Attch1_ScopeOfWork_230306_18pp.pdf

United States Department of the Interior

FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE

Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge

16450 NW 31st Place, Chiefland Florida 32626

Telephone: (352) 493-0238

The Contractor will be required to supply the following goods and services.

Phase 1

Mastication/Mulch Site Prep Mulch woody and palmetto groundcover on 330 acres. This phase is to reduce hazardous fuel loads by mastication/mulching of woody and palmetto groundcover for future herbicide application and planting containerized longleaf pine seedlings.

See attached Scope of Work –Mastication Site Prep Requirements

Phase 2

Herbicide Purchase & Delivery to Site Garlon RXT Triclopyr: .......... 165 gallons

Arsenal AC Imazapyr: ........... 82.5 gallons

RRSI NIS (Surfactant): .......... 33 gallons

Herbicide Application Application of herbicides on 330 acres to reduce hazardous fuel loads, site preparation for planting containerized longleaf pine seedlings and habitat groundcover restoration.

See attached Scope of Work - Herbicide Application Requirements

Phase 3

Longleaf Seedlings Purchase, Delivery & Planting 300,000 Atlantic Costal Natural Longleaf Pine Containerized Seedlings (6 in. container)

Tree Planting Plant 300,000 containerized longleaf pine trees by hand on 330 acres.

See attached Scope of Work - Tree Planting Requirements

2023-2024 Hazardous Wildfire Fuel Reduction and Habitat Restoration Project

7 - Attachments:

1) Location Map 1

2) Vicinity map of project area Map 2

3) Scope of Work - Mastication Site Prep Requirements (Phase 1)

4) Scope of Work - Herbicide Application Requirements (Phase 2)

5) Scope of Work - Tree Planting Requirements (Phase 3)

6) Project Area Maps 3 – 5

7) Approved Seedling Nurseries

Scope of Work

Mastication Site Prep Requirements

Phase 1

This project is located on the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge (LSNWR) in Dixie

County, Florida and is referenced as the (2023-2024 Hazardous Wildfire Fuel Reduction and

Habitat Restoration Project Mulch Site Prep).

This project is to reduce hazardous fuel loads by mastication/mulching of woody and palmetto groundcover for future herbicide application and planting containerized longleaf pine seedlings

(See Maps 3 – 5). Work may commence as early as April 1, 2023 and must be completed by

July 28, 2023.

• An industrial horizontal drum mulcher will be used on 330 acres for the mastication/mulching process.

• Woody and palmetto groundcover are to be mulched/severed less than 8 inches in height after the work is completed.

• Longleaf and slash pine are not to be mulched/severed.

• Loblolly pine may be mulched or severed.

• Hardwoods less than 12-inch DBH are to be mulched/severed.

Scope of Work

1. The Contractor is responsible for transporting all equipment to and from the work site.

2. The Refuge Forester shall identify all application sites.

3. The Refuge Forester will provide a digital format GPS file for the boundaries of the Sites.

4. The equipment operator will avoid any wetlands or swamps that may not have been identified on the map or in digital format GPS file.

5. The equipment operator must utilize a GPS system to ensure adequate stand coverage. The equipment/coverage track may be represented as points, lines, or polygons, and must be stored and delivered as electronic data to the Refuge Forester.

6. All site prep/mulching will follow best management specifications from the Florida

Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Silviculture BMPs publication

Silviculture Best Management Practices Manual. This publication can be found on the internet at (Silviculture Best Management Practices / Forest & Wildfire / Home - Florida

Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services (fdacs.gov)).

https://www.fdacs.gov/Forest-Wildfire/Silviculture-Best-Management-Practices

7. The sites are public lands which are open to hiking and other recreational activities. The contractor shall watch for recreational users on each site and take appropriate action to avoid people.

8. Mulching will not occur during adverse or non-optimal weather conditions.

9. Any condition that minimizes the effectiveness of the mulching such as rutting, non-target vegetation, personnel, or objects will not be tolerated.

10. The Refuge Forester has the authority to stop operations anytime unfavorable weather conditions prevail.

11. Contractor shall be responsible for any damage done by crew to gates, fences, roadways or other improvements.

12. The Refuge Forester shall monitor the site prep operations with onsite inspections.

Performance Requirements

1. It is recommended, but not required, that all Contractors examine the site for operability limitations and for verifying the acreages listed in this quote. Bidders should be fully informed of the conditions and materials to be encountered (i.e., location of the site, quality and quantity of work to be performed, materials to be furnished, the nature of the ground and surface, location of buried utilities, any conditions surrounding and affecting the work, obstructions, the nature of any existing construction, and all other physical characteristics of the job).

2. The Contractor and/or their employees shall do all in their power to prevent and suppress forest fires; shall pay the United States Government for any unnecessary damage resulting from the operation herein permitted; and shall repair all damages to roads, fences, gates, ditches, trails, telephone and power lines resulting from the operation conducted hereunder except where otherwise provided for.

3. A pre-entry conference with the Refuge Forester, contractor and crew will be held prior to any work being done.

4. The Contractor will have access to only those lands described in the application area and shall conduct operations during daylight hours only Monday thru Friday. Operations on

Saturday, Sunday, or Federal Holiday must be approved by the Refuge Manager.

5. The Contractor (or their representatives) will not litter. Littering violations will be handled under Federal Code of Regulations 50CFR27.94(a) and carries a fine of $125.00 per incident upon conviction.

6. All Refuge regulations apply unless superseded by these special conditions.

7. The Contractor will comply with the State of Florida Silviculture Best Management Practices as stated under the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Silviculture

BMPs publication Silviculture Best Management Practices Manual. This publication can be found on the internet at (Silviculture Best Management Practices / Forest & Wildfire / Home

- Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services (fdacs.gov)).

8. The Contractor shall notify a Refuge official of any oil or hazardous material spill as soon as possible. The contractor is responsible for cleanup and removal of any spilled oil or hazardous material.

9. Contractor shall submit an invoice upon completion through the invoice processing platform

(IPP.gov). Payments shall be made upon approval of invoices by the Refuge Manager.

10. The Contractor shall provide all labor and equipment necessary to successfully complete the project.

11. The Contractor shall comply with all LSNWR rules and regulations. Note that the LSNWR land is open to public use and hunting. Contractor personnel shall wear state approved hunter safety orange if working during refuge hunting season.

12. The Contractor shall provide Refuge Forester a four-day notice prior to the date they anticipate commencement of mulching operations.

Archaeological Special Conditions

1. Should previously unrecorded cultural resources or human remains be found on Service land, harvesting activities will be halted immediately at that location. The Refuge Forester and the

Refuge Manager are to be contacted at once; they will contact the Regional Archaeologist.

2. Should human remains in an unmarked grave be encountered, Refuge Law Enforcement will be contacted immediately, in addition to the Regional Archaeologist and the Refuge

Manager, the County’s Sheriff Office, and the State Historic Preservation. Should human remains be identified as Native American, then consultation with the pertinent Native

American tribes will be initiated as per the Native American Grave Protection and

Repatriation Act.

3. If, during the course of the operations, the permittee notes illegal excavation or archaeological resource removal, this information shall be immediately provided to the

Refuge Manager.

4. If, during the course of the operations, the permittee deliberately damages a recorded site, the permittee is responsible for the resultant site damage assessment and mitigation. The mitigation may include, but is not limited to, site restoration and data recovery

Scope of Work

Herbicide Application Requirements

Phase 2

This herbicide project is located at the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge (LSNWR) in

Dixie County, Florida and is referenced as the (2023-2024 Hazardous Wildfire Fuel Reduction and Habitat Restoration Project Herbicide Treatment).

The project is an application of herbicides on 330 acres (See Maps 3 - 5) to reduce hazardous fuel loads, site preparation for planting containerized longleaf pine seedlings and habitat groundcover restoration. Work may commence as early as August 1, 2023, and must be completed by October 31, 2023.

The Contractor must purchase and deliver the exact herbicides as listed below and may use any vendor of their choosing.

• Garlon RXT Triclopyr: 165 gallons

• Arsenal AC Imazapyr: 82.5 gallons

• RRSI NIS (Surfactant): 33 gallons

The Contractor will apply herbicides as a broadcast with a tank mix combination of the following products:

Garlon XRT Triclopyr: 330 acres applied @ 2 quarts/acre

Arsenal AC Imazapyr: 330 acres applied @ 32 oz./acre

RRSI NIS (Surfactant): 330 acres applied @ 12.8 oz./acre

Garlon XRT, Arsenal AC, and RRSI NIS will be tank mixed and applied as a broadcast foliage treatment with water at a minimum of 25 gal./acre.

The sites will have recently been mulched with some residual mature pines and mulched debris scattered within the application areas.

1. Applicator must have current State of Florida Commercial Pesticide Applicators License with endorsement in either Natural Aera Weed Management or Forest Pest Control Category.

2. The Contractor is responsible for transporting herbicide chemicals and water to and from the work site.

3. The Contractor will supply and use clean water that meets the proper pH levels for the herbicides being applied.

4. The Refuge Forester shall identify all application sites.

5. The Refuge Forester will provide a digital format GPS file for the boundaries of the application sites.

6. The equipment operator will avoid any wetlands or swamps that may not have been identified on the map or in digital format GPS file.

7. The applicator must utilize a GPS system to ensure adequate vegetation coverage. The equipment/coverage track may be represented as points, lines, or polygons, and must be stored and delivered as electronic data to the Refuge Forester. A minimum of 95% of each designated treatment unit must be adequately covered with chemical.

8. The Contractor will apply as a chemical tank mix 0.5 gallons per acre of Garlon XRT

Triclopyr - 60.3% - 6.3lb/gal mixed with 0.25 gallons per acre or 32 fluid ounces per acre of

Arsenal AC Imazapyr – 43.3% - 4lbs/gal. and 0.0625 gallons per acre or 12.8 fluid ounces per acre of RRSI NIS (Adjuvant / Nonionic Surfactant)

9. The Contractor will apply with ground equipment a minimum of 8,250 gallons of water and chemical mix at the rate of 25 gallons per acre on 330 acres.

10. Herbicides will be applied as directed by the labels and using best management specifications from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Silviculture BMPs publication Silviculture Best Management Practices Manual. This publication can be found on the internet at (Silviculture Best Management Practices / Forest & Wildfire / Home -

Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services (fdacs.gov)).

11. The sites are public lands which are open to hiking and other recreational activities. The applicator shall watch for recreational users on each site and not spray the area if people are present.

12. Chemical pesticides must be kept in original containers until mixing. All mixtures should have temporary labels that list the trade name and rates of chemicals and any adjuvants within the spray container.

13. Herbicides that are mixed, transferred, or temporarily stored while on Refuge lands will be done so at designated staging areas.

14. Any and all containers that contain pesticide or pesticide residues will be removed from

Refuge lands once the chemical application is complete.

15. The crew supervisor must readily have available during transportation and application a copy of all chemical pesticides labels and Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) of the chemicals in their possession.

16. Herbicides will not be applied during adverse or non-optimal weather conditions for the application method. Any weather condition, including heat, wind, or precipitation, that minimizes the effectiveness of the herbicide or increases the exposure and/or potential for drift to non-target vegetation, personnel, or objects will not be tolerated.

17. The Refuge Forester has the authority to stop the application operations anytime unfavorable weather conditions prevail.

18. During mixing and application all recommended Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) will be properly worn to minimize applicator exposure to chemicals. All measuring cups should be rinsed and the effluent poured into the tank/bottle mixture.

19. Contractor shall be responsible for any damage done by crew to gates, fences, roadways or

20. The Refuge Forester shall monitor the application operation with onsite inspections.

informed of the conditions and materials to be encountered (i.e., location of the site, quality and quantity of work to be performed, materials to be furnished, the nature of the ground and surface, location of buried utilities, any conditions surrounding and affecting the work, forest fires; shall pay the United States Government for any unnecessary damage resulting from the operation herein permitted; and shall repair all damages to roads, fences, gates,

3. A pre-entry conference with the Refuge Forester, contractor and crew will be held prior to any work being done.

4. The Contractor will have access to only those lands described in the application area and shall conduct operations during daylight hours only Monday thru Friday. Operations on

BMPs publication Silviculture Best Management Practices Manual. This publication can be

8. The Contractor shall notify a Refuge Official of any oil or hazardous material spill as soon as project.

12. The Contractor shall provide Refuge Forester a four-day notice prior to the date he/she anticipates commencement of herbicide application.

Archaeological Special Conditions

1. Should previously unrecorded cultural resources or human remains be found on Service land, harvesting activities will be halted immediately at that location. The Refuge Forester and the

Refuge Manager are to be contacted at once; they will contact the Regional Archaeologist.

2. Should human remains in an unmarked grave be encountered, Refuge Law Enforcement will be contacted immediately, in addition to the Regional Archaeologist and the Refuge

Manager, the County’s Sheriff Office, and the State Historic Preservation. Should human remains be identified as Native American, then consultation with the pertinent Native

American tribes will be initiated as per the Native American Grave Protection and

Repatriation Act.

3. If, during the course of the operations, the permittee notes illegal excavation or archaeological resource removal, this information shall be immediately provided to the

Refuge Manager.

4. If, during the course of the operations, the permittee deliberately damages a recorded site, the permittee is responsible for the resultant site damage assessment and mitigation. The mitigation may include, but is not limited to, site restoration and data recovery

Scope of Work

Tree Planting Requirements

Phase 3

This planting project is located at the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge in Dixie

County, Florida and is referenced as the (2023-2024 Hazardous Wildfire Fuel Reduction and

Habitat Restoration Project Tree Planting).

The project consists of purchase, delivery, and hand planting 300,000 containerized longleaf pine trees on 330 acres (See Maps 3 - 5). Planting may commence based on seedling availability as early as November 15, 2023 and completed by January 15, 2024.

The Contractor may use any vendor of their choosing for planting; however, the Atlantic Costal

Natural Longleaf Pine Containerized Seedlings must be purchased from an approved vendor (see

Attchment:1).

Purchase: 300,000 Atlantic Costal Natural Longleaf Pine Containerized Seedlings

(6 in. container) and arrange for onsite delivery and storage.

Plant: Containerized Longleaf Pine (8’x 6’) spacing ~ 910 trees/acre

330 acres @ 910 trees/acre ~ 300,000 trees

The sites will have been mulched and treated with herbicide. Hand planting may be complicated by natural vegetation and mulched debris. Other areas may have low ground cover such as grasses with isolated areas of palmetto and gallberry.

1. The Refuge Forester shall identify all sites to be planted.

2. The Contractor will purchase and deliver 300,000 Atlantic Costal Natural Longleaf Pine

Containerized Seedlings from an approved vendor.

3. The Contractor is responsible for transporting the containerized longleaf pine seedlings from the nursery to the work site, unloading seedlings from delivery truck and proper storage.

4. The Contractor will hand plant 300,000 stems of containerized longleaf pine seedlings on

330 acres.

5. The planting pattern shall be approved by the Refuge Forester and shall be designed to mimic a natural stand of pine; planting in straight rows is unacceptable.

6. Planting density for the containerized longleaf pine will be approximately 910 trees per acre on an approximate 8’ by 6’ spacing.

7. Seedlings shall be planted at the proper depth and spacing. The Refuge will use planting specifications from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Florida

Forest Service publication Tree Planting: Success or Failure Depends on You. This publication can be found on the internet at (Seedling Care / Tree Seedlings for Sale /

Programs for Landowners / For Landowners / Forest & Wildfire / Home - Florida

Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services (fdacs.gov))

8. The planting foreman shall monitor planting density, ensure seedlings are correctly planted and make every effort to protect seedlings from sun, wind, and adverse temperature.

9. The Contractor is required to cover seedling bundles/boxes with NEW reflective tarps and place seedlings in shade where shade is present. Unused seedlings will be placed in a cool storage area at end of each planting day.

10. Containerized seedlings shall be handled in a manner as not to break soil away from the root mass.

11. The Refuge Forester has the authority to have any areas replanted at Contractor’s expense that were not planted properly or that Contractor’s personnel mishandled seedlings.

12. The Refuge Forester has the authority to stop the planting operation anytime unfavorable weather conditions prevail.

13. Contractor shall be responsible for cleanup of seedling bundles, boxes, containers, and wrapping materials. The contractor shall properly dispose, after planting, all seedling bundles, boxes, containers, and wrapping materials.

14. Contractor shall be responsible for any damage done by crew to gates, fences, roadways or

15. The Contractor shall provide a daily log of the number of stems planted.

16. The Refuge Forester shall monitor the planting operation with onsite inspections and audit planted areas.

17. The Refuge Forester shall select the area to begin work and shall determine the sequence in which the sites shall be planted.

informed of the conditions and materials to be encountered (i.e., location of the site, quality and quantity of work to be performed, materials to be furnished, the nature of the ground and surface, location of buried utilities, any conditions surrounding and affecting the work, https://www.fdacs.gov/Forest-Wildfire/For-Landowners/Programs-for-Landowners/Tree-Seedlings-for-Sale/Seedling-Care https://www.fdacs.gov/Forest-Wildfire/For-Landowners/Programs-for-Landowners/Tree-Seedlings-for-Sale/Seedling-Care https://www.fdacs.gov/Forest-Wildfire/For-Landowners/Programs-for-Landowners/Tree-Seedlings-for-Sale/Seedling-Care forest fires: shall pay the United States Government for any unnecessary damage resulting from the operation herein permitted; and shall repair all damages to roads, fences, gates,

3. A pre-entry conference with the Refuge Forester, contractor and tree planters will be held prior to any work being done in the planting sites.

4. The Contractor will have access to only those lands described in the planting area and shall conduct planting operations during daylight hours only Monday thru Friday. Operations on

BMPs publication Silviculture Best Management Practices Manual. This publication can be

8. The Contractor shall notify a Refuge Official of any oil or hazardous material spill as soon as project. The contractor shall provide all equipment necessary to complete tree planting as specified in the scope of work.

12. The Contractor shall provide Refuge Forester at least a four-day notice prior to the date he/she anticipates commencement of planting.

Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge

Hazardous Wildfire Fuel Reduction and Habitat Restoration Project

Approved Seedling Nurseries

1. Meeks' Farms & Nursery, Inc.

187 Flanders Road Kite Georgia 31049 USA

Nursery Office 478.469.3417 steve@meeksfarms-nurserys.com

2. IFCO Seedlings

1265 GA Hwy. 133 N Moultrie, GA 31768

Nursery Office 800.633.4506

3. Whitfield Farms & Nursery

2497 Lambs Bridge Rd Twin City, GA 30471

Nursery Office 912.515.4103 mailto:steve@meeksfarms-nurserys.com