Attachment 9 Statement of Work.doc

Landscape Management Integrated Resources BPA Call

1. DESCRIPTION/STATEMENT OF WORK

Project Location/Description

The intent of this solicitation is to procure services for botany surveys to support required environmental analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for a large, integrated resource project (IRP) in the northern portion of the White Mountain National Forest (WMNF) in the town of Berlin, Coos County, New Hampshire. Surveys will be conducted for target rare and non-native invasive species within the One Mile Lonesome Habitat Management Unit (HMU). The entire HMU is approximately 5,200 acres; the actual area to be surveyed is approximately 1,767 acres, focused on stands proposed for timber harvest (Attachments 1 and 2). The survey must be completed during the 2024 summer field season. The survey results will be used to characterize vegetation at the stand level, identify appropriate measures to mitigate disturbance to rare plant species and mitigate the spread of invasive plants within the project area.

The survey areas are primarily dominated by northern hardwoods or mixed hardwood/conifer types. A few stands are dominated by conifer types. The survey area is interspersed by riparian and wetland features. Terrain varies from gentle to moderately steep and project area elevations range from about 1,200 to 2,000 feet.

Survey areas may be reached by one or a combination of the following: driving on roads passable by standard passenger car, driving on Forest Service roads requiring high clearance and/or 4WD, and walking. The Government will not physically identify survey areas on the ground. Geographic Information System (GIS) location data of project area boundaries, survey points, and known locations of target species will be provided.

The primary purpose of the survey is to identify any unique plant resources within the survey areas. These include the federally listed small whorled pogonia (Isotria medeoloides; unlikely to occur), Regional Forester Sensitive Species (RFSS; Attachment 3), and non-native invasive plant species (NNIS; (Attachment 4). Surveyors should also note occurrences of rare or unique natural community types (including late successional and old growth forests) and state-listed plants. In addition, surveyors will be required to document stand characteristics into a mobile database following an established protocol (provided by the Forest Service). The survey effort and results must be sufficiently appropriate and detailed to complete an analysis of effects for each species/feature according to NEPA and Forest Service manual direction.

A detailed set of survey points and a field review of the required protocols will be provided to the contractor prior to the field season. Survey efforts will be phenologically dependent based on species and local weather conditions in the current year. The Forest Botanist can be consulted (if desired) to provide suggested survey windows for various species.

Technical Requirements The contractor shall furnish all equipment, labor, materials (except Government furnished property listed in the Government Furnished Properties Section below), transportation, supervision, and incidentals necessary to conduct plant surveys. The Contractor must be able to identify all the rare plant taxa on the attached WMNF RFSS plant list (Attachment 3) and WMNF NNIS plant list (Attachment 4).

Required Tasks The Contractor shall complete the following tasks:

· Prior to beginning surveys, attend a field meeting with the Forest Botanist to review the survey protocol (Attachments 7 and 8).

· Prior to beginning surveys, provide the COR with an estimated progress schedule for completing the survey.

· Meander through each of the 40 stands identified on the attached maps. Navigate off-trail to approximately 100 points (to be provided by the Forest Service). The purpose of the points is to ensure that surveyors do not unintentionally bias their survey meander by avoiding more difficult ground (e.g., steep areas, wet sites, dense vegetation, etc.). The goal is not to cover every inch of ground, but to correlate survey intensity with likelihood of occurrence of intersecting species/communities of interest. The contractor shall survey during the appropriate phenological time period(s) for the species under consideration.

· Keep a running list of all species encountered in each stand, to provide a picture of that stand as a whole. The list need not be exhaustive but shall include all relevant species that can be listed in a timely manner.

· At each of the approximately 100 navigational points, complete documentation for the Vegetation GIS Data System (VGS) Rapid Assessment Protocol (https://portal.vgs.arizona.edu/Home/; Attachment 8). The goal of the VGS point surveys is to characterize the stand (or portion of a large stand) in a standardized way using a mobile data collection device (e.g., tablet). Prior to the field season, the Forest Service will provide access to the WMNF version of this application, which includes fields for site details, physical site characteristics, number of large diameter trees, and species lists at various strata within a 30- or 60-foot radius from the survey point. (Estimated time for completing VGS surveys is 20-30 minutes per point).

· Save a georeferenced track (as a shapefile) of the meander path taken in each stand. The track shall be based on actual GPS coordinates traversed, not a digitized version delineated after the fact.

· Maintain a georeferenced set of points (e.g., in Avenza or other GPS device) of any rare or non-native invasive plant found, as well as any other noteworthy features (e.g., unusual natural communities, areas of possible old growth, seeps, unique tree species, etc.)

· For all rare species located (small whorled pogonia, RFSS, or state listed species), document findings using the New England Rare Plant Reporting Form (Attachment 5) at each site. Digital photographic documentation is also required for all rare species. Photos should include at least one showing the plant in its habitat, as well as one showing diagnostic detail for species identification. For all small whorled pogonia and RFSS occurrences, notify the COR (and cc the Forest Botanist) within 4 business days and provide species identity, number of individuals, population extent, and GPS coordinates.

· For all NNIS occurrences found, document findings using WMNF NNIS Rapid Recon Form (Attachment 6). Alternatively, the equivalent information may be submitted in spreadsheet or shapefile attribute table.

· Provide a summary report describing survey activities and findings by stand.

· The Forest Service may provide temporary use of a key or combination to access areas behind locked gates. However, prior to driving behind a locked gate, the Contractor shall notify the COR at least 48 hours in advance and receive approval (to ensure that no damage will occur because of road conditions). The Contractor should not assume that vehicle access on closed roads will be allowed. The Contractor is responsible for vehicles that get stuck behind a gate.

Deliverables & Schedule The desired contract performance period is until December 31, 2024. One summer field season is available to complete the survey.

Table 1. Key Deliverables.

Government Furnished Items The government shall provide the Contractor with:

· Individual GIS shapefiles or geodatabase for the project area (as requested).

· Results of small whorled pogonia suitable habitat model.

· Lists of WMNF Regional Forester Sensitive Species and NNIS species (see attachments).

· Instructions for accessing copy of WMNF VGS database.

· Pre-survey field meeting with Forest Botanist to review survey protocols.

· Temporary use of Forest Service key or combination to get behind locked gates.

2. SPECIFICATIONS:

Specifications listed in the Base BPA apply to call orders, however specifications in the call order take precedence over the Base BPA.

3. INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE:

3.2 CONTRACTOR INSPECTION PROCEDURES

As part of the Solicitation Proposal, the Contractor will include a Quality Control Plan detailing how the Contractor will ensure the requirements of the contract are provided as specified.

At minimum, the following items must be included:

· Quality control for identification of rare plant occurrences

· Quality control for search effort – how the Contractor will disperse survey effort throughout representative portions of stands, and how will Contractor ensure thoroughness of search effort.

· Quality control for supervision - describe how employees will be supervised and how work will be inspected.

The Government will review the Contractor’s Quality Control Plan. If the plan is adequate, the Government will accept the plan. If the plan is not adequate as submitted, the deficiencies will be identified to the Contractor in writing. The Contractor shall correct all identified deficiencies and submit a corrected Contractor Quality Control Plan prior to the contract start date.

3.3 GOVERNMENT INSPECTION PROCEDURES – COMPLIANCE INSPECTION:

(A) After the first 4 stands (approximately 10%) have been completely surveyed, the Contractor will notify the COR and forward Statement of Work draft deliverables (to date) #2 through #8 for review. The Government will respond within 4 business days if there are any items requiring additional work or rework.

(B) The Government may also periodically review the manner in which the Contractor is conducting the quality control program by either reviewing the Contractor’s records, observing actual performance, or both.

(C) The Contractor shall notify the COR when survey work is completed prior to leaving the general area. Compliance inspections will be conducted within three (3) business days of completion of treatment units and the Contractor notified of any part of the unit(s) requiring additional work or rework.

4. CONTRACTING OFFICER’S REPRESENTATIVE:

Androscoggin Ranger District

300 Glen Rd

Gorham, NH 03581

PAGE