D1_SOW_1125991.docx

Statement of Work Breeding Bird Assessment Surveys Los Padres National Forest, California

SCOPE

Comment by BENJAMIN S VIZZACHERO: "scope" and "requirements" section are both brief summaries, appears redundant. Can they be combined? Is there a generalized SOW template that explains the difference? Comment by BENJAMIN S VIZZACHERO: put LOP in here

The contractor shall furnish all necessary personnel, facilities, equipment, materials, and transportation to perform a series of breeding bird surveys in areas where fuels treatments are planned for implementation. Surveys will follow the Breeding Bird Assessment Protocol (appendix 1). There will be approximately one survey per week, with each survey requiring one or two days of field work. All surveys will occur within sixty treatment units (appendix 2) across the Los Padres National Forest (LPNF).

PROJECT DESCRIPTION & BACKGROUND

The LPNF is planning to implement the following fourteen projects: Comment by Patrick D Lieske: Awkward. NEPA identifies a process that is followed to approve projects. We conduct this "process" in accordance with NEPA, in order to be in compliance with the federal law. Comment by BENJAMIN S VIZZACHERO: is this an accurate project list? Comment by Patrick D Lieske: If you are specifically identifying projects, you need to use the correct names. Check the project documentation in the Project Record in Pinyon (1950 File) for the correct project names. Comment by BENJAMIN S VIZZACHERO: I previously attempted to verify project names against NEPA documents, but got confused. I tried again and I think I figured it out this time

· Camino Cielo Defensible Fuel Profile Zone (DFPZ) Project

· Cuddy Valley Forest Health/Fuels Reduction Project

· Figueroa Mountain Project

· Frazier Mountain Project

· Frazier Park Community Defense Zone (CDZ) Project

· Lake Of The Woods CDZ Project

· Monterey Ranger District Strategic Community Fuelbreak Improvement Project

· Monterey DFPZ Project

· Ojai CDZ Project

· Pine Mountain Club Project

· Pine Mountain Club East Shaded Fuel Break Expansion (DFPZ)

· Reyes Peak Forest Health and Fuels Reduction Project

· Santa Barbara Mountain Communities Defense Zone Project

· Tecuya Ridge Shaded Fuelbreak Project

All of these projects are intended to implement direction contained within Land Management Plan for Region 5 Southern California National Forests by treating vegetation to reduce the volume of flammable fuels and improve firefighting capabilities. These treatments generally include (but are not limited to) vegetation thinning (removal of shrubs and small trees by hand or machine), pile burning, broadcast burning, hazard tree felling, and mechanized mastication. From all projects, the LPNF has identified sixty treatment units within which treatments may occur (appendix 2). Comment by BENJAMIN S VIZZACHERO: is this an accurate description of activities?

Per guidance in the Memorandum of Understanding between the US Forest Service and US Fish and Wildlife Service to Promote the Conservation of Migratory Birds (FS Agreement # 08-MU-1113-2400-264), the Forest Service is required to “evaluate the effects of agency actions on migratory birds” with special regard to breeding sites and the breeding season. The LPNF’s Programmatic Migratory Birds Report for Fuels Treatment Projects puts forth the limited operating period (LOP) of March 15 to July 31 when breeding is likely to occur. Fuels treatments that are planned to occur during the LOP require additional surveys herein described. These surveys provide the LPNF’s Wildlife Biologist with the necessary information to evaluate potential effects of the treatment on the avian community and make an informed recommendation to the appropriate Line Officer. Comment by Patrick D Lieske: Unnecessary verbiage. Line Officer.

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

01 February 2025 – 31 July 2025

PROJECT LOCATION

Treatment Units:

There are sixty treatment units (appendix 2) across the LPNF. These units range in size from 4.3 to 3,132.1 acres. Twenty-eight units are less than 100 acres in size, twenty-five are between 100 and 1,000 acres, and seven are more than 1,000 acres. All surveys will occur within these treatment units. The majority of treatment units are in areas known as Wildland-Urban Interface, and are situated around communities or along forest roads.

Accessibility:

All work areas may be reached by walking, driving on four-wheel drive roads and driving on standard county, Caltrans, or Forest Service roads. Walking distances will vary within the project areas. The Government will not provide special maintenance or snowplowing to keep roads open. Spur roads may not be maintained and are frequently blocked by earth barriers.

Some treatment units or their access roads may be recently affected by wildfire or storm damage. As a result, access may be affected during all or portions of the survey season. To address safety and resource concerns, the LPNF staff has discretion to restrict access to certain areas. When necessary, the LPNF staff can issue an administrative pass to the contractor which permits entry into restricted areas. Comment by BENJAMIN S VIZZACHERO: necessary? Comment by BENJAMIN S VIZZACHERO: "admin pass can be issued to restricted areas" (permit on dashboard)

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Personnel All work in fulfillment of the contract shall be performed only by qualified field biologists who are familiar with the birds of southern California and experienced with breeding bird surveys. The person(s) completing the GIS Review must be proficient in ArcGIS Pro. The contractor is responsible for submitting resumes of the crew leader and crew members to the Contracting Officer/Contractor Officer’s Representative (COR) for approval by the LPNF.

Comment by Vizzachero, Benjamin - FS, CA: Reasonable expectations?

GIS Review The Forest Service will provide the contractor with maps of each implementation area and inform them of the planned date of implementation. These maps will be available as both geo-referenced PDFs and as feature classes to be opened in ArcGIS Pro. The contractor will identify the major habitat types present in the implementation area by referencing the CALVEG public geodatabase and the California Wildlife Habitat Relationships (CWHR) database. The contractor will identify assessment points representing major habitat types across the elevational gradient within the implementation area. Comment by Patrick D Lieske: "Forest Service" is a proper noun and should be capitalized.

Field Survey

i. Timeframe The survey must occur no earlier than seven days before the start of the planned fuels treatment, and must be completed in time for the survey report to be submitted no less than forty-eight hours before the planned treatment.

ii. Survey Conditions In order to obtain an accurate representation of avian activity, the survey must be completed in the fairest weather available within the given timeframe. Whenever possible, surveys must avoid conditions of high wind and heavy precipitation, and must occur between sunrise and two pm.

iii. Survey Effort Assessments of the implementation area shall be completed no more than seven days before the date of the planned treatment. At a minimum, the contractor will complete at least thirty minutes of surveying per ten acres of implementation area. They will visit all of the assessment points identified in the GIS review. In general, they will split their time evenly split between the major habitat types, though additional time should be spent in areas where bird activity is concentrated. The contractor is encouraged to survey as much of the implementation area as time allows.

iv. Survey Method Following the protocol (appendix 1), the contractor will observe all species present in or near (<100 ft from) the planned treatment area. For each species, the contractor will record behavioral observations with regard to the general categories of non-breeding, pre-breeding, and breeding behaviors. The contractor will also note the areas each species occupies, with regards to the boundaries of the planned treatment area.

Comment by BENJAMIN S VIZZACHERO: This is a place holder - what is the best way to quantify effort and insure an adequate survey effort? Comment by Patrick D Lieske: Recommend setting a maximum number of acres which can be surveyed per unit of time, either acres/hour or acres/days. This will establish a suitable amount of survey effort which scalable according to the size of the treatment unit. Comment by BENJAMIN S VIZZACHERO: Ask them to include observations near boundary? How near is near - 100ft, 500ft, 0.25mile? Comment by Patrick D Lieske: Within 100 feet should be sufficient.

Survey Report The contractor shall generate a report of their findings and submit it to the COR and a qualified Forest Service wildlife biologist at least 48 hours before the treatment is planned to occur. This report will list all species of birds detected in or near the treatment unit, the approximate number of individuals of each species, and behavioral notes for each. Behavioral notes will describe each species’ breeding behaviors (using the breeding and behavior codes listed in appendix 1 where applicable) and that species’ use of the planned treatment area. It will be the responsibility of a qualified Forest Service wildlife biologist to review the contractor’s findings and make a recommendation to the appropriate Line Officer. Comment by Patrick D Lieske: "Forest Wildlife Biologist" is a title unique to a specific person. As written, the contract would stipulate that I (or a subsequent biologist in my position) would need to review all assessment reports in order for them to be valid, which is not the intent. The reports need to be reviewed by a "qualified wildlife biologist".