BNR-Dist_14_SOW_(1).pdf

Statement of Work for District 14 Range Inventory

This Statement of Work (SOW) outlines a vegetation survey contract for the Fort Defiance Agency Branch of Natural Resources on the Navajo Reservation. The contractor must conduct a comprehensive vegetation survey across District 14, encompassing 553,009 acres (with 80,209 acres inventoried using Commercial Forest data). The survey area is divided into five grazing range units: Naschitii Unit 1 (182,946 acres), Tohatchi Unit 2 (126,296 acres), Coyote Canyon Unit 3 (117,328 acres), Mexican Spring Unit 4 (57,340 acres), and Twin Lake Unit 5 (69,099 acres). The work is required to determine carrying capacities and stocking rates for each land management district in compliance with the Navajo Grazing Regulation (25 CFR 167.6).

The contractor must collect and compile forage production data from 1,000 transects using double sampling methodology, with field data collection preferably beginning in July 2025. Data collection involves establishing 9.6 square-foot plots every 10 paces along 200-foot transects, estimating vegetation production by species, clipping and weighing harvested samples, and recording results in specified spreadsheet formats with GPS UTM coordinates. The contractor must provide all necessary personnel, equipment (including GPS units, scales, sampling frames, clippers, vehicles, and drying capability), transportation, and materials. Deliverables include original transect production data sheets, a final report with District 14 map showing carrying capacity in sheep units per year (SUYL), and six copies each of the final report and digital CD copies. The contractor's field supervisor or designated representative must hold a Bachelor of Science degree in disciplines such as range science, range ecology, plant biology, or related ecological sciences, with demonstrated land navigational skills and experience in isolated terrain work.