Attachment_J02_-_Statement_of_Work.pdf

RFQ #140P8423Q0072

Attachment J02

STATEMENT OF WORK

SEQUOIA GROVE PROTECTION MECHANICAL TREATMENT

Background

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks are taking emergency actions to reduce the risks posed by wildfire to giant sequoia groves in the parks. Manual thinning of trees and brush along with the piling of slash and accumulated dead and downed fuels for later burning is one action being taken to help mitigate the destruction of sequoia groves by wildfire.

Scope

This mechanical treatment will prepare fuels for approximately 188 acres within 2 sequoia groves for burning at a later time by NPS personnel or under a separate contract. The mechanical treatment is part of a fuels reduction project that will help mitigate catastrophic effects on sequoia trees within these groves from wildfire.

Equipment for the treatment shall be limited to hand-held tools.

Objectives

• Reduce the density of trees that are less than 40 feet tall and 8 inches in diameter to a maximum of 25 trees per acre.

• Pile all slash from thinning and dead and down material between ¼ inch and 18 inches for later burning.

Tasks

• Sugar pine (Pinus lambertiana), Jeffrey pine (Pinus jeffreyi), ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), black oak (Quercus kelloggii), and giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) shall not be cut during thinning if there is an option to cut other species to meet the tree density objective.

• All snags under 18 inches diameter at breast height shall be felled, bucked, and included with material for pile construction.

• All stumps must be cut to a maximum height of 4 inches above the ground.

• All trees that remain after thinning shall be limbed up to at least 6 feet above the ground or a maximum of 50% of the tree height (whichever is smaller).

• Tree branches shall be limbed in a manner that does not cause damage to the bole or other parts of the tree.

• Piles shall be made of slash from thinning, dead and downed woody material, or a combination of slash and dead and downed woody material; and must be comprised from a variety of size classes (0-3”, 3-6”, greater than 6”). The heavier material shall be placed on the bottom and sides of the piles, and the smaller size-class material on the interior of the pile.

• Downed logs larger than 18 inches diameter shall be left alone unless they pose a fire hazard to an adjacent giant sequoia tree. In this case the log shall be bucked and moved away from the giant sequoia tree to a distance where the log is no longer a fire hazard to the tree.

• Piles shall be constructed in openings from residual vegetation to minimize scorch to those plants. When conditions allow, piles shall be at least 15 feet from residual trees in the downhill or side hill directions, and at least 20 feet from residual trees upslope from the pile.

• Piles must be at least 30 feet from riparian areas, trails, utility line right of ways, and roads.

• Minimum pile size is 3 feet long by 3 feet wide by 3 feet tall. Maximum pile size is 6 feet long by 6 feet wide by 6 feet tall.

• Piles shall be constructed in a conical shape and be reasonably compact so that large voids are not within the pile.

• Piles shall be covered with durable paper prior to precipitation and cover a minimum of 75% of the surface of each pile. Branches must be placed on top of the paper to secure it to the pile.

Delivery

Work on this project must be completed by September 30, 2023.

A report of completed work that includes the number of piles built in each grove shall be submitted to the Contracting Officer Representative within 2 weeks after work completion.

Government-Furnished Property

The government will provide the durable paper required to cover the piles. The contractor must coordinate with the Contracting Officer Representative to obtain the materials after work has begun.

Place of Performance

Work site is at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks in Tulare and Fresno Counties. There are 2 separate treatment areas within the work site: Sequoia Creek, Grant Grove. The Sequoia Creek and Grant Groves are in Kings Canyon National Park, approximately 2 hours driving time from Fresno, California. Off-road vehicle travel within the park is prohibited.

Treatment Area 1 - Sequoia Creek Grove – Treatment area is 20 acres located along Sequoia Creek, in the vicinity of Ella Falls. Treatment area can be accessed on foot via a trail system approximately 0.75 miles from trailhead near Sunset Campground.

Treatment Area 2 - Grant Grove – Treatment area is 168 acres located in the vicinity of the General Grant Tree. Treatment area can be accessed on foot via a trail system from the Grant Tree parking area. The western portion of the treatment area is bound by the National Park Service – USDA Forest Service boundary.

Period of Performance

Work on this project must begin on July 10, 2023, and must be completed by September 30, 2023. Work must be performed during daylight hours. Work may be performed on all days within the contracted period of performance except for federal holidays and weekends.

Additional Requirements

A pre-work site visit will be arranged between the Contractor and the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR). The pre-work site visit will be an opportunity to orient the Contractor to the project site prior to commencement of work.

The Contractor and a designated NPS representative will meet on the first workday to ensure proper equipment and associated personal protective equipment consistent with Occupational Safety and Health Association standards is being used. The contractor is responsible for providing all tools and personal protective equipment.

The designated NPS representative will periodically monitor work progress to ensure the work limitations and specifications are properly understood and implemented. Any change to the agreed scope of work must be addressed with the Contracting Officer (CO) prior to change.

If the Contractor’s employees do not speak English, the Contractor’s job site supervisor shall be fluent and conversant in both English and the language of their non-English speaking employees.

Government Quality Assurance Verification

All work included in the contract specifications shall be subject to inspections by the Government at periodic intervals during the performance of this contract to provide recommendations to improve work quality while work is in progress. Treatment inspections are for the sole benefit of the Government and do not release the contractor of the responsibility of providing quality control measures to assure that the work complies with the contract requirements.

The contractor shall schedule a site visit with the COR and/or designated inspector when work is completed to determine work acceptability. Each treatment area will be inspected separately. Government verification may consist of visual observation of operations or establishment of inspection plots. If inspection plots are used, they will be randomly located throughout the unit to obtain a representative sample of the work.

Criteria for Success

Determination of the acceptability of the work performed based on government inspections is considered conclusive. If the work does not meet the standards outlined in this Scope of Work a designated NPS representative will document instances of unacceptable work with photos and a description of non-compliance. The contractor will be notified by the CO of all findings of non-compliance.

The contractor may be given the opportunity to rework the entire treatment area or the portion(s) not meeting the requirements if the Government’s inspection identifies contract work does not meet specifications. The Government will re-inspect the treatment area upon completion of the rework.

Payment

Payment will be made to the contractor after all contract obligations have been met and after submitting an invoice to the government. The payment unit is per acre and includes all mobilization and other associated costs. All invoices will be processed through the IPP system.

Invoices must include the following:

• Project name

• Description of work performed

• Date(s) of work performed

• Number of acres completed

Ella Falls 5,702 ft

BIG STUMP

SEQUOIA CREEK

Completed Area

Acres

Sequoia Creek Unit

Acres

°4 4' N

°4 4' N

118°59'W

Unit Boundary

Park Boundary

Sequoia Groves

Maintained Trails

Public Roads

Primary

Local Paved

Local Unpaved

4WD

Operational Roads

Limited Access UnpavedProduced by: NPS (JF), 2/1/2023

Sequoia Creek

19.7 acres

Unit Map 0 100METERS

0 0.1KM

0 0.13

MILES

0 500

FEET

SCALE 1:6,000

where 1 inch equals 500 ft and 1 cm equals 60 m

!9

General Grant TreeGeneral Grant Tree

General Grant GroveGeneral Grant Grove North GroveNorth Grove

Gamlin CabinGamlin Cabin

Fallen MonarchFallen Monarch

Columbine Picnic Area Columbine Picnic Area

AzaleaAzalea

Unit

Acres

S:\GIS\seki\park_programs\Data\fire\plans\gis\EmergencyAction_2022\SEGI_Emergency_Fuels_Treatment_FY23\Units_SEGI_Emergency_Fuels_Treatment_FY23.aprx

Sequoia Groves

Sequoia Treatment Units

Prescribed Fire

Restorative Thinning

Proposed Fire Lines

Handline

Trail Improvement

ROADS

Public Roads

Primary

Paved

TRAILS

Maintained Trails

Unmaintained Trails NAD 1983 UTM Zone 11N Where 1 inch equals 0.16 milesSCALE 1:10,000

0 0.2 Km

0 0.1 MiÁ North

M A

P F

R A

M E

E X

T E

N T

This map shows giant sequoia groves selected for emergency action treatments and the boundaries for the emergency action treatments. Treatments are divided by type:

prescribed fire or restorative thinning.

Produced by: NPS, SEKI GIS; 9/13/2022

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior Sequoia Grove Treatments

Grant Grove