C04_Attch 1 - Statement of Work.pdf

US Department of Agriculture (USDA)

Statement of Work

Contents Project General Information

1.0 Scope of Work

2.0 Background

Contractor Requirements

3.0 Technical Requirements / Tasks

4.0 Government Furnished

5.0 Deliverables / Schedule

6.0 Travel

7.0 Contractor’s Key Personnel

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Project River (05) – CON – Trails, Packing Contract

General Information

1.0 Scope of Work

The purpose of this contract is to secure the services of Packers and pack mules or horses for one year to transport food, supplies, and equipment, for work in and adjacent to the Trinity Alps, Russian, and Marble Mountain Wilderness Areas located in Northern California, in support of KNF Post-Fire Trail Recovery work. The contractor shall provide up to 20 pack mules or horses and any necessary riding horses or mules for Animal Packers and assistants, sufficient to transport the specified quantity of food, supplies, and equipment with one week’s notice for any changes to scheduled days.

Packing support will include a variety of the following: Inserting food, supplies, and equipment to establish a base camp, resupplying a base camp, drop- packing at a pre-determined site, and packing supplies and equipment out at the end of a hitch.

Contractors will be working with government staff, agency partners and volunteers, and other entities.

2.0 Background

Several consecutive severe wildfire seasons have dramatically impacted the Klamath Nation Forest trail system. Fires such as the Wallow (2017), River Complex (2021), and McCash (2021) have collectively burned 359,441.97 acres in the Klamath, Shasta-Trinity, and Six Rivers National Forests. The damage to many of the trails has been so severe, they have become unnavigable. Returning these trails to standard and maintaining them will require increasing workforce capacity. Trail maintenance has been deferred for years on many of the trail miles. Some trails have become obscured by the growth of dense brush, and others are contributing sediment to streams because of eroding soils from the trail tread. Burned trees have begun to fall across some of the system trails, making public access to some portions of the wilderness extremely difficult for hikers and impassable to stock. The Klamath National Forest is partnered with multiple stakeholders and requires contract packing for one year to augment the KNF stock program’s capacity to supply Forest Service, Partner, and Volunteer crews with food, supplies, and equipment.

Contractor Requirements

3.0 Technical Requirements / Tasks

Contractor transports food, tools, camp, and other necessary supplies via pack stock to established backcountry locations. Packers will be required and must have the ability to pack non-typical loads. Loads may include, but are not limited to, items such as wooden posts and signs, food, tools, crosscut saws, rock bars, 5-gallon propane bottles.

Packing, transporting, and unloading pack stock is the responsibility of the contractor. Contractor will prepare loads to be hauled. It is the responsibility of the contractor to ensure that food is properly stored i.e. perishable items in coolers, delicate food items protected, during transport.

Each day of packing will be planned for one or more strings, a string comprised of one packer and five pack animals.

Trips will be no more than 20 miles roundtrip, from the trailheads listed below. Packing may be planned for more than one trailhead on the same day. 30 days will be scheduled at an initial pre-planning meeting upon award, and subject to change with no less than one week’s notice from the Government. The Contractor may choose to black out 20 days over the period of performance if not available due to competing obligations. Priority packing days will be scheduled in July, August, September October of 2026, days may be requested outside of the priority window with no less than one week’s notice from the Government.

Contractor will furnish all saddles, ropes, tarps, and associated pack gear sufficient to transport items.

Total number of loads will vary according to project needs, but anticipated number of loads range from 5 to 20.

Contractor will be responsible for backhauling one to two loads of trash as well as any empty coolers and propane tanks at each re-supply for crews which remain in the mountains. Trash and coolers will be deposited by the contractor at Bridge Street facility in Fort Jones, CA or other agreed upon alternate location.

Loads may weigh no more than 160 lbs. maximum and 100 lbs. minimum unless the dimension of the load prohibits meeting the minimum amount.

Items to be packed will be transported to an agreed upon location. Items will be available to build loads at an agreed upon time.

All food and supply deliveries shall arrive at camp on requested dates.

Other packing services may be requested to deliver signs, posts, and other materials into project locations. Packers may be requested to install directional signs within the wilderness areas.

The Forest may require additional pack support if pack support for wildfire suppression preempts planned work for the forest pack string.

The contractor should expect to pack to and through recent fire footprints and take adequate measures to safeguard themselves and their stock. Work locations will be trailheads located on the Klamath National Forest accessing the Trinity Alps, Russian, and Marble Mountain Wilderness Areas. Projects requiring pack support have been scheduled but are subject to change due to unforeseen circumstances and depend upon field season conditions including snow, high water, unforeseen road or trail failures, and fire season.

Contractor will follow the Leave No Trace principles described in the booklet “Horse Use Leave No Trace Skills and Ethics” available from lnt.org.

Contractor operations shall comply with the FSH 6709.11 Health and Safety Code Handbook: Chapter 50, Employee Safety, Security, and Health, Section 55, Temporary Camps.

Partner and volunteer camps are drug and alcohol free. No alcohol or drugs will be allowed in camp or around Forest Service employees, partners, or volunteers. Failure to comply with this drug and alcohol-free environment will be cause for default of this contract. As in all workplaces, consuming drugs or alcohol while at work, or arriving at work while inebriated, will be cause for default of this contract. This applies both to the principal contractor and any associates operating with them under this contract. Behavior that suggests to the reasonable person that they are witnessing intoxication shall be documented and advanced to the CO for further review and action up to and including termination of the contract for cause.

Any issues that the contractor identifies will be discussed with the COR, CO, or Technical Point of Contact as appropriate.

Contractor must be located within 100 miles of Fort Jones, CA due to the logistical constraints of transporting stock to and from trailheads up to 100 miles from the central location of Fort Jones, CA on at least 20 separate days.

4.0 Government Furnished

Food and supplies to be packed will be provided to the contractor for packing at agreed upon location. The Government will supply coolers and bear boxes as applicable for use in transporting perishable goods. The Government will transport supplies to be packed to the agreed upon location at an agreed upon time. All transportation costs shall be the responsibility of the contractor. Contractor is responsible for loss, damage, or destruction of property provided by the Government. Damage more than $200 to items being transported shall be replaced by the contractor in kind and delivered to intended location within 48 hours or an agreed length of time.

5.0 Deliverables / Schedule

Purpose of the contract is to supplement Klamath National Forest Stock Program capacity, including pack support for some but not all the following planned work trips. Single-day trips are anticipated from the following trailheads on dates that will be discussed. (All planned dates subject to change due to unforeseen circumstances and depending upon field season conditions including snow, high water, unforeseen road or trail failures, and fire season.):

• Rush Creek Trailhead

• Lover’s Camp Trailhead

• Paradise Lake Trailhead

• Mule Bridge Trailhead

• Little North Fork Trailhead from Cherry Creek Rd

• Etna Summit Trailhead for PCT north

• Shelly Fork Trailhead

• Kidder Lake Trailhead

• Big Flat Trailhead

• South Fork of the Salmon

• Five Dollar Camp

• High Point Trailhead

• Deacon Lee Trailhead

• Cherry Creek Road Trailhead

• Shackleford Trailhead

• Other trailheads may be included if agreed upon by Contractor and CO, none will be further from Scott Valley than the trailheads identified above.

Confirm trip and anticipated number of loads with COR or Technical POC via phone or email one week prior to the delivery dates. Confirm successful delivery, disposal of garbage, and location of empty coolers and propane tanks with COR or Technical POC upon trip completion.

6.0 Travel

The Contractor is responsible for all travel and transport.

7.0 Contractor’s Key Personnel

Animal Packer or Packers with sufficient experience packing unusual loads over steep, rocky terrain, and navigating remote FS system roads with a loaded horse trailer.