C04b Performance Work Statement 1284LM27Q0001.docx

Performance Work Statement

Cultural Resource Evaluation and Documentation Dakota Prairie Grasslands

DESCRIPTION OF WORK and PROJECT LOCATION

Project Location The Sand Creek Road Cultural Site Evaluation project is evaluation of 25 previously identified cultural sites along approximately 6 miles of road located in McKenzie County on the McKenzie Ranger District of the Dakota Prairie Grasslands in T153N R96W Sec. 5, 6, 9,10, 11, 12. Map of the project area will be included.

Cultural Resource Evaluation and Documentation

The USFS is requesting that 25 unevaluated sites within a 50 ft ROW of Sand Creek Road (McKenzie County Road 2) have evaluative testing. A list of these sites is provided in Table 1. The testing will be done in two phases. The intent of this contract is phase one. Phase one is shovel testing to determine the presence or absence of buried cultural material. Phase two will be formal testing to determine if found cultural deposits represent intact cultural components will be done at a later time and is not part of this contract. Many of the cairn sites have lithic materials found at these locations. The presence of lithic materials suggests that there may be evidence of open camp activities.

1. Complete evaluation of 25 sites. The entire site area should be evaluated with focus on the portions of the sites within the 50 ft ROW of Sand Creek Road.

a. Complete shovel testing to determine if there are intact deposits remaining. No shovel testing is to be conducted within 5 m of cairns. All cairns are to be reassessed to determine if they are field clearing piles. No shovel testing is to be conducted inside of or within 2 m of stone circles

b. All sites are to be remapped with the sketch maps illustrating all of the known disturbances and the location of the shovel testing.

c. All cultural material (except FCR) recovered from shovel testing is to be collected and curated at the ND Heritage Center.

d. All shovel tests need to be a minimum of 30 cm in diameter and excavated bedrock soils or sediments that are not conducive to having cultural material. Soil profiles need to be described using standard archaeological methodology. All disturbances observed within the soil profiles need to be noted. Examples of these disturbances may include but are not limited to historic cultivation, road construction, and pipeline construction.

2. Shovel testing results will need to be documented in a Class III Cultural Resource report. The report must meet North Dakota State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) guidelines. Provide a draft copy (digital) of the report to the district archaeologist for review. The Forest Service archeologist will review the report to meet the quality and requirements of the agency and the SHPO guidelines. If needed, the report will be sent back to the contractor for corrections. Once all corrections have been made, the Forest Service will approve the report.

Upon receiving approval from the district archaeologist, mail one printed (paper) copy of the report and email a digital copy of the report, a shapefile of the inventory area, and resource shapefiles to the district archaeologist at the Medora Ranger District Offices in Dickinson, North Dakota. As the lead Federal Agency, the Dakota Prairie Grasslands is responsible for consultation and will therefore submit the reports to consulting parties.

Technical Requirements and Conditions:

1) An annual Archaeological Resource Protection Act (ARPA) permit is required to conduct cultural resource inventories on the DPG. If a contractor does not hold an annual permit, the ARPA permit must be obtained prior to conducting work

2) Resumes/curriculum vitae of Principal Investigators and field leads (as identified in the ARPA permit) must accompany the final report.

3) The contractor shall meet the qualifications found in Appendix A of 36 CFR Part 61.

4) The collection of surface artifacts is NOT authorized under this contract unless the Principal Investigator determines them to be in imminent danger of destruction.

5) No permanent datums are to be installed at sites.

6) The format for reporting inventory results will be approved by the Dakota Prairie Grasslands and the North Dakota SHPO.

7) Units of measurement for historical sites should be Imperial and units for precontact period sites should be metric.

It is important to note that all submissions MUST follow the above standards, or the work will be returned to the contractor for correction. Neither the Forest Service nor the North Dakota State Historic Preservation Office will provide clerical services for the purposes of completing these contract requirements.

GOVERNMENT FURNISHED PROPERTY

There is no government furnished property for this contract.

PROJECT SCHEDULE AND DELIVERY DEADLINES

· Estimated date for Notice to Proceed: TBD

· Estimated completion of field work: December 15, 2026

· Brief summary of findings (to include acres surveyed, new sites located/documented, etc.): Draft submittal: March 15, 2027

· 100% Draft submittal: May 15, 2027

· Final report submittal: June 30, 2027

Shaded sites have already been tested and found to have buried material or found to be not eligible and are not included in the contract