completed points, to include digital camera images, must be returned to the ISU server no later than 4PM PT September 30, 2020 Pacific time.

GPE/GPM All GPE/GPM shall be returned to the Government no later than 4PM PT October 18, 2020.

Final Invoicing No later than 4PM PT October 18, 2020.

F. DESCRIPTION OF WORK: Non-federal points and federal points

The contractor(s) shall furnish the necessary personnel, material, equipment, services and facilities, except as otherwise specified, to perform the effort described below. Documentation guidance for implementing this contract is outlined in Paragraph C. Reference Materials.

Overview – NRCS Nevada anticipates approximately 1,239 points (varying from between 1 and 2 per segment) will be inventoried over the three-year period contemplated by this procurement. The specific segments and points are announced annually by the National NRI program manager during the second quarter of the Federal fiscal year. At the time the annual list of segments and points is published, a modification within the scope of the contract may be necessary to adjust required quantities on the contract in response to the needs of that season. In fiscal year 2020, there are approximately 69 non-federal inventory segments in northern Nevada. Each segment is about 160 acres in size. Each segment has one to two sample points upon which data are to be collected. In fiscal year 2020, there are approximately 344 segments on land owned by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Northern Nevada. Each segment has one or two points that are eligible for data collection. See Table 1 in this document for a tabular distribution of points across the Northern Nevada contract area.

http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/national/landuse/rangepasture/?&cid=ste%20 http://plants.usda.gov/java/

Table 1. Northern Nevada FY2020 Contract area workload, by County.

Note: Quantities for BLM federal NRI study is POINTS. Quantity for OPGL range and pasture non-federal study is POINTS.

Contract/AREA Nevada County BLM POINTS

MAX # POSSIBLE

OPGL (Range and Pasture) POINTS

BLM + OPGL -

Northern NV

Humboldt 58 18

Churchill 16 4

Elko 164 10

Eureka 22 13

Pershing 20 8

Washoe 46 6

Lander 18 10

344 69

Data are to be collected by data collection teams consisting of two or more members. Minimum Data

Collector qualifications and requirements are as follows:

The Contractor's Team Leader (s) must meet the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM)

Qualification Standard for a GS-454-11 Rangeland Management Specialist. Qualifications for this position are described below and are published in the "OPM Operating Manual for Qualification Standards for General Schedule Positions". Refer to: http://www.opm.gov/gualifications/index.htm. Note: College transcripts, resumes and references may be requested by the government to verify education, experience and performance.

Basic Requirements:

A. Degree: in range management; or a related discipline that included at least 42 semester hours in a combination of the plant, animal, and soil sciences, and natural resources management, as follows: Range Management - at least 18 hours of course work in range management, including courses in such areas as basic principles of range management, range plants, range ecology, range inventories and studies, range improvements, and ranch or rangeland planning. Directly related plant, animal, and soil sciences - at least 15 semester hours of directly related courses in the plant, animal, and soil sciences. Courses in such areas as plant taxonomy, plant physiology, plant ecology, animal nutrition, livestock production, and soil morphology or soil classification are acceptable. Related Resource Management Studies - at least 9 semester hours of course work in related resource management subjects, including courses in such areas as wildlife management, watershed management, natural resource or agricultural economics, forestry, agronomy, forages and outdoor recreation management.

-OR-

http://www.opm.gov/gualifications/index.htm

B. A Combination of education and experience - at least 42 semester hours of course work in the combination of plant, animal, and soil sciences and natural resources management shown in A above, plus appropriate experiences or additional education.

-AND-

One year of specialized experience in rangeland plant identification and rangeland site inventory methods equivalent to at least the GS-457-9 level or 2 years of progressively higher level graduated education leading to a master's degree or equivalent graduate degree.

Additional Requirements:

A. The Contractor's Team Leader(s), in addition to meeting the OPM Qualification Standard for a GS-

454-11 Rangeland Management Specialist, shall have experience in the following:

• Working in Western states in range and/or pasture land assessments, management and conducting rangeland inventories, knowledge and understanding of all aspects of range and pasture land plant growth patterns, accessing and correctly interpreting seasonal climate conditions, and conducting and training others on plant production estimates on range and pasture land

• The ability to identify Nevada NRCS Ecological Sites (or Range Sites) and the various alternative states associated with that site

• Global Position System (GPS) equipment to navigate to sample sites

• Use of soil survey information and ability to identify and describe the soil component at the point location (depth, texture and modifier, effervescence, other features)

• Apparent rangeland trend indicators

• Training and experience in conducting rangeland health assessments using the 17 indicators of rangeland health

• Nevada plant identification

• Identification of resource concerns

• Identification of disturbance indicators

• NRCS Conservation Practice Standards (see Description of Work above)

• Establishing and inventorying rangeland vegetation using line transects - plant cover, canopy gaps

• Vegetation cover density and height measurements

• Soil stability measurements

• Sagebrush identification and shape

B. All Data collectors shall have experience in the following:

• Global Position System (GPS) equipment to navigate to sample sites

• Use of soil survey information and ability to identify and describe the soil component at the point location (depth, texture and modifier, effervescence, other features)

• Nevada plant identification

• Working in Western states in rangeland management and conducting rangeland inventories, including understanding plant growth patterns, correctly interpreting seasonal climate conditions, and conducting plant production estimates on range and pasture land

• Establishing and inventorying using line transects: plant cover composition and canopy gaps

• Vegetation cover density and height measurements

• Soil stability measurements

• Sagebrush identification and shape

Data collection will be conducted on private & public land and access permission must be granted prior to land entry and data collection. The contractor shall contact landowners to request permission to conduct the inventory. Some landowners will refuse permission to access or cross their land. If the contractor is unable to secure permission from a private landowner for the contractor to access the private land, the contractor will not enter or cross the private land and will not be paid for that point. The contractor(s) shall enter the data collected into hand-held Computer Assisted Survey Instruments (CASI) using approved software provided by NRCS. The contractor shall transmit the data to the USDA NRCS Iowa State

University Center for Survey Statistics & Methodology located in Ames, Iowa. The contractor at their option may use NRCS approved paper forms to collect the data in the field to enhance data collection efficiency as necessary prior to entry into the CASI by the contractor.

1. Grazingland Data Collection: The contractor shall collect data for the following elements in accordance with the standards outlined in the Handbook of Instructions for Rangeland Field Study Data Collection, reports, site locations maps and aerial photographs furnished by the COR. The data shall be free of errors and be collected in a logical order with minimal number of trips to the field for data collection. To be considered complete, range and pasture data collection protocols will be collected for points and certified by NRCS. Work shall begin on or about April 1, 2020 and be completed in accordance with the table set forth at section E (“Period of Performance”) of this Statement of Work. Highlights in the 2019 protocol are covered below.

a. GPS Navigation and Point Coordinate Capture – navigate to and record data point position with a handheld GPS device.

b. Transect Layout; (2) 150 foot linear transects NE/SW-NW/SE intersecting as an “X” at the 75 foot mark.

c. (8) Digital photos per point.

d. Ownership – NRI ownership code

e. Land Cover/Use – NRI cover/use code

f. Soil Observation(s) to Verify the Ecological Site(s)

g. Landscapes and Soils

•Vertical Slope Shape

•Horizontal Slope Shape

•Slope Percent

•Soil Survey Area ID (SSAID) number

•NASIS Map Unit Symbol (MUSYM)

h. Ecological Site Information

•Rangeland Cover Type Name

•Historic Major Land Resource Area (MLRA)

•Ecological Site Number

•Ecological Site/Soil Correlation

•Gully Erosion; Active Cutting

•Apparent Rangeland Trend

i. Rangeland Health

•Indicators of Rangeland Health (17 attributes to achieve indicator summary of Soil/Site

Stability, Biotic Integrity and Hydrologic Function)

j. Noxious Weeds and Invasive/Alien Plants (plant code)

k. Disturbance Indicators

l. Identification of Conservation Practices Applied; Yes/No (15) NRCS Technical Guide Section

IV; Part C

•Brush management (314)

•Prescribed Burning (338)

•Pond (378)

•Windbreak/Shelterbelt Establishment (380)

•Fence (382)

•Pasture and Hayland Planting (512)

•Pipeline (516)

•Prescribed Grazing (528)

•Grazing Land Mechanical Treatment (548)

•Range Planting (550)

•Spring Development (574)

•Animal Trail and Walkways (580

•Watering Facility (614)

•Water Well (642)

•Wildlife Watering Facility (648)

m. Identification of Resource Concerns; Yes/No (NRCS Technical Guide Section V; Part A)

•Soil erosion (6 concerns)

•Soil condition (5 concerns)

•Water quantity (3 concerns)

•Water quality (2 concerns)

•Plant suitability

•Plant condition (4 concerns)

•Domestic Animals

n. Soil Stability Test – when insufficient root mat exists (9 samples)

o. Transect Vegetation Data

•Line Point Transects for Cover Composition

•Record plant canopy cover by species (up to six species) at three foot intervals along two

150 foot transects

•Record basal cover at the same points by plant species, or lichen cover, or moss, or rock fragments, or none (bare soil)

•There are 50 points on each transect

p. Line Intercept Transects: for Canopy Gaps

•Record the beginning and end of plant canopy gaps greater than 1.0 foot to the nearest

1/10th of a foot

•Plant material may be dead or alive

•Uses the same transects as the Line Point Transects

q. Plant Height

•Record the maximum height, in inches, of the tallest rooted plant that is nearest to the three foot intervals along two 150 foot transects

r. Species Composition by Weight

•Collect actual field weight, in grams, of plants in production plots

•There are 5 production plots located along transect lines

•Each of the 5 production plots will have herbaceous material sampled

•Two of the 5 plots will also have woody material (if present) sampled

•Herbaceous (circular) plots will be either 4.8 or 9.6 square feet

•Woody plots will be 435.6 square feet or 0.01 acre (a circular plot with a radius of approximately 11.8 feet)

•Collect actual field weight by species

•Actual field weight by species may be determined by clipping the whole plot or by double sampling

s. Reconstruct field weight of plants to normal annual air dry weights

•For each species:

•Determine the percent air dry weight

•Determine the percent of current years growth that has not been removed by grazing or harvest

•Determine percent of current years growth that should normally have occurred at the time of sampling

•Determine the climate adjustment factor comparing current years growth to normal years growth

t. Determine similarity Index (SI) using Ecological Site Description information for each plant species.

•The software in the CASI produces total unadjusted weight for all plants inventoried from all production plots as well as the reconstructed weight in pounds per acre

•Determine the percent of allowable production for each species using the Ecological Site

Description that best describes the site where the samples have been collected

•The software will then calculate the Similarity Index (SI).

2. Landowner Permission: Permission to access private land must be granted prior to land entry and data collection. The contractor shall contact landowners to request permission to conduct the inventory. Some landowners will refuse permission to access or cross their land. If the contractor is unable to secure permission from a private landowner for the contractor to access the private land, the contractor will not enter or cross the private land and will not be paid for that point. Landowner permissions are not always available.

3. Training: Training requirements each year may be subject to change.

(1) There are two levels of training authorized and required for 2020 NRI data collection:

a. Team Leader authorized NRI train-the-trainer training, provided by NRCS;

b. Crew Member field-based data collection protocol training and certification, to be provided by

Contractor Team Leader(s) to all Contractor crew members charged with collecting data during the contract period (see item 7).

To be granted Team Leader authorization, the Team Leader must meet education and experience requirement, and additionally:

a. Participate in a 2020 NRI Grazing Land On-Site Study training delivered by qualified NRCS staff;

b. Pass a written test;

c. Successfully complete all performance-based field tests and calibrations for all protocols found in the 2020 Handbook;

d. Successfully perform field data collection functions, meeting or exceeding NRCS-defined accuracy and precision tolerances prescribed by NRCS, for ALL calibration exercises as described in Appendix E of the 2020 Handbook, as evaluated by NRCS NRI Training staff and the COR.

e. Successfully train on all protocols in the 2020 Handbook to all Contractor Crew Members.

(2) All Team Leaders must be authorized by the COR before collecting NRI grazing land data for the 2020 field season.

(3) Contractor shall submit a list of all staff to be considered for attendance for Team Leader training.

(4) The COR will authorize Team Leader attendance, in consultation with Contractor. Due to space limitations, no more than three (3) Team Leaders will be authorized by the COR to attend NRCS-provided training.

(5) Contractor shall identify the anticipated number of Team Leaders, not to exceed three (3), they will be sending to NRCS-provided Train-the-Trainer training, as part of their bid.

(6) Team Leaders, following successful completion of FY2020 NRCS-led NRI Training, will be responsible for all in-field training for all Contractor Crew Members, before the Contractor Crew Members begin 2020 NRI data collection.

(7) NRCS-sponsored training will be held in up to four locations across the U.S. this year, including a training in Columbia, MO April 21, 22, and 23, 2020. Alternate locations and dates for NRCS-led training may be set. Successful Contractor is to work with the COR on training availability and location.

(8) NRCS-provided training will be provided free of charge to Team Leaders of successful Contractors.

(9) Crew Members are authorized to collect NRI data only after:

a. Participating in a Contractor-led NRI Grazing Land On-Site Study field data collection training program where data collection protocols are trained on, performed, and calibrated against Team

Leader performance targets.

b. Crew Members perform periodic calibration exercises designed to ensure consistent performance, as certified by a trained team leader.

c. Before data collection begins, Team Leaders and/or Contractor will provide a written statement to the COR certifying each named Crew Member has received proper training and is qualified by education, experience, and field training to independently perform the 2020 Handbook protocols they are proficient in completing.

d. All data collection personnel shall sign an NRI confidentiality certification agreement prior to data collection.

(10) Contractor shall coordinate with the COR or their representative to schedule an in-person conference during the NRCS Train-the-Trainer training.

a. The meeting will be scheduled concurrent with the time of exchange of Government Provided

Equipment (GPE) and Government Provided Materials (GPM).

b. All prospective Team Leaders shall attend this coordination meeting.

c. The Contractor shall schedule these meetings directly with COR upon initiation of contract, to be held prior to commencement of the field season data collection.

4. Deliverables: The contractor(s) shall submit the following:

a. Data Point Collection: Completed data points shall include:

1) All field data collection and data entry into the hand-held Computer Assisted Survey Instrument

(CASI), any required follow-up calculations, and verification so that all data has fully passed all electronic completion checks on the CASI (designated as “completed/CO” status) and has been transmitted electronically to the Statistical Laboratory, Iowa State University (ISU), Ames Iowa as per specifications outlined in the “2020 Handbook of Instructions for NRI Grazing Land On-Site

Data Collection.” All segment and point data elements must pass the completion check on the

CASI to meet “completed/CO” status before being transmitted to the ISU server. In order to insure data safety and security, segments must be electronically transferred to the ISU server no later than 10 days after commencing field data collection for said segments. Only a maximum of

10 segments can be on the CASI at any time, so they must be completed before more can be downloaded. No partially completed segments in non-completed status (designated as uncompleted/”UC”) will be accepted. All segments must be returned to the ISU server no later than 4PM September 30, 2020, Pacific Time.

2) The required digital imagery associated with each site as per the NRI Handbook of Instructions for

Grazing Land On-Site Data Collection. All digital imagery must be labeled as per the NRI

Handbook and uploaded via the ISU website no later than 4PM September 30, 2020, Pacific Time.

b. Data Points Deemed Inaccessible in Field Designation: Points deemed to be inaccessible after the contractor has attempted travel to them require certain conditions be met and the contractor to provide documentation of the attempt for payment to be made (see Section N for specific details). Conditions are as follows:

1) In the event permission from a private landowner is necessary to access the point, permission was obtained from the private landowner.

2) Contractor notifies the Government POC regarding access problem within 5 working days of attempted access.

3) Contractor must physically have attempted travel to the point and document it by field capture of a GPS waypoint at the nearest location the Contractor was able to traverse to before concluding access was not possible. This field-captured GPS location shall be provided to the COR, and

4) While attempting to access the point, Contractor was prevented from accessing the point by any of the following circumstances:

a. A locked gate (Requires a photograph of the locked gate as documentation);

b. The only way to access the point is by traversing very steep (> 65% slopes), and/or dangerous terrain, consistent with previous attempts by NRI staff to access the point.

c. A subsequent change in ownership resulting in denied permission to access OPGL point (Requires documentation of new ownership to be provided);

d. Point is greater than 2.5 miles from a road or trail, consistent with previous inventory attempts by NRI staff to access the point (Contractor shall document on a topographic map);

e. Change in land use/cover at the point, unbeknownst to the Contractor and not discernable from most recent imagery, that causes the land use/cover selection to dis-quality the point from inventory as assigned (e.g. site is bulldozed for development);

f. Point burned in a wildfire that occurred during the current growing season, or where post-wildfire hazards put personnel at an unreasonable risk of injury;

g. Road washouts or similar travel hazards prevent access (Contractor shall document by a GPS waypoint location and a photograph of the barrier);

h. Permission to access the point(s) is withdrawn by the private landowner after the

Contractor has begun to incur travel costs (documentation required);

i. Other conditions or circumstances deemed reasonable by the COR.

c. Training: The Contractor shall successfully complete the required training course and calibration exercise, and provide all required documentation listed in Section F.3 Training, prior to beginning data collection. The Government will accept delivery upon demonstration of successful completion of the required training and initial calibration exercise, and upon acceptance of all documentation required in Section F.3 Training.

G. QUALITY ASSURANCE (QA)/PERFORMANCE-BASED REQUIREMENTS:

The COR will coordinate the evaluation of Contractor performance. NRCS will provide Quality Assurance

Reviews (QAR) for up to 10% of collected data and 50% of digital images. QARs will consist of an in-field review or review of data submitted to the ISU server by the Contractor. Any issues relative to the quality or correctness of collected data will be corrected as soon as possible and prior to submission of an invoice for payment. The Contractor will transmit corrected data, as needed, to the ISU server as described in Section F(3)(a). Contractor is required to participate in periodic calibration exercises. Such calibration exercises shall be required no more than an additional 2 times during data collection after initial training and calibration. The COR will schedule calibration exercises with the Contractor at random times within the data collection period, with not less than one work-week lead time. Calibrations will take place on actual production points to maximize training value and data collection efficiencies. Calibration exercises are in addition to the training required by Section J of this Statement of Work.

H. GOVERNMENT FURNISHED PROPERTY, MATERIALS, AND FACILITIES

1. Government Furnished Property (GFP): The NRCS will make available to the Contractor the following

GFP. Property supplied by the NRCS shall only be used for direct performance of the work specified in this contract. Use for purposes other than this contract is prohibited. NRCS will maintain the GFP and will provide access to all equipment manuals for provided equipment.

Government furnished equipment includes the following items: Personal Digital Assistant or CASI or GPS unit, batteries and accessories for the CASI, and soil stability kit.

2. Government Furnished Materials (GFM): The NRCS will provide GFM in the form of NRI segment support materials including legal descriptions and aerial photographs of each segment with the segment boundary and data collection points located and labeled. Materials will be delivered by the performance start date. All NRI support materials must be returned to NRCS at the end of the performance period.

Copies of site descriptions of the expected plant communities will also be provided.

3. Government Furnished Facilities (GFF):

NRCS may provide the Contractor the use of Government workspace within NRCS facilities as needed and available. Requests shall be considered no less than 30 days prior to need by COR.

4. Contractor Responsibility for GFP and GFM: The contractor shall notify the COR in writing within two working days after the discovery of lost, damaged, or destroyed GFP or GFM. The notification shall include the specific Property Number or other identifying codes and property nomenclature; the circumstances surrounding the loss, damage, or destruction; estimated cost of alleviating the problem, if appropriate; and the expected impact on provision of Contractor services. The contractor may be held financially liable for any shortage, loss, damage, or destruction of GFP as determined by the CO.

Deductions will be made to the contractor’s payment accordingly.

I. CONTRACTOR PROVIDED PROPERTY:

The contractor shall furnish all property, etc. to perform this contract that is not specifically identified as

GFP, GFM or GFT above. This is expected to include, but is not limited to: 50ft tape, 2 pair thinning shears, 2 pair grass clippers, digital camera (6 Mega-Pixel or higher), extra AA batteries, 9.6 sq ft sample frames, gram scales (0-060g, 0-100g, 0-300g), clinometers, compass, two 150 foot tapes with 0.1 foot graduations, 12 survey flags, 4 chaining pins, whiteboard, and whiteboard markers. The contractor will provide their own transportation.

J. NRCS PROVIDED training for the 2020 NRI Grazingland Data Collection Study:

The contractor(s) shall attend a NRCS training session on study protocols. Contractor shall attend a training session for data collection calibration (estimated duration: 2 days) prior to data collection. To be authorized to collect data: one must attend training provided, participate in calibration and be within required limits, and pass the written test. There will be no charge for the NRCS provided training. In addition, each contractor will be required to complete no more than two additional data collection calibrations onsite with the NRCS officials during the data collection season. Interested contractors should include their cost to complete the additional two calibrations in the per-unit price.

K. TELECONFERENCES

"As-needed" teleconferences with NRCS shall be scheduled whenever requested by the COR or the contractor to review items including progress, questions relating to the project, work revised, or decisions which need to be made with the intention of expediting the completion of the contract.

L. REVIEW PROCEDURES

Work completed by the contractor will be reviewed and approved by the COR.

M. CHANGES

Throughout the period of this contract the contractor can expect to receive government directed changes to the manner in which processes are being performed. Changes include minor changes in data collection instructions and data collection software. Directives may be received in the form of, but not limited to, memoranda, and other informal means of communication.

The contractor shall immediately implement changes to processes approved by the COR that result in a decrease to or no change in the contract price. A proposal documenting the decreased cost will be submitted within 10 working days. Any changes that result in increases in price can only be approved by the CO. A proposal showing the revised work and increased cost must be submitted to the CO and approved in a written modification before commencing the change in work.

N. PAYMENT

Payment will only be made for deliverables that meet contract quality standards and protocols of this

Statement of Work and is successfully submitted to and subsequently accepted by the Government.

Payment shall be made in accordance with the contract requirements at the price per unit (point) as outlined below in items 1 and 2. Note: Points where private landowners do not provide permission to access or cross their property will not be visited and will not be paid. Points where the land use type can be readily seen on the supplied aerial photos to be other than rangeland will not be visited and will not be paid.

Contractor to inquire with COR on any points that appear to not meet NRI data collection criteria before proceeding with data collection.

1. Data Point Collection: A data point is considered complete when 1) the data point has been transmitted with a “CO” status to the database located at the USDA NRCS Iowa State University Center for Survey

Statistics & Methodology located in Ames, Iowa, and 2) when the digital images associated with the data point have been uploaded to the ISU website. Once the Quality Assurance Review has been completed by the Government, the Government POC will authorize submission of invoice for payment.

The Contractor invoice will list the points completed since the last invoice. Payment will only be made for a completed data point (as defined above) that meets contract quality standards and is successfully transmitted to the ISU server and accepted by the Government.

Invoices for this deliverable shall be submitted against the CLIN titled “Federal Points” or “Non-Federal

Onsite Private Grazing Land (OPGL) Points”, whichever is applicable.

2. Data Points Deemed Inaccessible in Field Designation: Points deemed to be inaccessible after the contractor has attempted travel to them will be paid provided the following conditions are met:

1) In the event permission from a private landowner is necessary to access the point, permission was obtained from the private landowner.

2) Contractor notifies the Government POC regarding access problem within 5 working days of attempted access.

3) Contractor must physically have attempted travel to the point and document it by field capture of a GPS waypoint at the nearest location the Contractor was able to traverse to before concluding access was not possible. This field-captured GPS location shall be provided to the COR, and

4) While attempting to access the point, Contractor was prevented from accessing the point by any of the following circumstances:

a. A locked gate (Requires a photograph of the locked gate as documentation);

b. The only way to access the point is by traversing very steep (> 65% slopes), and/or dangerous terrain, consistent with previous attempts by NRI staff to access the point.

c. A subsequent change in ownership resulting in denied permission to access point

(Requires documentation of new ownership to be provided);

d. Point is greater than 2.5 miles from a road or trail, consistent with previous inventory attempts by NRI staff to access the point (Contractor shall document on a topographic map);

e. Change in land use/cover at the point, unbeknownst to the Contractor and not discernable from most recent imagery, that causes the land use/cover selection to dis-quality the point from inventory as assigned (e.g. site is bulldozed for development);

f. Point burned in a wildfire that occurred during the current growing season, or where post-wildfire hazards put personnel at an unreasonable risk of injury;

g. Road washouts or similar travel hazards prevent access (Contractor shall document by a GPS waypoint location and a photograph of the barrier);

h. Permission to access the point(s) is withdrawn by the private landowner after the

Contractor has begun to incur travel costs (documentation required);

i. Other conditions or circumstances deemed reasonable by the COR.

For Data Points Deemed Inaccessible in Field Designation events, payment will only be made after inspection of documentation and acceptance by the Government of the required deliverables.

Invoices for this deliverable shall be submitted against the CLIN titled “Federal Points” or “Non-Federal

Onsite Private Grazing Land (OPGL) Points”, whichever is applicable.

3. Training: Payment will be made for successful completion of the required training course, successful completion of the calibration exercise, and delivery of all documentation required prior to beginning data collection. Payment will not be made in the event the contractor fails to successfully complete the required training and calibration exercises and fails to provide all required documentation listed in Section F.3, prior to beginning data collection.

-----------------End of Statement of Work--------------------------------