Attachment_2-_Performance_Work_Statement.pdf

Mastication at the Piedmont and Bond Swamp National Wildlife Refuge

Performance Work Statement

GENERAL

Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) a 35,000-acre refuge in Jones and Jasper Counties, was established in 1939 to protect and restore native habitats for the Red-cockaded Woodpecker. The focus for upland management on the refuge is to restore native pine grasslands. The refuge lies in the lower Piedmont Region of Georgia. This zone in Georgia is transitional between the Piedmont and Coastal Plans regions.

Bond Swamp National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) a 9,000 acres refuge in Bibb and Twiggs Counties, was established in 1989 to conserve, maintain, and enhance the ecosystem of the Ocmulgee River floodplain. The refuge lies on the Fall line between the Piedmont and Coastal Plain regions for Georgia.

This project is important because of the Stafford Act Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance, as amended in November of 2021. The intent of Congress is to provide an orderly and continuing means of carrying out projects to alleviate the suffering and damage which result from such disasters as wild land fires by reducing hazardous fuels to protect life, property, and resource.

INTERACTION WITH NEARBY PROPERTIES AND SITE ACCESS:

The project area is within a National Wildlife Refuge and accessible by State highways, county roads as well as refuge roads (see attached maps). Special consideration must be given during management operations to minimize disturbance to neighboring properties. Operations should be restricted to daylight hours on weekdays and weekends. This will be balanced with completing the project in an efficient and timely fashion.

Work Environment: The work is performed in a timbered environment in flat to steep terrain where surfaces may be extremely uneven, rocky, covered with thick tangled vegetation, contain wet leaves/grasses, etc. Additional hazards that may exist include holes and drop offs, rocky terrain, wet/muddy ground surfaces, open bodies of water, down/standing trees, etc.

The hazardous nature of the work requires that Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) be worn in compliance of OSHA requirements.

The Service Provider shall provide all materials, labor, equipment, tools, transportation, supervision, expertise, and other incidentals necessary to successfully complete fuel breaks at both Piedmont and Bond Swamp NWR lands in the state of Georgia, in accordance with the performance work statement.

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT TASKS AND SUBTASKS

1. All trees within the 20’ area (flagged with Glo Pink and Blue Combination) shall be removed or ground up.

2. All tree stumps shall be removed, ground up or ground into the ground 12-14 inches deep.

3. All remaining tree matter shall be spread out on Refuge lands, not piled.

4. All roads, road rights-of-way, fields, openings, streams, and ditches must be free of slash and damage.

5. All access roads will be smoothed and leveled at the completion of each fire line.

6. Moist and/or saturated soils are present in some locations and may have restricted accessibility to the site. To mitigate, the access may only be during times when soil is dry enough and capable of supporting equipment.

7. Archeological sites if present will be marked and shown to the successful bidder.

8. No work will occur on the Refuges during any of the Refuges Quota hunts (Deer and

Turkey), specific dates will be provided. The refuge is open to the public during daylight hours and care should be taken to watch out for people in work areas.

9. Care must be taken to ensure that damage doesn’t occur to Refuge facilities such as fence, signs, gates, etc. in work areas.

10. The Service Provider must make sure all equipment is locked during non-operational periods; the Refuge is not responsible for any damage or theft that may occur.

11. Refuge Management shall have the authority to temporarily close all or any part of the operation because of high fire danger, habitat damage, inclement weather, safety reasons or any other deemed necessary for the protection of lives and property.

12. Service Provider shall not possess firearms, recreational drugs, or alcoholic beverages on the Refuge.

13. Service Provider will travel only the designated routes to and from the project site identified by Refuge Management.

14. Only persons who are employed by the Service Provider are permitted on the Refuge project.

15. Any spill of oil, hydraulic fluid or other hazardous material must be reported to the Refuge Management and cleaned up immediately. If excessive spill/s result, the project will be shut down until proper notification, cleanup and repair of equipment takes place at the expense of the Service Provider.

16. All trash must be removed from the site upon completion of each day.

Period of Performance

Contract award - June 30th of 2025.

Individual Fuel Break Specifications:

The numbered units are labeled to correlate with the map number and does not represent any order of priority. Fire break number 4 is the priority. Fuel Break sites vary in length, vegetation composition, density, and desired site treatments.

Fuel Break Specifications Unit #1 Length 0.62 Miles

1. All woody material will be mulched or ground up even with the ground surface.

2. All trees with in the 20’ will be mulched.

3. All materials shall be spread out on the refuge and not piled.

4. Stumps will be flush with the ground.

Fuel Break Specifications Unit #2: Length 1.26 Miles

1. This line will have to accessed from multiple locations.

2. Stumps will be removed and/or ground up into the ground 12-14 inches.

3. All trees with in the 20’ will be mulched.

4. All mulch will be spread out onto the refuge and not in piles.

Fuel Break Specifications Unit #3: Length 1.38 Miles

1. This line will have to accessed from multiple locations.

2. Remove all trees within 20’ work area.

3. All woody material will be mulched or ground up.

4. All materials shall be spread out on the refuge and not piled.

5. Stumps will be ground up, mulched, or ground up to 12 – 14 inches deep.

Fuel Break Specifications Unit #4: Length 2.57 Miles

1. This line is the first priority to be completed.

2. This line will have to accessed from multiple locations.

3. Remove all trees within 20’ work area.

4. All woody material will be mulched or ground up.

5. All materials shall be spread out on the refuge and not piled.

6. Stumps will be ground up, mulched, or ground up to 12 – 14 inches deep.

Fuel Break Specifications Unit #5: Length 0.55 Miles

1. Remove all trees within 20’ work area.

2. All woody material will be mulched or ground up.

3. All materials shall be spread out on the refuge and not piled.

4. Stumps will be ground up, mulched, or ground up to 12 – 14 inches deep.

Extent of Liability for each order:

Liability of the Service Provider: The Service Provider will provide a copy of liability insurance prior to issuing a signed Special Use Permit. They will comply with all federal, state, and local laws, ordinance standards, regulations and obtain all necessary permits, inspections, and approvals with respect to work contemplated herein. It is further understood and agreed that the contractor assumes all responsibility of the safety of his or her employees, plant, and materials.

Risk: The contractor shall assume all risk in connection with the execution of this contract, shall waive any claim against the United States of America (USA) for damages arising out of the performance of the work specified, and shall protect the USA from any claim which may result from damages or injury to property or persons in connection with the performance of this contract.

Technical Representative(s) for this contract will be:

Nathan Herron

718 Round Oak – Juliette Rd.

Round Oak, GA 310386

O: (478) 986-5441 C: (478) 221-0458 nathan_herron@fws.gov

Unacceptable Performance

The Government shall incur no obligation for payment for 1) unauthorized withdrawal of equipment, or

2) unacceptable performance or behavior.

EQUIPMENT CLEANING - INVASIVE SPECIES OF CONCERN

(a) The contractor shall ensure that any equipment intended for use during contract performance, either mechanical or otherwise, shall be free from invasive species of concern before use on this contract.

(i) Prior to commencing work on a project, the contractor shall advise the FWS of previous equipment cleaning measures and make equipment available for inspection upon request. FWS shall have 2 days, excluding weekends and Federal holidays, to inspect any equipment to ensure it is free of invasive species of concern. Equipment shall be considered clean when a visual inspection does not disclose seeds, soil, vegetative matter, and other debris that could contain or hold seeds of invasive species of concern. After satisfactory inspection or after such

2-day period, the contractor may proceed with work as directed by the COR. If equipment is removed from the refuge prior to completion of work for another job, the equipment will be required another inspection prior to returning to work on the refuge.

(ii) If the contractor desires to clean equipment on FWS land, such as at the end of a project or prior to moving to or through an area that is free of invasive species of concern, the contractor shall obtain prior approval from COR as to the location for such cleaning and measures, if any, for controlling impacts.

(b) The FWS maintains a current list and maps of areas known to be infested with invasive species of concern on Service lands and are available upon request. The parties shall promptly communicate with one another with respect to description or designation of additional locations; discovery of locations of new species or new infestation; and addition of species to the list of invasive species of concern and any potential impact on contract operations.

PROTECTION OF EXISTING VEGETATION, STRUCTURES, EQUIPMENT, UTILITIES, AND

IMPROVEMENTS

(a) The Contractor shall preserve and protect all structures, equipment, and vegetation (such as trees, shrubs, and grass) on or adjacent to the work site that are not to be removed and which do not unreasonably interfere with the work required under this contract. The Contractor shall avoid damaging vegetation that will remain in place.

(b) The Contractor shall protect from damage all existing improvements and utilities (1) at or near the work site, and (2) on adjacent property of a third party, the locations of which are made known to or should be known by the Contractor. The Contractor shall repair any damage to those facilities, including those that are the property of a third party, resulting from failure to comply with the requirements of this contract or failure to exercise reasonable care in performing the work. If the Contractor fails or refuses to repair the damage promptly, the CO may have the necessary work performed and charge the cost to the Contractor.

(c) Trees that are located adjacent to roads, fire lines, fences, private property, rights-of-way, or other structures and are designated for treatment shall be severed and felled so as not to damage, lean on, clog, or otherwise obstruct existing structures or facilities.

(d) The contractor will notify the COR immediately of any damaged structures and repair damages that have resulted from the contractor's operations.