Attachment 2 - Mio_FY22_SpecificationsOfWork.docx

Attachment 2 - Specifications/SOW

WORKPLAN ACQUISITION PROJECT ID # AAP 623607

HURON-MANISTEE NF / MIO RD TIMBER MARKING

MIO FY22 Timber Marking Contract

ATTACHMENT #2

DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATIONS/STATEMENT OF WORK

SCOPE

It is the intent of this contract to secure labor necessary to accomplish timber marking in Red Pine stands scheduled for timber harvest on the Mio Ranger District of the Huron-Manistee National Forests. The sale areas (Kneff, Wakeley, Mason, Knotty Pine, and Dry Lake) are divided into FIVE bid items and involve timber marking only on approximately 1,241 total acres. Marking paint is required to be applied using a Panama sprayer or similar product, use of handguns will not be allowed. Only Type C marking paint will be available for use, unless if changed by Forest Service Discretion.

Work will consist of painting trees in accordance with the technical specification outlined below.

DESCRIPTION AND LOCATIONS

The proposed Timber Sale Areas are located on the Mio Ranger District of the Huron-Manistee National Forests:

Kneff is located in Grayling Township, Crawford County – T26N, R02W sections 27 and 33.

Wakeley is located in Grayling Township, Crawford County – T26N, R02W sections 10 and 24.

Mason is located in South Branch Township, Crawford County – T26N, R01W sections 8, 9, 17, and 28.

Knotty Pine is located in Big Creek Township, Oscoda County – T26N, R01E sections 22, 23 and 27.

Dry Lake is located in South Branch Township, Crawford County – T25N, R01W section 27.

Working Area Boundaries – The Forest Service has designated Payment Unit boundaries using orange paint or in combination with roads. Payment Unit acreage has been determined with a combination of satellite imagery and traversing using GPS to establish actual acreages for payment. The acreage listed in the Schedule of Items will be the basis of payment, no changes will be made to the acreages due to calculation errors. Bidders are encouraged to check acreage estimates for accuracy prior to bidding.

Marking Guides

General Marking Instructions These timber sales will be cut tree marked with blue paint. All paint provided will be accounted for throughout the life of this contract. The designated COR and district paint custodian will oversee the accountability procedures and go over in detail the exact procedures to be used prior to issuing any tree marking paint during the pre-work meeting. If a problem is discovered by either party that party will notify the other immediately so corrective action can be taken.

Providing equipment access is the most important criteria for this contract. Cut rows will be sufficient as skid trails and are to be a minimum width of 14 feet and primarily placed within the red pine, do not cut excessive hardwoods along the orange boundary. Skid trails are designed to allow harvesting equipment easy, rapid access to marked timber.

Landings will be designated and painted by the Forest Service at a later date.

The primary species to harvest is red pine however any tree ≥ 5” DBH which requires removal for harvesting access will need to be painted.

Criteria for selecting which trees to harvest depends on first verifying or establishing a minimum 14’ wide skid trail for harvesting equipment access exists. Second is focus on stem quality removing culls, and finally retaining canopy structure diversity. The intent is not to only thin from below. Overall, it is the quality of the residual stand that is most important. All painted trees must be accessible by timber harvesting equipment. Marking cut trees between cut rows should not occur unless for access.

Only timber marking with complete tally for cut trees will be done on these sale units. Volume determination is not required. The contractor will be required to keep a count of trees marked per Unit by species and product.

Tally counts will be split by species and product type:

· Red Pine Pulpwood ≥ 5 inches DBH and ≤ 8.9 inches DBH

· Red Pine Sawtimber ≥ 9 inches DBH

· Mixed Conifer Pulpwood ≥ 5 inches DBH and ≤ 8.9 inches DBH

· Mixed Conifer Sawtimber ≥ 9 inches DBH

· Hardwood Pulpwood ≥ 5 inches DBH and ≤ 10.9 inches DBH

· Hardwood Sawtimber ≥ 11 inches DBH

The specific merchantability specification and minimum piece specification requirements for each sale will be gone over in detail by the COR prior to starting the first area.

DBH Marks:

All DBH, diameter breast height, marks will be two slashes on opposite sides of the tree and will be at least 2” (inches) wide and must be visible from all sides of the tree. DBH marks will be made at not less than 4 feet and not higher than 6 feet from the ground. This technique will be used on both pulpwood and sawtimber. Marking timber should be avoided during extreme wet weather, or when the boles of standing timber are saturated and wet to the touch. The contractor should contact the COR for site specific details and direction when this saturation occurs. Paint will be expected to last a minimum of 4 years from date of application. If the paint appears unacceptable, the contractor will remark the problem area with no adjustment in total acres. The Forest Service will supply additional paint, as needed.

The COR will review marking language and technique with contractor prior to starting the first unit.

Stump Marks:

All marked trees require stump marks. Stump marks must be a minimum of 4 inches in height and two inches wide. Stump marks must intersect the ground and be located in a moss/snow free area, on the downhill side of the stump. This may require scraping off moss/snow/debris prior to painting the stump. Remarking will be required if contractor fails to place stump marks in a moss/snow/debris-free location.

Tree Marking Tracer Paint Accountability:

The Government will furnish the necessary Tree Marking Tracer Paint required to complete the work. Tree Marking Tracer Paint remains property of the United States. Paint accountability is considered a very serious aspect of successful completion of contract requirements and will be covered in detail at the Pre-Work meeting. All government Tree Marking Tracer Paint cans, full or empty, not in immediate use by the contractor, are required to be in locked storage. Any unused quantities will be returned to the Government upon completion of the work. All used paint cans shall be returned to the Government. Final payment invoices will not be processed until all paint is accounted for from the contract.

Individual Sale Unit Marking Guides

Project Item 1 - Kneff

01 – 06 & 08

338.0 Acres

No evidence of previous treatment.

· Cut two rows and leave three rows. In areas where rows are not distinct reduce basal area to approximately 80-90.

· In areas where rows are excessively curved, marking should be done in a manner to straighten out cut rows while maintaining 14-16’ width for equipment operability while focusing on slope patterns.

· All oak is to be left for species diversity and mast production unless it falls within a cut row.

· Cut all jack pine unless unmerchantable due to defect.

· Leave all snags (where not a safety concern), Do not mark any active den trees or raptor nest trees.

Units 07 & 09

66.4 Acres

No evidence of previous thinning.

· Cut two rows and leave three rows. In areas where rows are not distinct reduce basal area to approximately 80-90.

· In areas where rows are excessively curved, marking should be done in a manner to straighten out cut rows while maintaining 14-16’ width for equipment operability while focusing on slope patterns.

· All white oak is to be left for species diversity and mast production unless it falls within a cut row.

· Cut all jack pine and northern pin oak unless unmerchantable due to defect.

· Leave all snags (where not a safety concern), Do not mark any active den trees or raptor nest trees.

Project Item 2 - Wakeley

01 - 03

119.7 Acres No evidence of previous treatment.

· Cut two rows and leave three rows. In areas where rows are not distinct reduce basal area to approximately 80-90.

· In areas where rows are excessively curved, marking should be done in a manner to straighten out cut rows while maintaining 14-16’ width for equipment operability while focusing on slope patterns.

· All oak and cherry are to be left for species diversity and mast production unless it falls within a cut row.

· Cut all jack pine unless unmerchantable due to defect.

· Do not cut “legacy” red and white pine (those 19.0” DBH/ 21.0” DRC or larger)

· Leave all snags (where not a safety concern), Do not mark any active den trees or raptor nest trees.

Units 04 – 06

112.5 Acres No evidence of previous treatment.

· Cut two rows and leave three rows. In areas where rows are not distinct reduce basal area to approximately 80-90.

· In areas where rows are excessively curved, marking should be done in a manner to straighten out cut rows while maintaining 14-16’ width for equipment operability while focusing on slope patterns.

· All oak is to be left for species diversity and mast production unless it falls within a cut row.

· Cut all jack pine unless unmerchantable due to defect.

· Do not cut “legacy” red and white pine (those 19.0” DBH/ 21.0” DRC or larger)

· Leave all snags (where not a safety concern), Do not mark any active den trees or raptor nest trees.

Project Item 3 - Mason

21.3 Acres Some evidence of previous treatment, this will be the 3rd entry.

· Current BA is 158 sqft per acre.

· Reduce basal area to approximately 90-100, target intermediate and co-dominate trees or trees with significant defect for removal.

· Mark to ensure a 14 - 16’ width for equipment operability within previously established cut rows.

· All oak is to be left for species diversity and mast production unless it falls within a cut row.

· Cut all jack pine and aspen unless unmerchantable due to defect.

· Leave all snags (where not a safety concern), Do not mark any active den trees or raptor nest trees.

Units 02 – 05

151.2 Acres No evidence of previous treatment.

· Cut two rows and leave three rows. In areas where rows are not distinct reduce basal area to approximately 80-90.

· In areas where rows are excessively curved, marking should be done in a manner to straighten out cut rows while maintaining 14-16’ width for equipment operability while focusing on slope patterns.

· All oak is to be left for species diversity and mast production unless it falls within a cut row.

· Cut all jack pine and aspen clones unless unmerchantable due to defect.

· Leave all snags (where not a safety concern), Do not mark any active den trees or raptor nest trees.

Project Item 4 - Knotty Pine

385.1 Acres

Units 01 – 02

104.6 Acres No evidence of previous treatment.

· Cut two rows and leave three rows. In areas where rows are not distinct reduce basal area to approximately 90-100.

· In areas where rows are excessively curved, marking should be done in a manner to straighten out cut rows while maintaining 14-16’ width for equipment operability while focusing on slope patterns.

· All oak is to be left for species diversity and mast production unless it falls within a cut row.

· Leave all snags (where not a safety concern), Do not mark any active den trees or raptor nest trees.

Units 03 – 04

79.4 Acres No evidence of previous treatment.

· Cut two rows and leave three rows. In areas where rows are not distinct reduce basal area to approximately 75-80.

· In areas where rows are excessively curved, marking should be done in a manner to straighten out cut rows while maintaining 14-16’ width for equipment operability while focusing on slope patterns.

· All oak is to be left for species diversity and mast production unless it falls within a cut row.

· Leave all snags (where not a safety concern), Do not mark any active den trees or raptor nest trees.

Units 05 – 09

201.1 Acres

No evidence of previous treatment.

· Cut two rows and leave three rows. In areas where rows are not distinct reduce basal area to approximately 80-90.

· In areas where rows are excessively curved, marking should be done in a manner to straighten out cut rows while maintaining 14-16’ width for equipment operability while focusing on slope patterns.

· All oak is to be left for species diversity and mast production unless it falls within a cut row.

· Leave all snags (where not a safety concern), Do not mark any active den trees or raptor nest trees.

Project Item 5 - Dry Lake

50.4 Acres

No evidence of previous treatment.

· Cut two rows and leave three rows.

· In areas where rows are excessively curved, marking should be done in a manner to straighten out cut rows while maintaining 14-16’ width for equipment operability while focusing on slope patterns.

· Cut all jack pine unless unmerchantable due to defect.

Figure 1

│ ← 15’ → │ │ ← 15’ → │ ___ Skid Width__ ___Skid Width__

Distance Between Edge of Adjacent Skids

____Distance Between Centers of Adjacent Skids____

Figure 2:

Remove all suppressed red pine under canopy of oaks and white pine. Either a full release or on two sides depending on the marking guidelines. Think of canopy in 4-quadrants

Figure 3:

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