B44151 Vendor Questions and Agency Responses.docx

Bid# 25-422DNR-DIREC-B-44151 Iroquois Large Sedge Meadow Woody Vegetation Control

Q&A - Vendor Questions and Agency Responses

1. What is the max DBH on trees to be girdled since it is stated that tress 6” DBH and below are basal barked while tress lager than 6” DBH are girdled? There is no limit on the maximum size that trees may be. But similar work was done in the two western sections (22 and 23) 20 years ago so most trees should not be too big around. In section 24 (the eastern section, some of the pin oaks could be 18-24” DBH. Those boundaries will be easy to discern as the herbaceous vegetation will still be sedge meadow species (grasses and carex hirta).

1. Will other invasive species be expected to be treated as well if they are not listed on the target species list in the document? Yes. There will be sassafras, black gum, maybe some sycamores, and others etc. You may run into a thicket of buckthorn that I am unfamiliar with. Trees will be treated, native shrubs like dogwoods, black chokeberry, willows, etc will not be treated.

1. How and when do you measure the performance standard of the 75=80% mortality rate? This is just an estimate. Most of the trees to control will be pin oaks, silver maples, cottonwoods, and other species that are not rhizomatous. You should have near 100% success in controlling those species unless you apply the herbicide when its zero degrees out and it does now move within the plant. The only species that are difficult to completely control is aspen and sassafras. I estimate that I achieve about 60-80% control when I treat a clone of these species. I expect similar results from the Vendor, which will be visually assessed upon project completion to determine if efficacy was close.

1. Are the specific project polygons listed in ArcGIS so they are obvious when the crew is working? No. The polygons are not completely accurate. They are based on where we observed clumps of trees when we completed a drone flight and then hand drawn on a map. So, the clump that will require treatment may be a bit smaller or larger than the polygon drawn on the job. Better to treat the entire clump than to treat just ½ and move on because the circle on the map did not completely encompass the clump of trees. I can upload a polygon a to ARC if you still want it, but it still won’t entirely accurate.

1. If we exhaust all hours and did not get through the entire site, are we expected to continue working through the contracted amount or will there be a change order for additional hours? IF you exhaust all your hours and are not done then the project just ends. There will only be a limited number of additional hours depending on your bid price. There may be fewer hours.

1. Can we drive our trucks on the paths to get to the project areas? You will be allowed to drive access lanes to start the day and end the day but not for continuous back and forth, so you should bring all your supplies in the morning. The access roads and release lanes will become too wet to wet to drive around the end of October into November, on average.

1. Are there any times that we are not allowed to work such as the weekend or during a specific hunting season, when people are using the trap range, etc? You can’t work the weekends and you can’t work during the first and second shotgun seasons (Nov 22-24, Dec 5-8), the muzzlemoader (Dec 13-15) season, or the youth firearm hunt (October 12-14).

There is an active bowhunting program throughout the site from October 1st through January 19th. We would like to know ahead of time when you plan to be on site so bowhunters can be informed.