Description/Specifications/Work Statement Pinto Mesa Hand Thin and Pile (Phase 2)

03/03/2026

1. GENERAL:

1.1 The Government is acquiring fuels management services to treat vegetation to reduce the risk of wildland fires. Public Law 112-74 provides legislative authority for the Secretary of the Interior to enter into procurement contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements for fuels reduction activities on Federal and adjacent non-Federal lands for activities that benefit resources on Federal land. This is intended to meet the intent of the National Fire Plan in accordance with Public Law 106-291.

1. 2 Description of Work: Cut and pile pinyon and juniper trees with Contractor furnished crews and chainsaws.

1.3 Location: Approximately 32 miles West of Meeker, CO. The legal description is:

T: 1N Range: 99W Section: 26, 27, 34, 35

1.4 Access to the Work: Access to the work sites shall be provided by and at the contractor’s expense. Public or private roads damaged by the contractor shall be restored, at the contractor’s expense, to the same condition they were in at the commencement of work. Project is accessible from Rio Blanco County and BLM roads.

1.5 Environmental conditions: Clean up all Contractor generated litter and dispose of at an approved sanitary landfill.

1.6 Work Limits: A GPS GPX file will be provided that delineates the perimeter and any non-treatment interior islands.

The contractor must have a GPS capable accepting and displaying GPX files. The BLM will flag other avoidance areas not depicted in the GPS file.

1.7 Contract duration: Work may begin July 16, 2026 and must be completed by November 30, 2026. No work can be done between 12/15/2025 and 7/15/2026 due to big game and migratory bird timing stipulations. *If on July 1st, the Palmer Drought Severity Index for the project area is rated severe, extreme, or exceptional, work will only be permitted between September 16, 2026 to March 14, 2027.

1.8 Site Visit: Please contact Shane Pfeiffer @ 970-620-6957. No formal site visit is currently scheduled.

2. CONTRACTOR FURNISHED ITEMS:

2.1 The contractor will furnish all equipment, fuel, and personnel necessary to accomplish the specific tasks described below.

2.2 Properly functioning equipment/saws

2.2.a. GPS that will accept GPX files.

2.2.b. An English speaking authorized representative on site at all times when working.

2.3 Security of Materials

2.3.a The Contractor may leave its equipment and Government-furnished property at the work site. The Contractor shall be responsible for the Contractor's equipment and Government-furnished property if it should be lost, stolen or damaged.

2.4 Noxious Weeds

2.4.a Ensure that all equipment is cleaned off prior to operating on Government lands. Remove all dirt, grease, and plant parts that carry noxious weed seeds or vegetative parts. In addition, if equipment is found operating in a noxious weed area, the equipment must be cleaned before leaving project or moving to another area in location identified by COR.

2.5 Personal Protective Equipment

2.5.a The contractor will train in the safe operation and use of equipment to all workers using such equipment.

2.5.b Occupation Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) standards for personal protective equipment shall be followed.

2.5.c Personal protective equipment, including personal protective equipment for eyes, face, head, and extremities shall be provided, used, and maintained in a sanitary and reliable condition wherever it is necessary by reason of hazards or processes encountered in a manner capable of causing injury or impairment in the function of any part of the body.

2.5.d Defective or damaged personal protective equipment shall not be used.

2.6 Temporary Work Camps

The contractor or his employees, upon documented permission from the COR/PI, may establish temporary work camps on public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management. Camps shall be kept tidy and free of refuse. These camps may consist of mobile trailers, pickup campers, tent trailers, and tents. The contractor will be required to rehabilitate the camping to the satisfaction of the COR/PI. Camps are subject to all fire restrictions placed by state, county, or federal authorities. The contractor must remain considerate of noise levels to nearby landowners throughout the contract period.

3. BLM WILL FURNISH OR PROVIDE THE FOLLOWING:

3.1 A GPS GPX file will be provided that delineates the perimeter and non-treatment interior islands. The contractor must have a GPS capable accepting and displaying GPX files. The BLM will flag other avoidance areas not depicted in the GPS file.

3.2 Provide detailed maps of the area and an on-site orientation of the project area.

3.3 Flagging of all cadastral survey monuments and other avoidance areas not depicted in the GPS file.

3.4 Conduct on-site inspections by the PI/COR.

4. SPECIFIC TASKS:

4.1 Surface Conditions: Vehicles shall not be operated off of established roads or when the ground is muddy or soil moisture is high enough for the vehicles to leave ruts 2” deep.

4.2.a Protection: The contractor is required to protect survey monuments from damage. In case of destruction or removal by the contractor, the Government will replace the monuments and the actual cost for replacement will be deducted from payment due the contractor.

4.2.b If any archaeological materials are discovered as a result of operations under this authorization, activity in the vicinity of the discovery will cease, and the BLM WRFO Archaeologist will be notified immediately. Work may not resume at that location until approved by the Authorized Officer (AO). The applicant will make every effort to protect the site from further impacts including looting, erosion, or other human or natural damage until BLM determines a treatment approach, and the treatment is completed. Unless previously determined in treatment plans or agreements, BLM will evaluate the cultural resources and, in consultation with the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), select the appropriate mitigation option within 48 hours of the discovery. The applicant, under guidance of the BLM, will implement the mitigation in a timely manner. The process will be fully documented in reports, site forms, maps, drawings, and photographs. The BLM will forward documentation to the SHPO for review and concurrence.

4.2.c Pursuant to 43 CFR 10.4(g), the applicant must notify the AO, by telephone and written confirmation, immediately upon the discovery of human remains, funerary items, sacred objects, or objects of cultural patrimony. Further, pursuant to 43 CFR 10.4(c) and (d), the operator must stop activities in the vicinity of the discovery and protect it for 30 days or until notified to proceed by the AO.

4.3 Slashing, Hand Piling and Covering:

4.3.a General: All trees with a 12 inch DBH or less within the designated treatment (depicted on the attached maps) areas shall be cut and hand piled. Total acreage is 432 acres. The treatment area can be described as relatively flat terrain (< 20% slope) with a moderate density of 1” to 14” diameter pinyon and juniper trees. The majority of the trees are in the 6”

– 10” range with multiple stems. Some rocks are present and the overall level of difficulty is moderate.

4.3.b Project Specifications:

1. All Visible pinyon and juniper trees within the designated areas with a DBH of 12 inches or less will be cut while leaving brush species untreated.

2. Existing standing dead (except those that are mentioned in reserve tree specifications) and dead and down will be cut and limbed and incorporated into piles according to specs below.

3. Stump heights cannot exceed 4 inches in height and all live branches will be severed from the stump to ensure tree mortality.

4. Very small trees or those with very low branches will need to be cut to ground level in order to remove all branches. It is important that all limbs are removed to insure the tree mortality.

5. No trees shall be felled toward or across any improvement such as, but not limited to roads, trails, fences, gates, signs and spring developments. Section corner monuments, survey markers, and private land boundaries will be protected. The contractor is responsible for the removal of all created slash and debris from roadways and trail.

6. All material cut trees will be piled according to pile specifications below.

4.3.c Piling Specifications:

1. Stumps will be cut 4 inches or less from the ground. All cut trees shall be completely severed from the stump.

No live limbs will be left on the stump.

2. All material between 1/4 and 12 inches in diameter will be hand piled.

3. All logs and large branches shall be limbed up completely.

4. No green material over 12 inches in diameter shall be piled for burning. Boles up to 12 in diameter will be incorporated into the pile and they will be cut in to 3-4 foot sections before being placed in the pile.

5. All piles shall be constructed by laying limbs, stems, and other slash in the pile so as to be parallel with each other.

6. Slash that would cause large air spaces in piles shall be sectioned (e.g. cut into smaller pieces).

7. Each slash pile shall have a minimum volume (10-15% by volume of small sized slash (small branches less that are ½ inch in diameter and or small branches with needles attached) placed in the lower, center of the pile, to provide kindling for prompt ignition to aid in the combustion of the larger slash.

8. Place larger diameter of the limbs (butt end) toward the center of the pile (up and into the pile) so that heavier material is in the center of the pile for more complete combustion.

9. Piles must be 10 feet wide by 10 feet tall or larger (not to exceed 12 feet by 12 feet).

10. Piles will not be within 30 feet of another pile. To achieve this, slash will need to be dragged to be consolidated into bigger piles.

11. All limbed material shall be hand piled.

12. No piles will be within 50 feet of private land boundaries, land survey monuments, overhead power line/phone lines, drainages or other improvements. If conditions make it impractical to locate piles so that damage to residual green trees can be avoided, an area will be designated by a BLM representative.

13. Slash pieces projecting 1 foot or more beyond the general perimeter of the pile shall be cut off and piled.

14. Piles will not be placed in avoidance areas that have been identified by the COR.

15. Piling methodology, pile location and orientation shall not result in unstable piles. All piles shall be as compact as possible and constructed so they will not topple.

16. Where possible, piles WILL be located on old chaining debris. This will ensure that as much hazardous fuel is consumed when the pile is burned as possible.

17. The contractor shall ensure that when piles are placed on top of chaining debris, that any portion of the chaining material protruding from the diameter of the pile will have at least a 24 inch portion cut out of it to prevent fire from utilizing the chaining debris to escape the planned perimeter of the pile.

18. Piles should be at least 10 feet away from standing trees and located so that the burning will not cause damage to standing trees.

19. No soil, other than that adhering to the bark or contained in the root ends, will be acceptable in piles.

4.4 Fire Prevention and Liability

4.4.a The Contractor may be held liable for all operator fire starts. All applicable state and local fire prevention laws must be followed by the Contractor, unless written direction is provided by the Contracting Officer.

4.4.b Contractor at a minimum must:

Operate all internal and external combustion engines on federally managed lands per 36 CFR 261.52, which requires all such engines to be equipped with a qualified spark arrester that is maintained and not modified. Spark Arresters: Shall meet current U.S. Forest Service Standard Spark Arrester Guidelines.

Carry shovels, water, and fire extinguishers that are rated at a minimum as ABC - 10 pound on all equipment and vehicles.

Have means of communications with Contracting Officer Representative (COR) or Project Inspector (PI).

Initiate fire suppression actions in the work area to prevent fire spread to or on federally administered lands.

Notify the appropriate dispatch center or 911 immediately of the location and status of any unplanned ignition.

Notify the COR and Contracting Officer immediately of the incident.

5. APPLICATION EVALUATION

Submittals

5.1 This contract will be awarded based on criteria listed in FAR 52.212-2 in the RFQ.

6. GOVERNMENT INSPECTIONS:

6.1 The Government will make periodic inspections as a basis for payments and recommendations for adjustments in work quality while work is in progress.

6.2 If deemed necessary by the COR or requested by the contractor, random 1 acre plots will be inventoried to determine the number of missed trees >10” tall and number of cut trees with limbs still attached to the stem, as well as compliance with the specifications listed in section 4.3. Sufficient plots will be done to obtain at least a one percent (1%) sample of the treated area.

6.3 Each inspection plot will be evaluated for compliance with the above mentioned requirements. Plots meeting all contract specifications will receive 10 points. Plots found to have one contract violation will receive 5 points. Plots found to have two or more contract violations will receive no points. Any plot having a cut or damaged conifer leave tree will receive no points.

6.4 - Work Quality Percentage

6.4.a - The work quality percentage is derived from data developed from inspection plots in the following manner:

Divide the total number of points earned by the total number of points possible multiplied by 100 equals the work quality percentage.

EXAMPLE:

Number of plots inspected - 5 Total points possible (10 x 5) - 50 Total points earned - 45 WQP - (45/50) x 100 = 90%

7. ACCEPTANCE

7.1 Work will be accepted or rejected on a unit basis.

7.2 Acceptable Quality Level (AQL) - A minimum AQL of 85 percent Work Quality Level is required.

7.3 Unsatisfactory Work Quality.

Based on inspection results, if a unit falls below the AQL of 85 percent, the Contractor will be given the opportunity to improve the quality of the work. If the quality of the work is not raised to the AQL of 85 percent, the CO may issue a suspend work order to resolve the problem, during which time contract performance time will continue to run.

7.4 REINSPECTION

After the contractor has re-worked areas failing to meet AQL, re-inspection will be performed. If the unit again fails to meet the AQL of 85 percent, the CO has the option of accepting the unit at the work quality percent calculated from inspection plots or of ordering the Contractor to rework the unit again. If the CO elects to accept the unit at the work quality percent calculated after rework, the Contractor will be paid based on the results of the re-inspection.

8. Contact Information

White River Field Office, 220 East Market Street, Meeker, CO 81641.

COR: Shane Pfeiffer 970-620-6957