BSL_Performance_Work_Statement.pdf

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT (PWS)

Red-cockaded Woodpecker Monitoring in Boiling Spring Lakes, Brunswick County, North Carolina

Part 1

General Information

1. GENERAL: This is a non-personnel services contract to provide monitoring of the red-cockaded woodpecker population in/adjacent to the City of Boiling Spring Lakes, Brunswick County, North Carolina. The Government shall not exercise any supervision or control over the contract service providers performing the services herein. Such contract service providers shall be accountable solely to the Contractor who, in turn is responsible to the Government.

1.1 Description of Services/Introduction: The contractor shall provide all personnel, equipment, supplies, facilities, transportation, tools, materials, supervision, and other items and non-personal services necessary to perform red-cockaded woodpecker population monitoring as defined in this Performance Work Statement except for those items specified as government furnished property and services. The contractor shall perform to the standards in this contract.

1.2 Background: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with the City of Boiling Spring Lakes to minimize impacts associated with residential and commercial development to the red-cockaded woodpecker population that lives within the City limits. Red-cockaded woodpecker groups that live within Boiling Spring Lakes are part of a larger population that includes several groups on Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point, safe harbor groups on Orton Plantation, and groups on other State and private properties adjacent to Boiling Spring Lakes. Red-cockaded woodpecker monitoring within Boiling Spring Lakes is essential to assisting the City, real estate developers and landowners in minimizing or avoiding impacts to the species, and to provide information for directing conservation actions to sustain and potentially grow the Brunswick County red-cockaded woodpecker population.

1.3 Objectives:

• Provide an update and report the status of all known red-cockaded woodpecker cavity trees within the project area (City limits, plus 200-ft buffer), including the stage and condition of all cavities available to red-cockaded woodpeckers.

• Provide more accurate spatial data representing red-cockaded woodpecker cavity trees and associated tree attributes (e.g., tree species, cavity conditions, etc.).

• Survey for and document any previously unknown cavity trees and new red-cockaded woodpecker clusters within typical and atypical habitat within the project area (City limits, plus 200-ft buffer).

• Determine the number and distribution of potential breeding groups and their reproduction within the City limits by tracking active clusters.

1.4 Scope: Use of available tools (Geographic Positioning Systems, Geographic Information Systems, field optics and specialized equipment e.g., peeper scopes, aerial surveys) to document the status of the red-cockaded woodpecker population and its distribution within the City of Boiling Spring Lakes. Services include digital aerial orthophotography interpretation; technical biological field data collection; pedestrian surveys for biological resources; identification, follows and observation of target bird species in forested environments; use of novel technologies to survey for identifiable biological resources in dense foliage; and use of global positioning systems to capture spatial data and associated attributes. Use of Geographic Information Systems to organize and present information and produce work products. Use of field optics (binocular, spotting scope) and specialized tools (peeper scope) to make observations. The contractor shall:

deliver a shapefile or geodatabase containing the locations of all known red-cockaded woodpecker cavity trees within Boiling Spring Lakes. Each cavity tree record will contain the attributes for each cavity found in the tree, including height, direction, stage, activity and cavity condition, and the date on which these observations were made. Deliver a shapefile showing track logs or other data to confirm the time at which each section of the project area has been surveyed for the presence of cavity trees. Identify all nest trees – cavity trees for each cluster that were used by the resident red-cockaded woodpecker breeding group for egg laying and raising young of the year. Produce a report for each cluster and potential breeding group, stating the number of adult red-cockaded woodpeckers and likely relationships of red-cockaded woodpeckers to one another within each group (e.g., breeding male/female, parent bird/offspring, etc.), record whether each bird is banded and for banded birds, write out the order/sequence of color bands (right leg, top-bottom, left leg, top-bottom); Maintain a journal/ spreadsheet to record dates and times of visits to active cavities for nest checks during egg laying. Record number of eggs, nestlings, nestlings with visible crown patches (for sex determination), and results of fledge checks – group follows to confirm the number or young produced.

Period of Performance: The period of performance shall be from January 2022 through June 2023.

1.6 General Information

1.6.1 Quality Control: The contractor shall develop and maintain an effective quality control program to ensure services are performed in accordance with this PWS. The contractor shall develop and implement procedures to identify, prevent, and ensure non-recurrence of defective services. The contractor’s quality control program is the means by which (s)he assures (her)himself that work complies with the requirement of the contract.

1.6.2 Quality Assurance: The government shall evaluate the contractor’s performance under this contract in accordance with the Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan. This plan is primarily focused on what the Government must do to ensure that the contractor has performed in accordance with the performance standards. It defines how the performance standards will be applied, the frequency of surveillance, and the minimum acceptable defect rate(s).

1.6.3 Recognized Holidays: The contractor is not required to perform services on holidays, if they can arrange to obtain time-sensitive observations before or after the holiday.

New Year’s Day Labor Day Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday Columbus Day President’s Day Veteran’s Day Memorial Day Thanksgiving Day Independence Day Juneteenth Christmas Day

1.6.4 Hours of Operation: In general, for the work the contractor will be doing, there doesn’t appear to be any need to synchronize with the Field Office. It is more important to match contract work time with red-cockaded woodpecker phenological schedules, e.g., seeing all breeding group members may require the contractor to be present two or more hours before or after normal business hours. It may be necessary for the contractor to work during weekends.

1.6.5 Place of Performance: Field data collection will be conducted in Brunswick County, North Carolina, on properties within and adjacent to the City of Boiling Spring Lakes. Data interpretation, GIS analyses and preparation of reports may be carried out at the contractor’s place of business.

1.6.6 Type of Contract: The government will award a Firm Fixed Price Contract.

1.6.7 Security Requirements: Contractor personnel performing work under this contract must have a valid driver’s license at time of the proposal submission, and must maintain the level of security required for the life of the contract.

1.6.7.1 Physical Security: The contractor shall be responsible for safeguarding all government information provided for contractor use.

1.6.7.2 Key Control: Not applicable

1.6.7.3 Lock Combinations: Not Applicable

1.6.8 Special Qualifications: The contractor is responsible for ensuring all employees are covered under a native endangered species recovery permit, and any other applicable state and federal migratory bird and endangered species permits when conducting nest check activities using video probes and peeper scopes to inspect red-cockaded woodpecker cavities.

1.6.9 Post Award Conference/Periodic Progress Meetings: The Contractor agrees to attend any post award conference convened by the contracting activity or contract administration office in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation Subpart 42.5. The contracting officer, Contracting Officers Representative (COR), and other Government personnel, as appropriate, may meet periodically with the contractor to review the contractor's performance. At these meetings the contracting officer will apprise the contractor of how the government views the contractor's performance and the contractor will apprise the Government of problems, if any, being experienced. Appropriate action shall be taken to resolve outstanding issues.

These meetings shall be at no additional cost to the government.

1.6.10 Contracting Officer Representative (COR): The (COR) will be identified by separate letter. The COR monitors all technical aspects of the contract and assists in contract administration The COR is authorized to perform the following functions: assure that the Contractor performs the technical requirements of the contract: perform inspections necessary in connection with contract performance:

maintain written and oral communications with the Contractor concerning technical aspects of the contract:

issue written interpretations of technical requirements, including Government drawings, designs, specifications: monitor Contractor's performance and notifies both the Contracting Officer and Contractor of any deficiencies; coordinate availability of government furnished property, and provide site entry of Contractor personnel. A letter of designation issued to the COR, a copy of which is sent to the Contractor, states the responsibilities and limitations of the COR, especially with regard to changes in cost or price, estimates or changes in delivery dates. The COR is not authorized to change any of the terms and conditions of the resulting order.

1.6.11 Key Personnel: The following personnel are considered key personnel by the government: contract manager, alternate contract manager and lead biologist. The contractor shall provide a contract manager who shall be responsible for the performance of the work. The name of this person and an alternate who shall act for the contractor when the manager is absent shall be designated in writing to the contracting officer. The contract manager or alternate shall have full authority to act for the contractor on all contract matters relating to daily operation of this contract. The contract manager or alternate shall be available between 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday thru Friday except Federal holidays or when the government facility is closed for administrative reasons.

1.6.12 Identification of Contractor Employees: All contract personnel attending meetings and working in other situations where their contractor status is not obvious to third parties are required to identify themselves as such to avoid creating an impression in the minds of members of the public that they are Government officials. They must also ensure that all documents or reports produced by contractors are suitably marked as contractor products or that contractor participation is appropriately disclosed.

1.6.13 Contractor Travel: Contractor will be required to travel for field work and should budget in their proposal accordingly.

1.6.14 Other Direct Costs: Not Applicable

1.6.15 Data Rights: The Government has unlimited rights to all documents/material produced under this contract. All documents and materials, to include the source codes of any software, produced under this contract shall be Government owned and are the property of the Government with all rights and privileges of ownership/copyright belonging exclusively to the Government. These documents and materials may not be used or sold by the contractor without written permission from the Contracting Officer. All materials supplied to the Government shall be the sole property of the Government and may not be used for any other purpose. This right does not abrogate any other Government rights.

1.6.16 Organizational Conflict of Interest: Contractor and subcontractor personnel performing work under this contract may receive, have access to or participate in the development of proprietary or source selection information (e.g., cost or pricing information, budget information or analyses, specifications or work statements, etc.) or perform evaluation services which may create a current or subsequent Organizational Conflict of Interests (OCI) as defined in FAR Subpart 9.5. The Contractor shall notify the Contracting Officer immediately whenever it becomes aware that such access or participation may result in any actual or potential OCI and shall promptly submit a plan to the Contracting Officer to avoid or mitigate any such OCI. The Contractor’s mitigation plan will be determined to be acceptable solely at the discretion of the Contracting Officer and in the event the Contracting Officer unilaterally determines that any such OCI cannot be satisfactorily avoided or mitigated, the Contracting Officer may affect other remedies as he or she deems necessary, including prohibiting the Contractor from participation in subsequent contracted requirements which may be affected by the OCI.

1.6.17 PHASE IN /PHASE OUT PERIOD: Not Applicable

PART 2

DEFINITIONS & ACRONYMS

2. DEFINITIONS AND ACRONYMS:

2.1. DEFINITIONS:

2.1.1. CONTRACTOR. A supplier or vendor awarded a contract to provide specific supplies or service to the government. The term used in this contract refers to the prime.

2.1.2. CONTRACTING OFFICER. A person with authority to enter into, administer, and or terminate contracts, and make related determinations and findings on behalf of the government. Note: The only individual who can legally bind the government.

2.1.3. CONTRACTING OFFICER'S REPRESENTATIVE (COR). An employee of the U.S. Government appointed by the contracting officer to administer the contract. Such appointment shall be in writing and shall state the scope of authority and limitations. This individual has authority to provide technical direction to the Contractor as long as that direction is within the scope of the contract, does not constitute a change, and has no funding implications. This individual does NOT have authority to change the terms and conditions of the contract.

2.1.4. DEFECTIVE SERVICE. A service output that does not meet the standard of performance associated with the Performance Work Statement.

2.1.5. DELIVERABLE. Anything that can be physically delivered, but may include non-manufactured things such as meeting minutes or reports.

2.1.6. KEY PERSONNEL. Contractor personnel that are evaluated in a source selection process and that may be required to be used in the performance of a contract by the Key Personnel listed in the PWS. When key personnel are used as an evaluation factor in best value procurement, an offer can be rejected if it does not have a firm commitment from the persons that are listed in the proposal.

2.1.7. PHYSICAL SECURITY. Actions that prevent the loss or damage of Government property.

2.1.8. QUALITY ASSURANCE. The government procedures to verify that services being performed by the Contractor are performed according to acceptable standards.

2.1.9. QUALITY ASSURANCE Surveillance Plan (QASP). An organized written document specifying the surveillance methodology to be used for surveillance of contractor performance.

2.1.10. QUALITY CONTROL. All necessary measures taken by the Contractor to assure that the quality of an end product or service shall meet contract requirements.

2.1.11. SUBCONTRACTOR. One that enters into a contract with a prime contractor. The Government does not have privity of contract with the subcontractor.

2.1.12. WORK DAY. The number of hours per day the Contractor provides services in accordance with the contract.

2.1.12. WORK WEEK. Monday through Friday, unless specified otherwise.

2.2. ACRONYMS:

ACOR Alternate Contracting Officer's Representative AFARS Army Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement AR Army Regulation CCE Contracting Center of Excellence CFR Code of Federal Regulations CONUS Continental United States (excludes Alaska and Hawaii) COR Contracting Officer Representative COTR Contracting Officer's Technical Representative COTS Commercial-Off-the-Shelf DA Department of the Army DD250 Department of Defense Form 250 (Receiving Report) DD254 Department of Defense Contract Security Requirement List DFARS Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement DMDC Defense Manpower Data Center DOD Department of Defense FAR Federal Acquisition Regulation HIPAA Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 KO Contracting Officer OCI Organizational Conflict of Interest OCONUS Outside Continental United States (includes Alaska and Hawaii) ODC Other Direct Costs PIPO Phase In/Phase Out POC Point of Contact PRS Performance Requirements Summary PWS Performance Work Statement QA Quality Assurance QAP Quality Assurance Program QASP Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan QC Quality Control QCP Quality Control Program TE Technical Exhibit

PART 3

GOVERNMENT FURNISHED PROPERTY, EQUIPMENT, AND SERVICES

3. GOVERNMENT FURNISHED ITEMS AND SERVICES:

3.1. Services: The Government will provide historic data on known cavity tree locations, last known cavity activity status, and any biological information regarding red-cockaded woodpecker groups as a baseline for facilitating initiation of updated monitoring. Such information will be provided through shapefiles, geodatabases, Microsoft Word, spreadsheet, or other electronic format. Fish and Wildlife Service staff may accompany the contractor during field work initially to ensure accuracy of gathered information.

3.2 Facilities: Not Applicable

3.3 Utilities: Not Applicable

3.4 Equipment: Not Applicable

3.5 Materials: The Government will provide historic data on known cavity tree locations, last known cavity activity status, and any biological information regarding red-cockaded woodpecker groups as a baseline for facilitating initiation of updated monitoring. Such information will be provided through shapefiles, geodatabases, Microsoft Word, spreadsheet, or other electronic format.

PART 4

CONTRACTOR FURNISHED ITEMS AND SERVICES

4. CONTRACTOR FURNISHED ITEMS AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

4.1 General: The Contractor shall furnish all supplies, equipment, facilities and services required to perform work under this contract that are not listed under Section 3 of this PWS.

4.2 Secret Facility Clearance: Not Applicable

4.3. Materials The Contractor shall furnish binoculars, spotting scopes, GPS units, video probe (peeper scope), range poles, compasses, clinometers and any other equipment necessary to complete cavity tree surveys, update the status of cavity trees and assess composition of red-cockaded woodpecker groups. The contractor will also need adequate geographic information system and information technology capabilities to process and interpret results of field gathered data and other requirements under this PWS.

4.4. Equipment As specified above under 4.3 plus vehicles for field work.

PART 5

SPECIFIC TASKS

5. Specific Tasks:

5.1. Basic Services. Conduct biological monitoring of red-cockaded woodpecker breeding groups and associated cavity tree clusters within/adjacent to the City of Boiling Spring Lakes, North Carolina.

5.2. Initial coordination with City and the Service to craft and use language which apprises the public of the survey effort and encourage their voluntary participation when access to private property is needed.

5.3. Conduct an update of all known cavity trees within the city limits of Boiling Spring Lakes, Brunswick County, North Carolina.

• Use Service-provided geospatial data (shapefile or geodatabase) to physically visit known cavity tree locations. Determine if the physical cavity tree location is sufficiently close to where indicated in the spatial data provided. Use GPS to log a new location for the cavity tree if the existing electronic record is more than 50 feet from the physical tree location.

• For each cavity tree, record tree species and diameter at breast height. For each cavity in each tree, record height, direction, stage, activity and condition.

• Create a new geospatial dataset (shapefile or geodatabase) containing all records representing known cavity trees with fields populated for above-listed parameters (e.g., tree species, diameter, cavity heights/directions, etc.).

5.4. Perform a comprehensive visual and field survey of red-cockaded woodpecker clusters and associated foraging habitat within the Boiling Spring Lakes City Limits.

• Conduct surveys for previously unknown cavity trees within the project area. Primary survey protocol will follow Appendix 4 of the RCW Recovery Plan, 2nd Revision.

• Where necessary, work with the Service to develop alternative techniques for surveying Pond Pine Woodland and High Pocosin. Note that “…aerial surveys document the presence of cavity trees but not their absence. Ground surveys are used to verify the results of aerial surveys and to locate all cavity trees in detected clusters” (Service 2003).

• Use GPS to record the locations of each new cavity tree identified and generate a shapefile or geodatabase containing all new records. For each cavity tree, record tree species and diameter at breast height. For each cavity in each tree, record height, direction, stage, activity and condition.

Create an attribute table that lists these data for each cavity tree/cavity.

5.5. Quantify the number of potential breeding groups and their reproduction within the City Limits by tracking active clusters.

• Within the first seven days in May, visit all active cavity trees in each cluster and scrape the tree trunk to determine if the tree contains a red-cockaded woodpecker nest. Scraping the tree should flush a brooding red-cockaded woodpecker if the breeding group has started nesting. Record date and time for each tree visited and make note of any non-red-cockaded woodpecker occupants of active cavities or if cavity competitors (e.g., red-bellied or red-headed woodpecker, European starlings, etc.) are near the active cavity.

• Where a nest is found, use a peeper scope to examine the cavity contents. Record number of eggs and/or nestlings. Where eggs or nestlings are found, schedule a return visit to the nest within nine days to peep the nest again; count number of nestlings or determine if the nest failed. Clearly identify the nest tree in the spatial data record. Record date, time, description of nest contents and any other pertinent observations.

• Where nestlings are found, refer to Table 20, Appendix 2 of the RCW Recovery Plan, 2nd Revision to determine age of the nestlings. Minimize effects on nestlings by taking pictures through the peeper scope and analyze later, when you are outside of the cluster.

• If the nest failed and the nest cavity is empty, revisit all other active trees in the cluster to determine if the breeding group has re-nested in another tree.

• Use binoculars or spotting scope to examine adult red-cockaded woodpeckers that tend the nest to determine if they are banded. If banded, record the band color combinations: right leg colors top to bottom, left leg top to bottom. This task may be conducted anytime from mid-April through July.

• At the end of the breeding season (August – September) submit the recorded information outlined in this task to the Service’s Raleigh Field Office in Microsoft Excel format.

5.6. Provide the Service with a draft report conveying and describing the deliverables (e.g., cluster by cluster assessment which includes field notes, GIS layers with metadata, MS Excel, etc.) noted in sections

5.3 – 5.5 above within 30-day of end of performance period. Deliver a final report by the end of the performance period which addresses Service comments on the draft report.

PART 6

APPLICABLE PUBLICATIONS

6. APPLICABLE PUBLICATIONS (CURRENT EDITIONS)

6.1. The Contractor must abide by all applicable regulations, publications, manuals, and local policies and procedures. PART 7

ATTACHMENT/TECHNICAL EXHIBIT LISTING

7. Attachment/Technical Exhibit List:

Attachment 1/Technical Exhibit 1 – Performance Requirements Summary

TECHNICAL EXHIBIT 1

Performance Requirements Summary The contractor service requirements are summarized into performance objectives that relate directly to mission essential items. The performance threshold briefly describes the minimum acceptable levels of service required for each requirement. These thresholds are critical to mission success.

Performance Objective (The Service required—usually a shall statement)

Standard Performance Threshold (This is the maximum error rate. It could possibly be “Zero deviation from standard”)

Method of Surveillance

PRS # 1.

The contractor shall provide a shapefile or geodatabase containing the locations of all known red-cockaded woodpecker cavity trees within the City of Boiling Spring Lakes, NC. Each record representing a cavity tree will be plotted with sub-30-foot accuracy.

Please see details in scope of work.

No more than 5 cavity trees plotted outside of 30 feet from their actual position.

Map or cavity tree coordinates may be visited on the ground.

PRS # 2

For each cavity tree represented in the shapefile/database, the tree species, diameter at breast height, and any auxiliary tag numbers associated with the tree shall be recorded in the attribute table. Also for each cavity tree record, the number of cavities in the tree shall be quantified. For each cavity, the height, direction (in degrees), activity and condition shall be recorded.

Please see details in scope of work.

No known active completed cavity should be unreported.

Features may be visited in the field for verification.

PRS # 3

The contractor shall provide a record of each area surveyed for the presence of unknown cavity trees. This record may include spatial data such as track logs gathered through GPS, shape files or maps.

Please see details in scope of work. Must include one or more ways to document surveyed area and convey that visually.

Surveyed acreages may be re-visited randomly or selectively by Service staff.

PRS # 4

By mid- April, the contractor shall develop a list with locations of all trees containing active and possibly active, completed cavities in each cluster within the Boiling Spring Lakes City Limits. This list shall be used to guide the search for red-cockaded woodpecker nests at the onset of egg-laying (last week of April through May).

Please see details in scope of work. No deviation from standard unless approved by COTR

Map or cavity tree coordinates may be visited on the ground.

PRS #5

By the end of June, the contractor shall produce a list of cavity trees where nests were detected, and the list of trees the contractor continued to monitor/check for nests for red-cockaded woodpecker groups that failed to nest or suffered nest failure.

Please see details in scope of work. No deviation from standard unless approved by COTR

Map or cavity tree coordinates may be visited on the ground.

PRS #6

By the end of the calendar year, the contractor shall provide a draft report with cluster by cluster assessment of all known cavity trees, and associated attribute data outlined above, as well as each tree’s assignment to cluster. The contractor will also provide a report summarizing likely breeding group composition, including a breakdown of information used to assign cavity trees to clusters.

Provide the Service with a draft report conveying and describing the deliverables (e.g., cluster by cluster assessment which includes field notes, GIS layers with metadata, MS Excel, etc.) noted in sections

5.3 – 5.5 above within 30-day of end of performance period. Deliver a final report by the end of the performance period which addresses Service comments on the draft report.

No deviation from standard unless approved by COTR

Email confirmation of reports received