B08_Attach__1_Service_PWS_revised.docx

Performance Work Statement (PWS)

PROJECT TITLE:

Litchfield Feeding

Contents

PWS 1.0 Background on the Government’s Requirement Wild horses and burros on public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Forest Service are protected, managed, and controlled under the provisions of the Act of December 15, 1971, as amended (16 US. 1331-1340). As resource conditions and other factors warrant, excess wild horses and burros are removed from the public lands and placed in facilities for preparation to be placed in private maintenance through the Adopt-A-Horse program.

The Litchfield Wild Horse and Burro Corrals, located 20 miles northeast of Susanville, California on Hwy. 395 North, receives horses and burros directly from the range after they have been gathered The gathering season is approximately from July 1 through February 28. Therefore, the slowest times in terms of care and feeding of captured animals are from April through June. BLM does not gather horses during the foaling season (March 1 through June 30). Although the BLM does not gather horses during this time, the facility will still have horses and burros being prepared for disposition. The number of animals in the facility coincides with the gathering season. For the months of July through March, the facility averages 800 head per day. The remaining months average 500 head per day.

PWS 2.0 General Scope of Work Services include (a)The Contractor shall provide sufficient personnel to assure the daily feeding and watering of up to a maximum of 1000 animals during the peak times (July through January) and as few as 300 animals during March through June.

(b)The Litchfield facility consists of 22 outside pens (see attached diagram) that can hold an average of 150 animals per pen. None of the pens have feed mangers, so all hay is fed on the ground. Each pen has a concrete, 500-1500 gallon capacity water trough with a float valve. There are 12-15 small pens that have feed bunks and non-automated water systems that need to be filled by a hose when in use.

(c)It is anticipated that the feeding services for the wild horses and burros will require contract personnel daily. Since this facility does not have an automated feeding system, one of the Contractor's employees shall drive the BLM furnished tractor while the other kicks off the hay.

(d)The safety and well-being of the Contractor's personnel performing these feeding services shall be the sole responsibility of the Contractor. The behavior/conduct of the Contractor's personnel shall be the full responsibility of the Contractor.

(1) The Contractor shall be held accountable for any employee's misconduct, negligence, and/or failure to perform. The Contractor's personnel shall have a working knowledge of feeding large numbers of animals in a feedlot environment.

(2) In the event that any one or more contractor personnel are observed performing the required duties in an unsafe manner to the animals, themselves, Government personnel, or endangering the Government Furnished equipment/supplies, the contractor shall be so notified by the COR or PI and the contractor shall provide an immediate replacement person at the facility within two hours of being notified.

(e) In as much as the facility is open to the public, the Contractor's employees will perform their duties in a manner that will not bring discredit on the BLM or the contractor. Further, operation of equipment will take into consideration that members of the public may be in the area and utmost caution will be taken.

(f)The Contractor and personnel are responsible for any malicious damage or accidental damage of the Government furnished equipment. On a daily basis, prior to operating any item of equipment, the contractor's personnel will perform an inspection of the vehicles/equipment to include but not limited to fluid levels, operation of safety equipment, etc. Any negative findings will immediately be brought to the attention of the on-site Government personnel for remedy. The contractor will maintain a daily log for each vehicle showing the inspection results and provide same to the on-site Government personnel on a weekly basis.

(g) The Contractor shall furnish his personnel the following equipment: hay chaps, protective clothing, gloves, pitch forks, hay hooks, pliers, wire and twine cutting devices.

Place of Performance:

All performance will be performed at the Litchfield Wild Horse and Burro Corrals located 20 miles Northeast of Susanville at 474-000 Highway 395 East, Litchfield, CA.

Period of Performance:

The period of performance shall be for one (1) Base Year of 12 months and two (4) 12-month option years. The Period of Performance reads as follows: Performance begins January 1, 2023

Base Year: 1/1/2023 – 12/31/2023 Option Year I: 1/1/2024 – 12/31/2024 Option Year II: 1/1/2025 – 12/31/2025 Option Year III: 1/1/2026 – 12/31/2026 Option Year IIII: 1/1/2027 – 12/31/2027

PWS 3.0 Overall Objective(s) The objective of this work is to load animal feed safely and deliver the feed and inspect water tanks for the animals at the Litchfield WH&B facility.

As excess wild horses and burros are gathered in California and northwestern Nevada they are transported to Litchfield. The objective of this contract is to procure services for the daily feeding of wild horses and burros awaiting preparation and disposition through the adoption program. This facility is a permanent facility that holds animals temporarily, with a varying number of animals held throughout the year.

PWS 4.0 Specific Tasks Task 1: Loading Animal Feed

(a) The Contractor's personnel shall have the ability to drive/operate equipment such as a diesel tractor with front-end loader and farmhand, tractor-trailers, dump trucks, and forklift to perform such tasks as loading/transporting bales of hay through corral system to feed animals. The contractor shall provide the BLM a list of personnel who will be operating the equipment. The Contractor's personnel who will be operating the government furnished equipment shall have passed a proficiency test prior to being authorized to use such equipment. During a pre-work meeting, Contractor must show ability to fulfill this requirement

(b)While loading hay onto trailers, bales need to be tight on the trailers to avoid falling. It is the responsibility of the operators to make sure hay is tight on the trailers. All bales on edge will be laid flat during loading.

(c) The Contractor's personnel will be required to exert extensive strenuous physical activity in an outdoor environment, such as lifting bales of hay weighing approximately 100 to 130 pounds; operating heavy equipment; standing and bending for long periods as well as walking/working in outdoor corrals. All duties are performed out-of-doors and subject to a wide variety of climatic conditions from below 0 degrees in the winter to over 100 degrees in the summer.

Task 2: Feeding animals

(a) The Contractor shall feed the animals the quantity of hay and supplemental feed necessary to satisfy the animal's nutritional needs. The hay requirement for adult horses is 25 pounds of hay daily. The requirement for supplemental feed, a grain mixture for foals and weanlings, is approximately 15 pounds daily per weanling and 1 pound per nursing foal. The feeding requirement for an adult burro is 12 pounds of hay daily.

(b) In order to assure that all animals are receiving sufficient feed, the Contractor shall space the feed on the ground so that all the animals are afforded equal access to the feed.

(c) Feed will be placed at least 20 feet from any fence or water trough and 50 feet from any gate. All baling string/wire will be recovered and not left in the corrals.

(d) The Contractor shall place all supplemental feed, for foals and weanlings in tubs that are on the ground. Again, the Contractor shall space the feed so that all the foals and weanlings are afforded equal access to the supplemental feed.

(e) No person should be on trailers, rear of truck or pull bars of trailer while going down hills. No person should be on the back of the truck tongue or pull bar of the tractor-trailer at any time. It is the driver's responsibility to be able to always hear the person on the trailers. Speed should be kept to a safe limit.

Task 3: Water Tanks The Contractor shall inspect all water troughs during the feeding process. Break and remove all ice from the troughs to insure free water in all pens for drinking. Ice should be piled away from troughs so as not to hamper animals ability to access the trough. Repair any float that is allowing overflow of the trough. There are approximately 10 small holding pens that require filling the tanks with a garden hose and draining the hoses during winter months. The Contractor shall also notify a BLM representative of any water trough malfunction that could not be fixed by the contractor. (BLM will provide all repair materials.)

Task 4: Inspecting Animals

(a) In the event that the Contractor notices any animals in distress (i.e. sickly, injured, mares with foaling problems, or deceased animals, etc), the contractor shall immediately notify a BLM representative of the problems so that appropriate action may be taken.

PWS 5.0 Delivery / Performance Schedule The contractor will supply the service of loading hay onto a flatbed trailer being pulled by a farm tractor to feed animals at the Litchfield WH&B corrals. This service is need 365 days a year for the remainder of the contract. The service location is 474-000 Highway 395 East Litchfield, CA 96117.

PWS 6.0 Government-Furnished Property, Materials, Services

1. TYM Tractor with self-leveling bucket

2. John Deere Tractor with bale fork attachment

3. John Deere Tractor with farm Hand attachment

4. 20-foot tandem axle trailer (pull behind)

5. Dailey Feed Sheet (map of pens)

General:

The Contractor shall furnish all personnel, materials, equipment, supplies, facilities, transportation, tools, materials, supervision, and other items and non-personal services necessary to perform the work tasks defined in this Performance Work Statement, except for those items specified as government-furnished.

Materials:

The Government shall furnish the below materials to assist the Contractor in meeting the requirement of this contract, including, except for those items specified as government furnished property and services.

(a)BLM will provide all the hay and supplemental feed which will be fed at the facility. BLM will provide all equipment and supplies necessary to perform these feeding services and for minor repair to water troughs.

(b)Every morning the Contractor shall be provided with the current count of animals at the facility. BLM representatives will also provide the following information to the Contractor:

(1) Type and amount of hay (grass hay, grass/alfalfa mix, and alfalfa hay) to go to each pen.

(2) Amount of supplemental feed to go to each pen.

(3) The identity of pens that contain animals that day and the number of animals that day in each pen. Identify pens that horses will be moved into due to sorting and gathers.

(c)If necessary (e.g., when unexpected loads of animals arrive from gathers, when horses are sorted into different pens that where designated that morning, when animals consume more feed than was fed, etc.) the Government reserves the right to feed the animals at the facility. Contractor shall check with the PI or COR before leaving to see if there are any changes.

(d)BLM will provide for the maintenance and upkeep of the equipment used by the Contractor for use in feeding the horses and burros at the facility. The Contractor should notify the PI or COR of any observed equipment problems that need attention. Repair or maintenance needs will be reported on the attached Equipment Report Form.

Utilities: The Government will provide The Contractor shall instruct employees in utilities conservation practices. The contractor shall be responsible for operating under conditions that preclude the waste of utilities, which include turning off the water faucets or valves after using the required amount to accomplish the work.

PWS 7.0 Security and Administrative Matters Regular Work Hours:

The performance period established for this contract is based upon all work being conducted during regular working hours between 7:00am and 4:00pm, 365 days a year including all holidays.

Communications:

Contractor will receive a list of contacts for corral staff upon award of the contract for any situations which may arise on weekends or Federal Holidays that need corral staff to address.

Federal Holidays:

The following Federal Legal Holidays are observed:

Christmas Day

Fire Danger Season:

If the Contracting Officer Representative (COR) allows the Contractor to continue work during periods of declared fire danger or season, the Contractor shall comply with all applicable state laws relating to fire prevention and with all special conditions of work as directed by the COR.

PWS 8.0 Technical Exhibits and Definitions Standard Definitions:

Physical Condition The Physical appearance of Federal equipment or facilities that considers cracks, chips, dents, abrasions, rust, corrosion, general cleanliness, vibration, operating temperature, and discoloration and other items as identified by the COR.. Physical condition may be determined by visual as well as diagnostic means.

Contracting Officer (CO) The Secretary of the Interior or designated authorized representative who is the only agent capable of signing a federal award or obligating funds.

Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) The Contracting Officer’s designated representative as indicated in a delegation of authority letter.

Quality Assurance (QA) Surveillance of Contractor performance to determine performance requirements are met.

Performance Requirements Summary (PRS) (see Technical Exhibit below) The PRS identifies the key performance indicators of the Contract that will be evaluated by the Government to assure Contract performance standards are met by the Contractor.

Quality Control Those actions taken by the Contractor to control the production of goods or services so that they meet the requirements of the performance work statement.

EXHIBIT X: QUALITY ASSURANCE SURVEILLANCE PLAN (QASP)

Task 1: Loading Animal Feed

Task 2: Feeding animals

Task 3: Water Tanks

Task 4: Inspecting Animals

Vendor will able to lift hay weighing approximately 100 to 130 pound, bales need to be tight on the trailers to avoid falling, and operate machinery listed in requirement Feed animals in accordance with the PWS Water Tanks and areas around them will be free of leaks and ice, shall also notify a BLM representative of any water trough malfunction that could not be fixed by the contractor Contractor shall immediately notify a BLM representative of any animals in distress (i.e. sickly, injured, mares with foaling problems, or deceased animals, etc

Government employees will randomly inspect the animals and their living conditions.

For one unsatisfactory inspection (ie not clean, not enough toilet paper, toilet blown over), the COR will document and inform the contractor on what must be improved

For 2 unsatisfactory inspections, a 5% deduction from the invoice for that Period of Performance.

For 3 unsatisfactory inspections, a 10% deduction.

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