C04_1 Appendix_A PWS_12363N26Q4224.pdf

LTBMU 2026 Hazard Tree Stewardship

Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit

ATTACHMENT 1 - APPENDIX A

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT FOR SERVICE WORK ITEMS

SECTION I – DESCRIPTION OF WORK: The objectives of this project are to protect the safety and health of our communities and increase forest health and vigor by removing hazardous trees throughout neighborhoods on the shores of Lake Tahoe. The project advances the USDA’s National Active Forest Management Strategy. This will be achieved by technical felling and removal of hazard trees around high value resources.

SECTION II – WORK ITEMS

Mandatory Item 1: Technical Felling of Hazard Trees around High Value

Resources: All Units (4 Acres)

1. Cut and remove marked hazard trees from Contract Area. There are approximately 16 trees to be felled. All trees requiring removal have been marked in green paint.

2. Directionally fell trees away from flagged resources, utilities, and private property.

3. Cut stumps to a height of 12” or less.

4. Harvest will be conducted via hand felling, tree climbing, or, if mechanical harvest is utilized, by use of equipment that exerts no more than 13 PSI of ground pressure such as rubber-tired equipment, mechanical equipment with triple bar grousers, or skid steers with rubber tires or rubber plate tracks.

Full suspension of logs during removal is required. No skidding is permitted. No tracked equipment with single- or double-barred grousers is permitted.

5. Felling shall be done to minimize damage to residual timber. If unmarked timber must be felled to gain access to or safely fell a marked tree, this unmarked timber may be felled with approval of the COR.

Any unmarked trees felled for these reasons are subject to removal outlined in Mandatory Item 1.

6. Remove all sound bole material > 4.0” in diameter. Any unsound material may be left on site with approval of the COR.

7. Slash and tops <4.0” in diameter may be chipped on site or removed. If chipped on site, chips are to be distributed throughout the project area. Chip depth shall be limited to an average of 4 inches.

SECTION III – CONTROL OF WORK

The Contractor agrees to conduct its operations under this contract and other related business activities in compliance with Federal, State, and local statutes, standards, orders, permits and other regulations. The Contractor shall meet all State and local environmental quality laws applicable to National Forest system lands.

Ground-based mechanical treatments in the Tahoe Basin are generally limited to the normal operating season (May 2 – October 14); however, exceptions to allow operations during the grading season (October 15 – May 1) may be granted and winter operations may occur based on operable conditions and receipt of a proper permit from regulatory agencies. Note: since no road maintenance is required, Attachment 6 - Wet Weather Operating Plan is applicable to the harvest areas and fueling sites only.

Tahoe Regional Planning Agency noise ordinance states that operations are to occur between the hours of 8:00 AM and 6:00 PM. Due to heavy summer recreational use, no work shall occur on the following Federal holidays: Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day. In addition, no work shall be performed on the weekends that immediately precede, coincide with or directly follow these holidays.

All equipment and vehicles operating off-road must be free of invasive plant material before moving into the project area. Equipment will be considered clean when visual inspection does not reveal soil, seeds, plant

LTBMU 2026 Hazard Tree

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Work may be done any time during the term of the contract, except under the following conditions:

1. When conditions are such that operations shall be restricted or ceased due to increased fire risk,

2. When seasonal operating restrictions for active raptor nests are in effect. All active nest sites and areas of restriction are shown on CAM and listed in the solicitation under Protection Measures Needed for Plants Animals, Cultural Resources, and Cave Resources.

Restrictions would apply:

a. If new nests are discovered,

3. When soil moisture conditions create excessive risk of damage to the soil,

4. When snow depth creates a situation where requirements cannot be met and/or work cannot be inspected, as determined by the COR.

5. The government reserves the right to prioritize the order in which Units are treated.

6. If any cultural or archeological sites are discovered during operations of this contract, work will be suspended in the immediate vicinity of the site until a reconnaissance survey is completed by the Forest Archeologist. Areas excluded from treatment shall be deleted from the contract.

SECTION IV – INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

For All Work Items:

At any point during the project, the Contractor and/or Project Manager may request (documented through email, text, or hand-written request) an in-the-field consultation with the Forest Service to inspect work progress, review contract specifications, or clarify issues. The Forest Service shall respond to Contractor’s request within 5 working days, excluding weekends and federal holidays.

GOVERNMENT QUALITY ASSURANCE SURVEILLANCE PLAN

Government Inspection Procedures - The COR, or a designated inspector (GTM), will make periodic inspections while work is in progress, usually daily at first, as needed to assure work is proceeding satisfactorily. The Contractor shall notify the COR when units are started, when problems are encountered and when contract work needs government oversight.

1. Each unit will be inspected as a separate unit. Unit will not be averaged with other units for acceptance or payment.

2. When units are completed and ready for government inspection, Contractor’s designated Project manager shall request unit inspection in writing, prior to moving out of the general area.

3. The COR, or designated inspector, will determine compliance with contract specifications through informal visual inspections. In the event visual inspection indicates work to be in non-compliance with specifications, prompt corrective action and/or rework shall be required.

4. Treatment/removal of slash will be inspected using random sampling. In the event visual inspection indicates work to be in non-compliance with specifications, prompt corrective action and/or rework shall be required.

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Unsatisfactory Cutting

1. If the work quality is deemed unsatisfactory, the COR will immediately notify the Contractor, in writing, and order him to improve the quality of subsequent tree cutting. If the quality of subsequent tree cutting improved within 24 business hours after receipt of such written notice, the Contractor’s right to proceed may be terminated and the contract considered in default.

Reinspection Upon Contractor Request

1. If Government inspection results are unacceptable to the Contractor, a reinspection may be requested, in writing, within 5 business days after receipt of notice of said inspection results. The same inspection procedure will be used; however, the inspection pattern will be shifted so that new inspection plots will not overlap previously inspected plots.

2. If reinspection results – rounded up to the nearest whole percent – indicate a variance of more than 5 percent from the first inspection, the results of the second inspection will be used to calculate work quality and payment, and the Government will bear the cost of reinspection.

3. If reinspection results – rounded up to the nearest whole percent – are within 5 percent of the first inspection, plots from the initial inspection and the reinspection will be combined and used to calculate work quality and payment, and the Contractor shall bear the cost of reinspection.

Government Inspection Procedures – Item 1

Table 1 – Minimum Acceptable Quality Levels (AQL) of Work

ITEM DESCRIPTION SCHEDULE UNIT Min AQL

1 Technical Felling of Hazard Trees around High Value Resources MANDATORY ACRE 100%

SECTION V – PAYMENT METHODS

Method of Measurement for Acreages

Acreages were determined by using Global Positioning Systems (GPS). The acreage for each work item will be rounded to the nearest acre and is final unless:

a. The contract is modified or,

b. The Government makes a determination to remeasure or,

c. The Contractor exercises his/her option under the following Remeasurement provisions:

Remeasurement

1. The Contractor may request, in writing, remeasurement of any units under this contract if he/she feels that acreage stated on the project maps is incorrect. The remeasurement must be within the existing perimeter of the respective unit. No variance of the unit perimeters as laid out on the ground for this contract will be allowed. All requests for remeasurement must be made prior to payment for each completed unit. Remeasurement will be performed by the Government.

2. If remeasurement indicates that a variance of ten percent or less exists on units of 1 to 5 acres, five percent or less exists on units of more than five but less than 20 acres, or if three percent or less exists on units of 20 acres or larger, the Contractor shall pay for the actual costs of the remeasurement. Under this condition, payment will be made on the acreage stated on the project maps. If the remeasurement indicates the actual acreage varies by more than the above factors from that stated on the project maps, the payment will be made on the remeasured acreage and the Forest Service will pay for the cost of the remeasurement.

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Acceptance and Payment – Item 1 Technical Felling of Hazard Trees around High Value Resources

1. If informal visual inspection indicates acceptable work quality, the Contractor will be paid 100 percent of their bid rate.

2. Only one rework opportunity will be allowed for this item.

3. Percentages as calculated herein shall be rounded to the nearest whole percent.

4. No allowance for variation or portion of a variation will be added which will create a percentage greater than 100 percent.

SECTION VI – DEFINITIONS

ACCEPTABLE QUALITY LEVEL (AQL): Acceptance of work will be based on compliance with all specifications corresponding to the appropriate task(s). A minimum AQL is required for all service work

– hand or mechanical. The minimum AQL will receive a satisfactory performance rating.

BIOMASS TREES: Any conifer material 2 feet in height to 4.9 inches DBH.

BOLE SPACING: The horizontal distance in feet from the edge of one leave tree bole to another leave tree bole, measured from the outside bark of each tree.

CIRCULAR PLOT: A sample plot within a thinning unit that is used to determine the number of desirable trees and other contract specifications.

COARSE WOODY DEBRIS: Woody material left on the ground to meet wildlife habitat requirements.

CROWN RATIO: The ratio of live crown length (tip of leader to base of the crown) to total tree length/height. CROWN SPACING: The horizontal distance in feet between the dripline of a live crown to another live crown. CLEARCUT: A cutting prescription in which all trees within a boundary are designated to be cut.

CROWN RATIO: The ratio of live crown length (tip of leader to base of the crown) to total tree length/height.

CROWN SPACING: The horizontal distance in feet between the dripline of a live crown to another live crown.

CUT TREES: Trees that do not possess the characteristics of desirable leave trees and are required to be cut. As described by the contract or otherwise marked to be cut.

CUTTING UNIT: See Treatment Unit definition

DAMAGED TREES: Trees damaged beyond recovery. A tree that is larger than 2 feet in height, and has the top knocked out, is leaning more than 10 degrees, has less than one half of its original limbs, or has approximately 50% of bark removed from the circumference of the bole.

DBH: Diameter at breast height, measured at a point of 4.5 feet above the ground level on the uphill side of the tree.

DECKING: Stockpiling of trees in a designated area.

DEAD/DYING TREES: Trees with the crown foliage changing from green to red, yellow, or needleless.

Any tree that has pitch tubes indicating Mountain Pine Beetle infestation.

DESIGNATION BY SPECIES AND DIAMETER (DXSD): A cutting prescription in which species and diameter are used to determine which trees will be left and which will be cut.

DIB: Diameter inside bark.

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HANG-UP TREE: Any cut tree suspended above ground level.

HEALTHY REGENERATION: Young, healthy, dwarf mistletoe free conifers, less than 4.9 inches in diameter, free of defect or characteristics listed in Section II, 2.2.2.

LEAVE TREE: Trees that possess desirable characteristics and that serve to create the basis for designated spacing requirements or are otherwise designated to be left.

NON-SAWTIMBER TREE: For all conifer species, minimum diameter of 5 inches DBH to minimum diameter by species identified in Appendix B, Division A.

OVERSTORY REMOVAL: A cutting prescription where all trees greater than a specified size are cut. Trees less than the specified size are protected.

PAYMENT UNIT: See Treatment Unit.

PILING: Material moved to an agreed upon location shall be piled for future treatment by Forest Service.

PROGRESSION OF WORK: Work conducted in a progressive, workmanlike and orderly manner by the Contractor.

RESERVE CLUMPS: Groups of trees within a treatment area that are protected from cutting, may also include Individual Reserve trees.

SAWTIMBER TREE: Included timber meeting sawlog size specifications as defined in Appendix B, Division A.2.

SLASH: Woody material existing or created that has accumulated on the forest floor. Woody material includes logs, pieces of logs, tops, and branches.

UNIT: See Treatment Unit.

TEMPORARY ROADS: Non-permanent roads that are constructed by Contractor for the purpose of treatment unit access.

TREATMENT UNIT: An individual area on the ground in which activities will be performed and which may appear as a separate pay item in the Schedule of Items.

UNSATISFACTORY WORK: If work quality falls below the AQL, the COR will issue a work order or notice of noncompliance to the Contractor in writing. Untreated or unsatisfactory treated areas shall be reworked to obtain satisfactory work quality.

WHOLE TREE YARDING: Whole tree logging includes cutting tree and removing the entire tree, including tops and branches, to the landing.

WILDLIFE TREE: Standing tree marked to be reserved as a wildlife tree. Used by birds and small mammals for shelter, nesting, perching, etc.

SECTION VI – DEFINITIONS