B08_Attachment_1_PWS_NFO_BFO_Conifer_Removal.pdf

SECTION C:

DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATIONS/PERFORMANCE WORK

STATEMENT

C.1 SCOPE OF WORK

The Contractor shall provide all personnel, equipment, tools, materials, supervision, and other items and incidental services necessary to perform manual cutting and scattering.

This contract is for manual lop and scatter for fuels reduction, conifer encroachment to improve grassland sagebrush steppe health, grazing and wildlife habitat improvement on approximately 5,028 acres.

Please use this Performance Work Statement (PWS) to assist with quotes.

• The project does not have public access. Access through adjacent private lands has been granted by landowners for the duration of this specific project. Loss of access to the contractor due to negligence or poor management practices on the contractor’s behalf is the sole responsibility of the contractor and the

Government cannot be held liable. Contract crews will utilize existing two-track roads, when feasible, to access the project area. Off-road travel will only be permissible when the surface is dry or frozen to minimize impacts. The contractor at their expense, will repair ruts and road damage caused by the contractor. ATV’s and

UTV’s may be utilized to facilitate crew and equipment transport, and to support medical incidents.

• The Government assumes no obligation to plow snow or perform special maintenance to keep roads open. All garbage must be removed from the work sites.

Overnight work camp is allowed on BLM managed lands; contractor must approve location with COR and abide by all fire restrictions and/or camping restrictions and follow leave no trace guidelines once camp is vacated.

• Contractor is expected to utilize Avenza (or like product) to know boundaries, georeferenced maps will be provided for potential bidders, and shapefile may be provided to contractor at time of award. Contractor must be aware of unit boundaries by an Avenza or OnX like app to make sure work aligns with PWS and Map.

• Close all gates.

Base all quotes on site specific conditions and prescriptions.

North Buffalo Creek Unit 1- 1,566 acres

North Windmill Creek Unit 2- 618 acres

North Buffalo Creek is 18 miles northeast of Leiter, Sheridan County, Wyoming. T56N, R78W, Sections 1 and 12. T56N, R77W, Section 5 and 6. T57N, R77W, Section 32.

North Windmill Creek is 25 miles southeast of Leiter, Campbell County, Wyoming. Legal description for the project is T54N, R75W, Sections 17, 20, and 21.

The distance between the two project areas is 40 miles.

Bidders are highly encouraged to attend a pre-bid meeting, prior to submission of bids.

This pre-bid meeting for North buffalo Creek and North Windmill Creek is tentatively scheduled for September 21, 2026 at 9:00 AM MDT at the intersection of State

Highway14/16 and Passaic road. Closest address is PO Box 184 Leiter, Wy 82837.

All interested attendees for the North Buffalo Creek and North Windmill Creek project area planning to attend pre-bid tour are required to RSVP via email to jmcclure@blm.gov or ibayer@blm.gov up to 36 hours before the tour.

The work is located on public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management

(BLM), Buffalo Field Office, in Sheridan and Campbell County.

PI’s for Buffalo projects;

Jake Mcclure (307) 670-3437 jmcclure@blm.gov

Isaac Bayer (307) 670-2413 ibayer@blm.gov

Newcastle Field Office Project areas:

Buck Draw project area is approximately 10 miles south of the city of Moorcroft, WY.

The work is located on public lands in Weston County administered by the Bureau of Land

Management's (BLM), Newcastle Field Office.

Buck Draw Unit 3- Approximately 2,844 acres on Bureau of Land Management Public domain lands located in parts of:

Township 48N, Range 68W sections 13, 15, 23, 24, 25 and 26

Township 48N, Range 67W, section 31

Township 47N, Range 68W, sections 1, 2, 4, and 9

Township 47N, Range 67W, sections 6, 17, and 19

Bidders are highly encouraged to attend a pre-bid meeting prior to submission of bids. This pre-bid meeting for Buck Draw is tentatively scheduled for September 22, 2026 @ 09:00 AM MDT at the Newcastle BLM Field Office, 1101 Washington Blvd.

Newcastle, WY.

Buffalo Field Office Project Areas:

mailto:jmcclure@blm.gov mailto:ibayer@blm.gov mailto:jmcclure@blm.gov

PI’s for Newcastle:

Scott Manahan 307-941-1412

Jonathan Sloan 307-941-2477

COR for contract Dave Morrill 307-941-0435

C.2 DEFINITIONS

C.2.1 General Definitions

ACCEPTABLE QUALITY LEVEL (AQL). Maximum deviation from the performance standard.

PERFORMANCE BASED ACQUISITION. A contracting method intended to ensure that required performance quality levels are achieved and that the Contractor’s total payment is related to the degree services meet contract performance standards.

PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS SUMMARY (PRS). An abridged version (summary) of the Performance Work Statement showing contract requirements, tasks/subtasks, standards, and acceptable quality levels. The PRS may also contain an abridged version of

Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan showing the Government’s method of surveillance, incentives, and fee reductions for not meeting standards.

PERFORMANCE STANDARD. Standard of performance required by the Government.

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT (PWS). Specific requirements the Contractor must meet in performance of the contract. The PWS contains required services (tasks/critical subtasks), performance standards, acceptable quality levels, and incentives/disincentives.

QUALITY ASSURANCE. Actions taken by the Government to assure services meet contract requirements.

QUALITY ASSURANCE SURVEILLANCE PLAN (QASP) OR QUALITY ASSURANCE

PLAN (QAP). A written document showing Government surveillance method and scheduling to be used to assess the Contractor’s performance against the performance standard.

QUALITY CONTROL. Those actions taken by a Contractor to control the performance of services to ensure services meet the requirements of the PWS.

C.2.2 Technical Definitions

None

C.3 GOVERNMENT-FURNISHED PROPERTY

C.3.1

None

C.4 CONTRACTOR FURNISHED ITEMS

The Contractor shall provide all personnel, equipment, tools, materials, supervision, and other items and incidental services necessary to fulfill Manual cutting and lop and scatter treatments in accordance with local site-specific specifications contained herein.

C.4.1 Inspection

The Contracting Officer Representative (COR) or designated Project inspector will make periodic inspections. The Contractor or their representative is encouraged to observe the inspection and will receive inspection summaries upon request. Contractor is also welcome to request inspections to gauge contract completion performance with 2 days advanced notice and at convenience of government. Prior to final inspection of project contractor shall notify

COR five days prior to schedule.

Acreage is figured on horizontal plane within project area. Inspections assess overall completion to contract specifications thru random sampling and/or standard forestry cruise methods, (i.e. transect, random plots 1/10 acre) to get overall completion. Percent completion shall include acres manually thinned and piled to full completion of the prescription, the following items shall be pass/fail throughout project area, excessive road/resource damage, cleanliness, and fulfilment of overall statement of work conditions.

C.4.2 Basis of Payment

After final inspection of project area, the Contracting Officer or designated representative will assess if completion of contract is 100 percent or greater.100 percent or better shall be considered full completion and full awarded amount.

C.5 TASKS/CRITICAL SUBSTASKS AND STANDARDS

C.5.1 Manual Cutting and Scattering (lop and scatter)

5,028-acre treatment

Standard/AQL:

Performance

Period December 1, 2026- August 15, 2027

Description The project’s goal is to carry out conifer removal to improve grassland health, reduce fuels, and improve wildlife habitat improvement.

Boundaries are virtual so contractor is expected to utilize Avenza or

Georeferenced mapping programs. To utilize georeferenced PDF maps and/or shape files of which government will provide for the bidding and completing of project at request.

It is expected of contractor to be utilizing Avenza, or other reliable GPS georeferenced maps programs to bid, and complete project to specifications and

PDF maps given by government.

If contractor needs any lines flagged, please notify COR and PI as far ahead as possible so fieldwork can be scheduled.

Detailed Unit

Information Unit# Treatment Acres

1 Manually Lop and Scatter 1,556

2 Manually Lop and Scatter 618

3 Manually Lop and Scatter 2,844

Total 5,028

C.6 SPECIFICATIONS

• All equipment shall be washed and cleaned prior to entry to project area, and free of all debris and possible seed sources. Start date shall be scheduled with COR so equipment inspection by BLM representative can be done onsite (or Newcastle field office, whichever is more convenient to contractor) prior to work commencing.

• Work is to be completed using manual severing (chainsaw) and manually scatter of material.

• Roads shall always remain open for vehicle traffic.

• The contractor shall be responsible for signing work area prior to entering work zone.

Prescription Manual Lop and Scatter

• Cut and scatter all Rocky Mountain juniper, all sizes.

• Stump heights shall be cut flat (no punji sticks) and no more than 4” height on uphill side.

• All branches must be removed from remaining stump.

• All branches must be removed from the tree bole.

• All severed material will be cut to less than 4 feet in length.

• All severed material will be lopped to less than 18 inches in height.

• In areas of high tree densities, material may have to be manually scattered to prevent heavy fuel concentrations.

Fire Protection For heavy equipment and/or logging forest activities and/or Chipping, Mastication machinery must adhere to all below.

Manual contractors conducting work with chainsaws and manual piling/lop and scatter, only need to adhere to year-round equipment and Extreme/Red flag shutdown.

1. The following equipment will be provided and maintained by the

Purchaser/Contractor on the contract area year-round:

a. Firefighting tools maintained in serviceable condition shall be kept at each active landing and at such other places as the Contracting Officer shall designate whenever people are working on the contract areas. All firefighting tools shall be kept in a closed box marked “FOR FIRE USE

ONLY”. There shall not be less than four tools in each box or less than one tool for each person working on the contract area. Three-fourths of all fire tools shall be shovels or other scraping tools.

b. Each unit of mobile or stationary equipment, including trucks of

23,000 GVW or greater, engaged in commercial activities operating on the contract area or over roads leading to the contract area must be equipped with one operable fire extinguisher or a dry chemical type of not less than 2-

1/2 pounds (1.125 kilogram) capacity with 4 BC or higher rating.

c. Power saw operators shall maintain in their immediate possession a fully charged operable fire extinguisher and a serviceable round pointed

#0 shovel or larger. The extinguisher shall be a liquid chemical type of at least 8 ounces (224 grams) capacity or a dry chemical type of at least

1 pound (0.454 kilogram capacity). Fueling of a saw shall be done in an area which has been cleared of all flammable organic material. Saws shall be moved at least 10 feet from the place of fueling before engine is started.

d. Power saws must be equipped with a muffler and screen type spark arrestor in accordance with the standards set forth in the U.S. Forest Service Spark

Arrestor Guide. Power saws used in commercial activities and purchased after December 31, 1980, must also be equipped with a muffler system conforming to the Society of Automotive Engineers Standard J-335b, as set forth in the U.S. Forest Service Spark Arrestor Guide.

e. Exhaust driven turbochargers qualify as efficient spark arresters provided all exhaust gases pass through the turbine impeller. The turbine impeller must always be turning and there may be no exhaust bypass. A straight-mechanical-driven supercharger does not qualify. (1) All internal combustion engines operated on forested lands must be equipped with an approved and effective spark arresting device. (2) Motorbikes, trail cycles, scooters, and other mobile vehicles of this type and all stationary internal combustion engine-driven equipment used on the contract area or over roads leading to the contract area, must be equipped with spark arresting devices listed as approved in the U.S. Forest Service Spark Arrestor Guide.

Spark arresting devices must be plainly marked with the manufacturer's name and model number and must be properly installed and maintained in accordance with the guide. Heavy trucks may have a vertical stack exhaust system and muffler, provided the exhaust stack extends above the cab of the vehicle.

2. Fire watch

a. From June 1st to October 15th a one-hour fire watch is required to be on duty for 1 hour after the last shutdown of power-driven equipment for the day, or during times when NFDR as displayed by Casper Interagency dispatch by zone in which work is conducted is moderate or above.

b. Fire watch must be physically capable and experienced in operating any firefighting tools, or equipment on-site.

c. Furnished with adequate transportation and communications to report a fire.

d. Must be able to visually inspect area work was done during the day.

3. The Contractor shall attempt, to the best of its ability and training, to extinguish all fires started by Purchaser, its agents, or employees.

4. The Purchaser shall promptly report any fires to Casper Interagency Dispatch 1-

800-295-9952 or call 911

5. The Purchaser is responsible for complying with all State, Local, county, and/or

Federal fire restrictions, or emergency closures given by authorized officer in the interest of public safety.

6. The Authorized officer and his/her contract administrators or designated BLM employee shall regularly inspect all precautionary fire equipment and required fire protection practices contained within this fire protection section. Failure of purchaser to follow guidelines and procedures contained within will result in an immediate stop work order until Fire protection guidelines and/or required equipment/actions are established onsite and in good working order. The government shall not be held responsible for any delays in contract performance period resulting from stop work orders from non-compliance with fire protection clauses.

Purchaser shall look up fire danger rating on Casper Interagency dispatch webpage daily. The following are guidelines purchaser must follow given danger rating.

https://gacc.nifc.gov/rmcc/dispatch_centers/r2cpc/

Low (L) - Green

Year-round fire precaution equipment required.

Moderate (M) - Blue

Fire watch required as well as year-round fire precaution equipment mentioned above.

High (H) - Yellow

Fire watch required as well as year-round fire precaution equipment mentioned above.

Very High (VH) - Orange

Fire watch required as well as year-round fire precaution equipment mentioned above and-(Only for loggers and heavy equipment, Manual contractors and/or chippers are not required to have below standards)

In addition, a pump truck/trailer must be on site and within 5 minutes roundtrip of active felling and/or skidding operations, or road building activities. Operator is expected to move pump/truck trailer within 5 min personnel roundtrip of active operations daily.

Pump truck/trailer min. requirements.

1. 500 gallon min. Capacity

2. Minimum of 500 feet of 1” and/or 1 ½” inch cotton or synthetic jacket hose. (Required in definition of pump truck)

2. One variable stream nozzle with shut-off

3. Twenty feet of suction hose and a strainer suitable for pump to use to draft.

4. Fuel tank and hose line, if required for pump, with enough fuel to operate the pump for a period of four hours.

5. One grease gun, filled with grease, if the pump requires periodic lubrication.

6. Six extra hose washers for each hose/nozzle size.

7. One or more spanner wrenches of sizes suitable to fit the hose.

8. One reducer, matching the thread type of the hose type referenced in #1, if both hose sizes are used

9. If the pump is operated by an engine other than the truck engine, it must be equipped https://gacc.nifc.gov/rmcc/dispatch_centers/r2cpc/ so that it can be started with a starter rope and the following additional accessories are required:

a. Two quarts of crankcase oil, if required for pump engine.

b. Two starter ropes if pump is pull start

c. Sufficient extra spark plugs to replace all spark plugs in the pump engine.

d. One spark plug wrench unless crescent is suitable

e. One slip joint pliers, 6 inch

f. One screwdriver, 4 inch

g. One crescent wrench, 10 inch.

In combination with above Tractor, skidder, feller-buncher, forwarder or shovel logging operations where tractors, skidders, or other equipment with a blade capable of constructing Fireline are immediately available to quickly reach and effectively attack a fire start.

Extreme (E) - Red

All operations will cease.

Red flag

Contractor must monitor National weather service fire weather forecasts. In the event a red flag is issued for the zone in which operations are conducted the following restrictions are added to the above requirements. During a red flag no power saws shall be operated such as Feller bunchers, Processors, chainsaws, masticators, mowers or grinders.

Logs maybe skidded and loaded on trucks and shipped, If fire precaution equipment required by above danger ratings is met.

C.6 SPECIFICATIONS