Attachment 2 Specifications PWS.pdf

PART 1 - THE SCHEDULE

SECTION C - SPECIFICATIONS FOR AREA WIDE TREE RELEASE

DIVISION 100 - GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS

110 - Scope of Contract

It is the intent of this contract to release desirable tree species from competing trees or shrubs using chainsaws and/or brush cutters or other hand tools in timber stands harvested in the last 25 years.

The Contractor is responsible for furnishing all supervision, labor, equipment, transportation, tools, materials, and incidentals necessary to complete the work (except as noted in Section 130 Government Furnished Property).

120 - Location and Description

Location - These areas are located within the Marienville Ranger District. Vicinity Maps and Individual Project Maps are included for locating specific sites. Contract areas will have an orange tag posted indicating tree release.

Area 802013. Located on FR 279. If traveling east on FR 587, turn right onto FR 279.

The area was timbered in 2007. There are larger birch with special girdling requirements (section 213) and the predominant species to cut are birch and fire cherry.

Area 823068. Located on an OGM road near the end of FR 469, south of the Wetmore area. Take the first OGM road on the map, the second one is just an old pipeline. This area was timbered in 2007.

Area 826086. Located on an OGM road off FR 133 E south of the Wetmore area. Park at the turnaround and walk into the unit on the skid trail. This stand was timbered in 2007 and beech is the predominat species to cut.

Areas 804079. Located on FR 432 A off FR 279 north of Kane. Park in the large opening and walk back to the unit on the old skid trail. This stand is fenced, only treat inside the fence. This stand was timbered in 2013 and is mostly birch with some striped maple and beech to be cut.

Area 703042. This unit is off Sheffield Junction Road on FR 394. Park on FR 394 and walk the skid trail east to the unit. This unit is narrow and has a skid trail through most of

it. It was timbered in 2011. Beech and birch are the main species to cut here. Do not cut any pine species.

Area 861001. This unit is located along Pigs Ear Road, just north of FR 337. It was timbered 2015.

Area 698009. Located on FR 403 A in the Duhring area. The unit is on an OGM road just south of the intersection with FR 403. Utilize the skid trails marked on the map. It was timbered in 2016. Please be mindful of the horse trail and keep it clear of slash, per specifications below.

Area 868014. This unit is located on FR 185 just north of State Route 948. It was timbered in 2014 with beech and birch being the main source of interference to cut.

Area 702079. This unit is located on an OGM road off Sheffield Junction Road, roughly

0.5 miles west of FR 632. This sale was timbered in 2015. Release was done in this stand in 2022, but due to an error in the contract specs, it needs re-worked this year. Planted oak are the main crop tree to release here. OAK STAND.

Area 620002. This stand is located along Township Road approximately 0.5 miles from its intersection with Guitonville RD. The unit will be on the south side of the road. It was timbered in 2020. Release was done in this stand in 2022, but due to an error in the contract specs, it needs re-worked this year. OAK STAND.

Area 620026. This unit is located on FR 577 just down Guitonville RD from FR 212.

Travel south on FR 577. The unit is on both sides of the road. The west side of the road is fenced, the south side is not. There is a pipeline on the southern edge of the stand. It was timbered in 2020. Release was done in this stand in 2022, but due to an error in the contract specs, it needs re-worked this year. The main species to remove is beech. OAK

STAND.

Area 852031. Located on 7 Mile/Lockes Hill Road. If driving east from Highland Road, there is a pull-off just 0.3 miles past FR 123. Follow the skid trail south from the road.

There will be an old fence on the right side of the trail. This is NOT the unit. Keep walking south to a newer fence in a clearcut. Only cut within the fence. The main species to cut here are birch and beech. This unit was timbered in 2012. There are planted oak here that need released. OAK STAND.

Area 646047. Located on FR 217 just west of FR 218. This unit is just south of FR 217 and is flagged in orange. The trees to cut have been marked with pink paint. There are an estimated 55 trees to cut ranging in diameter from roughly 2-5”. It was timbered in 1996.

Area 620042. This unit is located on FR 576 A south of Guitonville. There is a pink flag line leading from the parking spot into the stand. The stand is flagged in orange. The trees to cut have been marked with pink paint. There are an estimated 33 trees to cut ranging in diameter from roughly 2-5”. It was timbered in 1995.

121 – Accessibility

Forest Service System Roads are marked with a signpost or some other sign marking next to the road. If the road is not marked with a signpost, it is probably an oil and gas road and not in the best condition for driving on. Some areas may be behind a gated road and the Contractor will coordinate with the COR for gaining access behind locked gates. The use of any vehicles will be subject to conditions of the Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM) July 29, 2011. The MVUM shows which roads, trails and areas of the National Forest that are designated for motor vehicle use pursuant to 36 CFR 212.51. Use outside of the MVUM designations is not permitted unless written permission is granted by the COR.

130 - Government Furnished Property

The Government will provide the following Government property at the time of the pre-work conference, unless otherwise stated:

131 - Vicinity Maps (see attachment)

132 – Project Maps (see attachment)

133 – Copy of this contract.

The contractor and any sub-contractor must always have a copy of this contract on site. This contract has detailed cutting instructions by area and the contract must be consulted at the start of cutting at each area.

134 – Contractor Card.

Must be posted on contractor vehicle while working on site. This is to identify the vehicle as involved in a Forest Service contract.

135 – USFS Gate Key(s)

These must be returned to the Marienville Ranger District prior to approval of the final contract invoice.

140 - Pre-work Conference

Prior to the start of work, the Contractor will contact the Contracting Officer or the

Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) and mutually agree on a pre-work conference date and location to discuss the contract terms, and work performance requirements.

At this conference, the contractor will be required to submit a plan of work outlining the date work will begin. The plan should also include where and what order the work will progress.

141 – Progression of Work

Contractor will have no more than 2 areas with work in progress at one time unless otherwise agreed to by the COR.

DIVISION 200 - TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

210 - Area Tree Release

211 - Tree Species to be released.

1. red, white, and other oaks

2. yellow/tulip poplar

3. cucumber tree

4. red maple

5. black cherry

6. sugar maple

7. red/white pine

8. hemlock

See the table below for the required height the desirable tree needs to be for it to be released. If the released tree is not tall enough as indicated in the table below it does not have to be released.

The minimum height and clearance of the crop trees to be released

Site Area

Min Height

Min Height

Oak Clearance Release Sides Acres

YR

Timber Harvest

1 802013 10 1’ drip line** and * 2 sides 14 2007 2 823068 10 1’ from drip line 2 sides 6 2007 3 824086 1 4’ radius from tree tube** 4 sides – full release 1 2007 4 804079 5 1’ from drip line 2 sides 15 2013 5 703042 8 1’ from drip line 2 sides 22 2011 6 861001 10 1’ from drip line * 2 sides 7 2015 7 698009 6 2’ from drip line * 4 sides – full release 23 2016 8 868014 15 1’ from drip line * 3 sides 17 2014 9 702079 1 2' from drip line on oak 4 sides – full release 6 2015 10 620002 1 2' from drip line on oak 4 sides – full release 31 2020 11 620026 1 2' from drip line on oak 4 sides – full release 16 2020 12 852031 1 2’ from drip line on oak 4 sides – full release 12 2012 13 646047 Cut 55 marked trees (2-5” DBH)** 1 1996 14 620042 Cut 33 marked trees (2-5” DBH)** 1 1995

*No lopping requirement.

** Special requirements, see section 213 below

212 – Species Requiring Treatment

The following species specified shall be cut and are considered competing vegetation -undesirable species:

1 - Striped Maple - All live striped maple which is taller than one foot in height shall be felled and completely severed from the stump when occurring within the drip line clearance required in Section 211 table.

2 - Pin (Fire) Cherry - All live pin cherry which is taller than one foot in height shall be felled and completely severed from the stump when occurring within the drip line clearance required in Section 211 table.

3 - Beech - All live beech taller than one foot in height and less than 6.0” in diameter at a point 4.5 feet (DBH) above the ground shall be felled and completely severed from the stump when occurring within the drip line clearance required in Section 211 table.

4 - Birch - All live birch taller than one foot in height and less than 6.0” in diameter at a point 4.5 feet (DBH) above the ground shall be felled and completely severed from the stump when occurring within the drip line clearance required in Section 211 table.

5 – Buckthorn shrub. All live buckthorn shrub will be cut regardless of size, regardless of proximity to crop trees, including any within reserve areas. Note: reserve areas on supplied maps are estimated in numbers and locations are taken from timber sale maps.

213 - Special Notes:

1. Area 802013 is an older stand with more advanced growth. When removing competing trees, any birch or fire cherry larger than 4” diameter at breast height must be girdled. Girdle cuts must be a minimum ½” depth and two cuts must be done around the whole circumference of the stem. Birch and fire cherry (and any other species of competition) less than 4” DBH will be felled to normal contract specification. There is no lopping requirement here. The purpose of this specification is to avoid crushing desirable regeneration in the process of felling larger birch and fire cherry stems.

2. Area 702079 has been planted to oak with tree shelters. Any live oak in tree shelters will be released regardless of the height of the oak within the tree shelter.

3. Areas 702079, 824086, 804079, 620002, 620026, 852031, cut ALL beech trees less than 6” DBH, regardless of proximity to crop trees.

4. Areas 646047 and 620042 have been cut tree marked. The estimated number of marked trees is noted in the table above. The marked trees will be felled to normal contract specification.

5. The contractor shall avoid injuring of crop trees in any way during the release work. A maximum of 10% of the crop trees may be cut when intertwined and among pin cherry, striped maple, birch, beech.

6. No live trees greater than 8 inches in diameter at breast height (dbh) and no snags of any size shall be felled (unless such snags present a safety hazard, in that case check with COR to see if they should be cut or work should be move to another location).

7. No trees with fence or fencing hardware attached to them will be cut.

214 - “Wild” fruit trees and wildlife shrubs shall not be cut, as listed below.

1) serviceberry,

2) witch hazel,

3) ironwood,

4) deciduous holly,

5) mountain laurel

215 - Reserve Trees

Reserve trees, usually pole-sized or larger, retained under the regeneration cut shall not be cut. These trees are sometimes designated with a green or white painted band at diameter at breast height.

220 – Boundaries

Area boundaries are marked by existing painted two or three stripe. In some cases, if the paint is no longer visible, “orange” ribbon/flagging marks the boundary.

230 - Stump Heights

Maximum stump height is six (6) inches, unless otherwise stated to the Contractor in writing by the Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) due to unusual circumstances.

Stump sprouts (multiple stems) will be cut as close to the ground as possible. Angular stump cuts will not be allowed.

240 - Slash Disposal

Slash created by the Contractor's operations shall be removed 15 feet away from the following features:

Clear R-O-W & ditch lines private land fence maintenance trails historic railroad grades well openings fences old main skid trails oil/gas lease roads stream courses pipelines maintenance trails seeps power lines recreational trails active stone pits

No slash shall be left hanging in trees and slash will be laid horizontal to the ground. All crop trees and minority trees chosen for release will be released from all slash so they are standing straight up on their own.

NOTE: Areas 802013, 861001, 698009, and 868014 do not have lopping requirement.

However, all crop trees must be left standing upright.

The Contractor is responsible for any damage to fences, oil/gas developments, pipelines, powerlines, and other improvements caused by his/her operations.

250 – Notification

Contractor shall notify the Contracting Officer's Representative prior to starting work on any items. The Contractor shall also notify the Contracting Officer Representative at least weekly of the progress being attained on this project. This notification can be either oral or written.

260 – Payment

Payment(s), which require Forest Service inspection and acceptance, may be made on completed areas only, in accordance with the Prompt Payment Act (FAR 52.232-25).

Payment will be processed upon receipt of properly completed invoice entered into the Department of Treasury's Invoice Processing Platform (IPP). All invoices are to be submitted online via the electronic Invoice Processing Platform. Vendor is encouraged to notify Contracting Officer's Representative immediately upon completion of a specific Item(s).

270 – Safety

It is the Contractor’s responsibility to ensure that the work environment is safe for themselves as well as their employees. If the contractor feels that a requirement of this contract would place them or their employees in an unsafe environment, then work should stop on that area of work and the contractor should contact the COR. Work on other areas of the contract that the contractor does not view as unsafe should continue.

The Contractor is required to follow all applicable OSHA standards while working on the job site. The successful contractor will utilize appropriate personal protective safety equipment/clothing while using chain saws, which includes, hand, foot, leg, eye, face, hearing and head protection, while working in the project area. Brush cutting equipment is not covered by the OSHA standard for chain saws but it is recommended that the same protective equipment listed above be used for brush cutters.

Contractor is required to keep COR/District posted to current work site.

PART I - THE SCHEDULE

SECTION E - INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

Inspection Methods

In accordance with the Inspection Clause the Government is able to inspect the entire work the Contractor performs, and the Contractor shall be required to rework any areas that are not in conformance to the requirement of this contract.

QUALITY ASSURANCE – PERFORMANCE BASED INCENTIVES AND DISINCENTIVES

Performance Work Statement – Contractor

The Contractor shall perform release work in accordance with the specifications contained in this contract.

Quality Assurance - Performance Based Program

Performance based program apply to the Government’s inspections for contract compliance. All work must meet the acceptance standards as listed below. Contract extensions are not eligible for performance-based program unless covered under the Excusable Delays Clause listed in the contract.

The Government will conduct compliance inspections on a minimum of 10% of the acres that the Contractor has reported as completed to specifications. Plots to check compliance will be randomly placed in the areas to be inspected by the Government inspector.

These performance-based surveys apply only to initial inspections; areas that have previously been rejected and corrected do not fall into this population.

Disincentive

If a Contractor has to be sent back to an Area (that the Contractor has asked for final and second final inspection) to fix work that was not done to the contract specifications a third time, there will be a 3% deduction from the payment for that Area. With each following return to the Area to fix the work will add-on an extra 2% deduction to the final payment of that Area.

If the Contractor does not meet the time outline in Section F, there will be a deduction of 5% from the unfinished acres payment. An additional 2% deduction will occur for each additional week that the required work is not completed.

If less than 80% of the plots inspected comply with contract requirements for number of desirables cut; the contract price for the area will be decreased by a 10% deduction.

The uses of negative incentives do not waive any other rights of the Government, in dealing with inadequate performance.

PART I - THE SCHEDULE

SECTION F - DELIVERIES OR PERFORMANCE

TIME OF PERFORMANCE

It is estimated that the work on this project will start at the earliest Wednesday, July 5, 2023. The contractor shall be required to the following:

a) Contractor will set up a pre-work date within 7 days of the start of the contract, and

b) the Contractor shall be required to prosecute the work diligently and complete the entire contract no later than Friday, September 29, 2023.

PART I – THE SCHEDULE

SECTION G – CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION

DESIGNATION OF CONTRACTING OFFICER’S REPRESENTATIVE

The Contacting Officer will designate a Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) at the time of award.

The COR is responsible for administering the performance of work under this contract. In no event however, will any understanding, agreement, modification, change order, or other matter deviating from the terms of this contract be effective or binding upon the Government unless formalized by proper contractual documents executed by the Contracting Officer prior to completion of the contract.

On all matters that pertain to the contract terms the contractor must communicate with the Contracting Officer. Whenever, in the opinion of the Contractor, the COR requests effort outside of the scope of the contract, the Contractor should so advise the COR. If the COR persists and there still exists a disagreement as to proper contractual coverage, the contracting officer should be notified immediately, preferable in writing if time permits. Proceeding with work without proper contractual coverage could result in nonpayment or necessitate submittal to a contract claim.

PART III – LIST OF DOCUMENTS, EXHIBITS, AND OTHER ATTACHMENTS

SECTION J – LIST OF ATTACHMENTS

Listed below are all of the documents attached to, and forming a part of, this contract:

Attachment 3 - Vicinity Area Map(s) Attachment 4 - Project Area Maps Exhibit C - Information Sheet Exhibit D - Inspection Form Exhibit E – Tree Selection

Exhibit C Information Sheet

For FACTs - Forest Service Use

Site Area # Subunit Sale Name/PU Acres Fund Code

1 802013 RXX FR 279 PU 10 14 RTRT

2 823068 000 Eagle Windmills West PU 04 6 RTRT 3 824086 000 Eagle Windmills West PU 19 1 RTRT 4 804079 000 West End Renewal PU 09 15 RTRT 5 703042 LXX FR 394 Stewardship PU 02 22 RTRT 6 861001 000 Box Turtle PU 04 7 RTRT

7 698009 LXX CHSP Guiton Run Stewardship RE-

AD PU 09, 10 23 RTRT

8 868014 LXX FR 134 PU 08 17 CWKV

9 702079 LXX East Watson Removals PU 02 6 RTRT

10 620002 000 Warbler STWD PU 09 31 RTRT 11 620026 000 Warbler STWD PU 08 16 RTRT 12 852031 002 LMC Salvage Removals PU 01 12 RTRT

13 646047 001 N/A 1 RTRT

14 620042 001 N/A 1 RTRT

TOTAL 172

Exhibit D

TREE RELEASE INSPECTION REPORT

Contract #: ______________________ Inspected By: ________________________ (print) Area Inspected: __________________ Date of Inspection: ____________________

Plot

#Desirables

Total #Desirables

Cut %Desirables

Cut #Undesirables

Total # Undesirables

Not Cut %Undesirables

Not Cut Notes

Unit Slash Work has been completed ________________ (date)

If corrections were needed indicate the date corrections were made: _________________ (date)

COMMENTS:

INSTRUCTIONS:

The radius of each plot is six (6) feet. There will be a minimum of one plot per 5 acres taken. Areas greater than 15 acres shall have a plot for every three acres. Plots will be systematically distributed over the area using a grid system.

When counting desirables and there are more than 25 on the plot you may estimate by counting a ¼ plot and multiply by four. All desirables cut shall be counted along with undesirables not cut. There should be no more than 10% of desirables cut and no more than 10% of undesirables not cut.

All starting points and plot lines will be designated with flagging (do not use orange flagging). All plots shall have a plot center marked and numbered. Flagging shall be used to delineate the plot so it can be relocated. An Area Map indicating plot layout, bearings and distance used between plots shall be completed for each Area.

EXHIBIT E

Tree Selection Criteria

1) Select species to be released are: Red, white and other oak, yellow/tulip poplar, cucumber tree, white ash, red maple, and black cherry, red pine, white pine and hemlock. These species will be released from the drip line as according to table in section 211. An example using an oak seedling is below.

Example: Removing trees for a distance of 1 foot from an oak tree drip line.