Attachment 2 _ SOW FY23_HuronShores_ContractMarking.pdf

ATTACHMENT #2

DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATIONS/STATEMENT OF WORK

SCOPE

It is the intent of this contract to secure labor, equipment, and supplies necessary to accomplish timber marking in red pine and oak stands scheduled for timber harvest on the Huron-Manistee National Forests, Huron Shores Ranger District. The five sale areas (Foxtrot, Bamfield, Rollways, Gooseneck and Deer Chambers) involve timber marking and a count of marked trees by species, product class and payment unit on approximately 1,084 acres.

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

DESCRIPTION AND LOCATIONS

The proposed timber sale areas are located on the Huron-Manistee National Forests, Huron Shores Ranger District. The Foxtrot sale is several mature red pine stands located in T24N, R07E Sections 25 and 26. The Bamfield sale is several mature mixed hardwood stands located in T26N, R05E Sections 25, 26 and 36. The Rollways sale is several mature red pine stands located in T24N, R05E Sections 10, 11, 15 and 20. The Gooseneck sale is several mature red pine stands located in T24N, R06E Sections 26, 27 and

35. The Deer Chambers sale is several mature red pine stands located in T24N, R06E Sections 13, 14, 23.

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.

Attachment 2 - Statement of Work

MARKING GUIDES

General Marking Instructions

Foxtrot, Rollways, Gooseneck and Deer Chambers sale areas will be cut-tree marked with blue or green paint. The Bamfield sale area will be leave-tree marked with orange paint.

The contractor will perform timber marking on these sale units and maintain a count of trees marked per Payment Unit by tree species and product. Product classes are determined by measurement of a tree bole at 4.5 feet on the uphill side of the stem known as diameter breast height

(DBH).

Products to be counted include:

• Softwood Pulpwood ≥ 5 inches DBH and ≤ 8.9 inches DBH

• Softwood 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.

Bole Marks:

All cut-tree bole marks will be slashes at least 2” (inches) wide and will painted on both sides of the tree bole. Marks need to be visible from 360 degrees and from at least 50 feet away. Bole marks will be made at no less than 5 feet and not higher than 8 feet from the ground. This technique will be used on both pulpwood and sawtimber.

All leave-tree bole marks will be a band at least 2” (inches) wide covering 360 degrees of the tree bole and visible from at least 50 feet away. Bole marks will be made at no less than 6 feet and not higher than 8 feet from the ground. This technique will be used on both pulpwood and sawtimber.

Do not mark sale area boundary trees which are designated with orange paint.

Marking timber should be avoided during extreme wet weather, or when the boles of standing trees 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. If the contractor fails to mark within the stated standards, he/she will remark the problem area with no adjustment in total acres. The Forest Service will supply only additional paint.

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 four inches in height and two inches wide. Stump marks must intersect the ground and be located in a moss free area, on the downhill side of the stump. This may require scraping off moss/debris prior to painting the stump.

Equipment/Skid Trail Access:

Criteria for selecting which trees to harvest depends on first verifying a minimum 14 feet wide skid trail for harvesting equipment access exists. Instances will occur when certain trees need to be marked for access which are not the trees targeted for cut-tree marking as stated in the Individual Sale Marking Guides. Any tree ≥ 5” DBH impeding harvesting equipment access will need to be marked.

Creation of main skid trails or temporary roads for hauling timber is not required. The Forest Service will mark main skid trails and temporary roads on these sales if needed after completion of this contract.

Ensuring each marked tree can be reached using a minimum 14 feet wide skid trail is the only requirement regarding equipment access or hauling of timber for this contract.

Dead Trees:

Dead trees ≥ 5” DBH may need to be marked for harvesting equipment access. Dead trees will not be included in the tree count.

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 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.

• Remove approximately one third of red pine stems (3-4 out of ten) in the stand using the following priority list for tree removal

1. Access A) Existing skid trails: Remove individuals to ensure existing skid trails are a minimum of 14 feet wide

(1) In stands where one row was cut with two leave rows between cut rows and access is not adequate, remove one row adjacent to every other cut row

B) New skid trails: Create new skid trails by removing 2 rows. Leave 3 rows in between cut rows. Adjust cut rows as needed to account for rows joining or splitting.

2. Thin From Below:

A) Remove individuals that are intermediate or suppressed, have poor form, or low vigor.

3. Spacing A) Remove quality individuals to maximize growing space for the highest quality residual trees.

• Remove any other species only as needed for access

• Payment Unit 1: Within one tree length of River Road, remove all Jack pine and Oak species.

Remove 50% of Red pine. Follow marking guide above for the rest of the stand (cut 2 leave 3).

• Payment Unit 2: Within one tree length of River Road, remove all Jack pine and Oak species.

Remove 70% of Red pine. Follow marking guide above for the rest of the stand.

• Payment Unit 4: First entry. Rows are wide enough to remove one row and leave two rows between removal rows. Adjust cut rows as needed to account for rows joining or splitting.

Attachment 2 - Statement of Work

INDIVDUAL SALE MARKING GUIDES

Sale: Foxtrot (cut-tree marking)

Foxtrot PU Acres

Payment Unit Acres

1 68

2 36

3 47

4 62

5 45

6 44

7 24

Sale: Deer Chambers (cut-tree marking)

• Remove approximately one third of red pine stems (3-4 out of ten) in the stand using the following priority list for tree removal

1. Access

A) Existing skid trails: Remove individuals to ensure existing skid trails are a minimum of 14 feet wide

(1) In stands where one row was cut with two leave rows between cut rows and access is not adequate, remove one row adjacent to every other cut row (Payment Units: 1 and 2)

B) New skid trails: Create new skid trails by removing 2 rows. Leave 3 rows in between cut rows. Adjust cut rows as needed to account for rows joining or splitting.

2. Thin From Below:

A) Remove individuals that are intermediate or suppressed, have poor form, or low vigor.

3. Spacing

A) Remove quality individuals to maximize growing space for the highest quality residual trees.

• Remove any other species only as needed for access

• Payment Unit 4: Steep terrain present. Operations will be limited to straight up and down slopes (no sidehill)

Deer Chambers PU Acres

Payment Unit Acres

1 32

2 24

3 35

4 47

Sale: Gooseneck and Rollways

Both sales use the same marking guide.

• Remove approximately one third of red pine stems (3-4 out of ten) in the stand using the following priority list for tree removal

1. Access

A) Existing skid trails: Remove individuals to ensure existing skid trails are a minimum of 14 feet wide

(1) In stands where one row was cut with two leave rows between cut rows and access is not adequate, remove one row adjacent to every other cut row

B) New skid trails: Create new skid trails by removing 2 rows. Leave 3 rows in between cut rows. Adjust cut rows as needed to account for rows joining or splitting.

2. Thin From Below:

A) Remove individuals that are intermediate or suppressed, have poor form, or low vigor.

3. Spacing

A) Remove quality individuals to maximize growing space for the highest quality residual trees.

• Remove any other species only as needed for access

Gooseneck PU Acres

Payment Unit Acres 2 41 3 38

4 45 5 40

6 47 7 46

8 36

Rollways PU Acres

Payment Unit Acres

1 17

2 8

3 32

4 48

Sale: Bamfield (leave-tree marking)

• Thin stand to a residual basal area of 70 ft2/ac, plus or minus 10 ft2/ac

• Do not reduce the BA below 50 ft2/ac

• Maintain uniform canopy cover throughout the stand

• Treat stump sprout origin oak stems as one individual (cut all or leave all)

• Do not remove Hemlock, Cedar, White pine, Red pine, or Ash unless needed for harvest operations

• Use the following priority list for cut trees to reach target BA

1 Risk: Remove any individuals likely to die in the next 15 years 2 Release Crop Trees: Identify high quality oak individuals and remove 1-2 lower quality competitors to encourage crown development 3 Vigor: remove individuals in suppressed and intermediate crown classes 4 Form & Quality: Remove individuals with poor form or noticeable defect (seams, sweep, cankers, low forks, etc.)

Residual Spacing: remove individuals where tree are closely spaced and crowns are overlapping, touching, or near touching. Remove ironwood and red maple over other species.

Bamfield PU Acres

Payment Unit Acres

1 14

2 13

3 15

4 33

5 34

6 23

7 13

8 20

9 11

10 46

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