Exhibit 1 Rare Plants Sample Task Order.pdf

Statement of Work Name of Ranger District Name of Project

FYXX TASK ORDER INFORMATION

Dated Month X, 20XX

NOTE TO USER: THE TASK ORDER SOW DOES NOT DUPLICATE OR CHANGE THE TERMS AND

CONDITIONS OR STATEMENT OF WORK IN THE IDIQ. THE TASK ORDER SOW IS USED TO RELAY THE WORK

TO BE PEFOMED FOR THE SPECIFIC PROJECT ISSUED UNDER AGAINST THE IDIQ.

THIS SAMPLE IS NOT INCLUSIVE OF ALL SECTIONS/SUBSECTIONS WE MAY NEED TO INCLUDE TO ENSURE A

CONTRACTOR IS CLEAR ABOUT OUR REQUIREMENTS. THIS SAMPLE IS INTENDED AS A TOOL AND

STARTING POINT FOR POTENTIAL CONTRACTORS TO DEVELOP A BID.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT:

The USDA Forest Service, XXX National Forest, proposes to contract for technical botanical services to conduct the field phase of botanical surveys. The botanical surveys will provide the Government with natural resource information for forested and non-forested lands at an intensity required for land management decisions.

Location: The project is located on the NAME ranger district of the NAME National Forest. The Supervisor’s Office is in NAME of TOWN. The SAMPLE Project consists of XXX locations on the NAME National Forest. Locations that will be surveyed have been pre-selected by the Government. The XXX Project area is located about XXX miles of NAME of TOWN, Idaho, in portions of Sections TXXN, TXXN, RXE, RXE.

See map in Exhibit 1.

Accessibility: All work areas may be reached by driving on standard Forest Service roads, by driving on four-wheel drive roads, or by walking. Walking distances will vary within the project areas. Walking distances will be considered incidental to the work and no additional payment will be made. Spur roads and closed roads are not maintained and are frequently blocked by earth barriers or natural debris.

Period of Performance:

Contract time begins on the effective date of the Notice to Proceed (NTP). The period of performance is from the Estimated Beginning Date May 1, 202X, with a Completion Date of September 30, 202X.

The government anticipates the base item will take approximately XXX days to complete with all work, including corrections, completed by the Completion Date above.

Data for all items shall not be collected after September 1, 202X, unless approved by the CO, due to early bad weather, accuracy, or safety (such as wildfire).

Reference IDIQ contract for all other terms and conditions.

Task Order Statement of Work

Contents

1. Statement of Work

2. Name of Ranger District Name of Project Project General Information

1.0 Scope of Work

Contractor Requirements

2.0 Technical Requirements / Tasks

3.0 Government Furnished

4.0 Deliverables / Schedule

5.0 Data Rights

Attachments

Project Sample Project Title

The XXX National Forest proposes to improve ecological function to native vegetation communities and wildlife habitats and reduce hazardous fuels across the Sample Project landscape. The proposed activities would authorize non-commercial thinning and multiple prescribed burns on National Forest System lands across the XXX National Forest on XXX acres in the Project area. Proposed activities may include:

• Hand thinning, slashing, mastication, and mulching and chipping of fuels to reduce overstory mortality or to create a fuel bed to carry fire, or to reinforce control lines.

• Hand thinning, pruning, and piling existing surface and ladder fuels for the creation of hand piles for burning

• Constructing mechanical and/or hand fireline, where necessary and appropriate to augment natural features and other existing fire control features (such as roads).

• Ground application of fire (including vehicle-based) using drip-torches, fusees, terra-torch, and very pistol.

General Information

1.0 Scope of Work

As part of the analysis required by National Environmental Policy Act, a biological evaluation must be completed to evaluate effects to federally listed or proposed species, the R4 Sensitive Species, Species of Conservation Concern or other rare plants identified in the Task Order (see Table 1). To analyze the potential effects of a proposed activity on rare plant species, a survey for plant species of interest is needed in the SAMPLE Project area. The survey area(s) are pre—identified by the Forest Service (see map(s) in Exhibit 1) and encompass XXX acres for identified plant species. These surveys should be executed in the field season prior to the anticipated implementation of projects. All resulting data and reports must be provided to the Forest Service in the timeframes specified in this Task Order.

Table 1. Plant species of interest identified for surveys under XXX Task Order.

Common Name Scientific Name Whitebark pine Pinus albicaulis Lance-leaf moonwort Botrychium lanceolatum var. lanceolatum Least moonwort Botrychium simplex Sacagawea’s bitterroot Lewisia sacajaweana Kruckeberg’s sword-fern Polystichum kruckebergii NOTE To USER: This is a sample list only and does not necessarily represent the species or number of species that may be included in a given task order.

In addition to the species listed above, all species listed on Federal, and State of Nevada’s noxious weeds lists and any undesirable non-native invasive species (see IDIQ Statement of Work) that may occur in the Project area are considered Plant Species of Interest.

Contractor Requirements

2.0 Technical Requirements / Tasks

This project will require three phases of work:

• Pre-Field Review: The Contractor shall determine which species to look for in various habitats located in the Project area and prioritize work plans to accommodate the proper times of identification.

• Field Surveys: The actual on-the-ground survey.

• Documentation of Findings: The documentation of methods used, areas searched, findings, completed reports and completed data packages.

Pre-Field Review The Contractor shall determine the probability of occurrence of Plant Species of Interest. A “Pre-Field Review Report shall be completed for the project area and accepted by the Government prior to field surveys. The Contractor shall review Forest Service records of known plant sites in the project area and record them on the “Pre-Field Review” Form. The Contractor shall provide a Survey Design, and a Work Plan and Schedule that will meet the contract requirements for surveying. The Government must approve the survey design and work plan prior to commencement of field surveys.

The Survey Design is defined as follows: The Survey Design shall define the survey strategy. As a part of the survey design the contractor shall divide the project area into survey units. The project area boundary may or may not be marked on the ground. At the time the bid is awarded the project area may or may not be divided by the Forest Service into treatment units or stands. For projects with defined treatment units the contractor may choose to use those as survey units. The contractor may propose to aggregate several treatment units into survey units. When only the project area boundary has been defined on the map, the contractor shall propose how to best divide the project area into logical survey units. Survey units should generally be made up of terrain with similar geographic, topographic, geologic, ecologic/habitat, treatment, or access attributes. The survey design shall identify units as low, moderate, or high potential for habitat of Plant Species of Interest. The survey design shall address all requirements of the Field survey described below.

The Work Plan: When and where project surveys will take place.

Field Surveys Botanical surveys shall be performed in accordance with the approved survey design. Surveys shall include the search for, and verification of Plant Species of Interest at known, reported, or suspected locations; including the survey of all suitable habitat for Plant Species of Interest within the contract area. All vascular plant species encountered shall be identified to species.

The contractor shall perform botanical surveys in a manner that conforms to the standards of the professional botanical community and adheres to the USDA Forest Service Threatened, Endangered and Sensitive Plants Survey Field Guide (USDA 2014; Exhibit XXX). This will require identification of every species encountered to the lowest taxonomic level (i.e., species, subspecies, or variety) needed to determine whether it is a target species.

A species list of each area or unit surveyed shall be documented in the Survey Field Form (USDA 2014; Exhibit

XXX).

All new and known occurrences shall be documented in the Element Occurrence form adhering to the USDA Forest Service Threatened, Endangered and Sensitive Plants Element Occurrence Protocol and Field Guide (USDA 2015; Exhibit XXX).

Units shall be surveyed by walking routes, which cover a representative cross-section of all major topographic features and habitats within the unit. In survey units identified in the survey design as having low to moderate potential for habitat of plant species of interest, no less than 25 % of the unit acres will be surveyed. In survey units with high potential for habitat for plant species of interest, no less than 50 % of the unit acres will be surveyed.

All newly proposed roads, trails, fences, and areas of high ground level disturbance such as landings, mining projects, stream improvements, and water developments shall be surveyed at the complete level. A complete level survey intensely walks 100% of the area.

https://fsweb.nrm.fs.fed.us/support/other_documents/tesp/other_document_tesp_Survey.pdf https://fsweb.nrm.fs.fed.us/support/other_documents/tesp/other_document_tesp_Survey.pdf https://fsweb.nrm.fs.fed.us/support/other_documents/tesp/other_document_tesp_Element_Occurrence.pdf

The Contractor shall begin surveys when plant conditions indicate. The surveys shall be conducted during the time of year when potentially occurring Species of Interest are identifiable. Some areas may require more than one visit to fulfill this requirement. It is estimated that surveys will be conducted from June through August. It is expected that the work plan will identify how all of the project areas will be surveyed at the appropriate time.

In the unusual event of late season contract award, and potential habitat is encountered for a Plant Species of Interest, but that species is in a state that can no longer be accurately located or positively identified then the contractor shall identify that area as Arc Info GIS feature classes overlayed on a quad map or aerial photo and discuss it in the Final Survey Report. This discussion should include what Plant Species of Interest could be found in that habitat, why, and when it should be re-surveyed.

Voucher specimens shall be collected and submitted to XXXX National Forest. Voucher specimens shall be required for all Plants of Special Interest identified. One specimen per species per project area shall be submitted. No collections will be required for rare plant populations of less than 20 individuals.

Companion photos of voucher specimens and photos for rare plant populations of less than 20 individuals shall be collected and submitted to the XXX National Forest.

If the contractor determines that potential habitat for a target species does not occur within the survey area, the contractor shall clearly document the rationale for this determination during the survey in the TES Plant Survey Field Form under survey comments. This determination shall be discussed with the COR prior to completion of the field season.

The contractor shall map the boundaries of the occurrences using GPS points/polygons that meet the “Survey/Inventory Requirements” described in the IDIQ Statement of Work and the Documentation of Findings section of this Task Order. If the Contractor flagged the area to assist with mapping the boundaries, the contractor shall remove flagging once the survey or project is completed unless otherwise advised by the Government.

Documentation of Findings The Contractor shall provide the Forest Service with documentation information for each Plant Species of Interest and Special Habitat located or revisited. All botanical survey results and methods shall be documented, including negative results.

The Contractor shall submit a plant reconnaissance report containing the following:

1. A summary report including the a) purpose of the survey, b) a methods section which would include the prefield review and methods of field survey for sensitive and special interest plants and noxious weeds and c) a summary of results section.

2. A list of all vascular plant species encountered in each survey unit/area shall be kept by each member of the survey team doing plant surveys. This list shall be documented in the Survey Field Form, and either use complete scientific names for each species encountered, or abbreviations should follow the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) National Plant Database symbol protocol from the NRCS PLANTS Database website. This list shall be available for inspection by the COR/inspector at mid-contract check-in meetings. At the end of the project, a comprehensive species list shall be submitted for the project area. This comprehensive plant list should use complete scientific names and include the appropriate NRCS species code with each name if these codes are used elsewhere in survey report documents. The final unit plant list documented in the Survey Field Form. Plant lists shall also be submitted in electronic form in MS Excel, Word, in Adobe Acrobat format or compatible format.

3. A Survey Field Form (USDA 2014; Exhibit XXX) shall be completed for each unit or area surveyed, without regard to the presence of Plant Species of Interest.

https://plants.usda.gov/ https://plants.usda.gov/

4. For this project area, maps of all survey routes shall be completed. Survey route maps can be produced by hand or computer, and shall be to the 1:24,000 scale and include contour lines, township, range, and sections.

These maps will include all survey routes and be keyed to the Survey Field Forms. The date of each survey route shall be clearly marked on the Survey Route map. Townships and Ranges shall be clearly marked on this map.

5. Each Plant Species of Interest discovered or revisited shall be documented as outlined below:

An Element Occurrence Form (USDA 2015; Exhibit XXX) shall be filled out completely. One GIS generated map showing the occurrence/habitat location shall be provided with each form. This 7.5-minute scale topographic quadrangle section shall be clearly marked with the Quad name, the Township, Range, and Section of the occurrence.

The location of each Plant Species of Interest occurrence shall be mapped using GPS software that conforms with standards outlined in the IDIQ Statement of Work. All plant element occurrences shall be mapped as area features. Plant occurrences that are greater than 5 acres in size shall have a minimum of four reference features mapped as point features using GPS and additional points as necessary to represent the approximate population boundary. The coordinates of the central position of each plant occurrence shall be included in the Element Occurrence forms. For plant occurrences that are greater than 5 acres in size, but plant density within the occurrence is variable, comprised of core aggregations (patches) and scattered individuals, the core aggregations within the area/polygon should be mapped as a point feature to the degree feasible (regardless of how the perimeter is mapped).

6. All GIS data will be provided to the Forest Service electronically on a CD-R or flash drive as feature classes suitable for use with ArcPro software and linked to tabular information; no other format is acceptable. All data will be gathered to meet National Accuracy Standards at 1:24,000 scale. GPS Data will be differentially corrected using an approved base station and will include error calculation values (PDOP), date, and time. All data will be projected into CONUS NAD83 datum, UTM Zone 11, meters that is differentially corrected and accurate to within 5 meters. A projection file can be provided by the Forest. The GPS data shall be converted into Arc Info GIS feature classes before submission to the Government.

A minimum of 60 position fixes shall be required per point feature. The central point of the mapped areas of the plant occurrences shall be recorded in a GIS feature class. The reference corner points for the larger polygons shall be recorded in a separate feature class. The data dictionary for the botany point and polygon feature classes shall include all system generated items plus the user defined items described in the IDIQ Statement of Work Exhibits.

Contractor Obligations The Contractor shall provide all labor, housing, supervision, transportation, tools, and materials (except Government-furnished Property) necessary to perform the requirements of the contract. Specifically, but not necessarily all inclusive, the Contractor shall furnish:

1. Compass with azimuth settings calibrated in 2-degree increments, set to local declination.

2. Clinometer or other device enabling one to measure slope in percent.

3. Hand lens, ruler, and dissecting equipment.

4. Flora appropriate for the area.

5. A GPS unit capable of recording feature locations in UTM coordinates within 5-meter accuracy

(standards outlined in the IDIQ Statement of Work).

6. Aluminum reference tags (4” or less) and aluminum nails (at least 3” long) for all plant occurrence discoveries, as needed.

3.0 Government Furnished

The Government will provide the following item(s) of Government property to the Contractor for use in the performance of this contract. This property shall be used and maintained by the Contractor in accordance with the provisions of the “Government Property” FAR clause contained elsewhere in the IDIQ. The Contractor shall sign a Transfer of Government property receipt upon acceptance of Government-furnished Property.

The Contractor shall be liable for all loss of damage of such Government-Furnished Property delivered to them until completion and final acceptance of work required under this contract.

In addition to the items identified in the IDIQ Statement of Work, the Government will provide items listed in Table 2 for the completion of this Task Order.

Table 2. Government-furnished Property for XXX Task Order

Item Number

Item Quantity Description Where, When, How

1 Forest Service records of known plant occurrences in project area

1 Electronic version Provided at prework conference

2 USDA Forest Service Threatened, Endangered and Sensitive Plants Survey Field Guide

1 Electronic version available from the internet site:

USDA 2014

Provided at prework conference; also available online

3 USDA Forest Service Threatened, Endangered and Sensitive Plants Element Occurrence Protocol and Field Guide

1 Electronic version available from the internet site:

USDA 2015

Provided at prework conference; also available online

4 XXX National Forest Rare Plants Field Guide

1; additional copies as needed

Hard copy and electronic versions

Provided at prework conference

5 NOTE To USER: This is a sample list only and does not necessarily represent the Government-furnished items that may be included in a given task order.

4.0 Deliverables / Schedule

The Forest Service will review all draft surveys and data products prior to final report submission by contractor.

Timeframes and due dates for Forest Service review and responses will be negotiated with contractor in advance at the Pre-work meeting. Please refer to Table 3 for review milestones to include in timeframe negotiations.

Table 3. Task Order Milestones for Draft and Final Deliverables

Item No.

Deliverable / Item Title

Description Frequency Responsibility Delivery Format

Due By

1 Initial Pre-work meeting

Initial Pre-work meeting between COR, inspectors, and Contractor or Contractor’s Representative to review scope of

Once COR and Contractor

In person or Microsoft Teams

No later than five

(5) business days after contract award work 2* Pre-field

Survey Protocols Proposal

Proposal document outlining Contractor’s intent to complete work described in IDIQ Statement of Work and this Task Order

Once, no more than twice*

Contractor Via email to COR

No later than ten

(10) business days after contract pre-work

3 Approval of Pre-field Survey Proposal

Forest Service approval of Pre-field survey protocols proposal

Once Forest Service Via email to contractor

No later than ten

(10) business days after pre-field survey proposal

4 Field Surveys Actual on-the-ground surveys completed by contractor.

Determined by Contractor in Pre-field Survey Proposal

Contractor Field Work

During the time of year when potentially occurring Plant Species of Interest are identifiable

5 Bi-Weekly Status Call and Report

Conference call and Report documenting tasks & issues bi-weekly.

Biweekly Contractor In person, phone or Microsoft Teams;

report via email to

COR

Bi-weekly, every other Friday, by

3:00 PM MST

until the contract expires

6 In-Field Spot inspections

In-the-field meeting with Contractor or Contractor’s Representative and assigned Technical Monitor

Determined by Forest Service and coordinated with contractor in advance

Forest Service/ Contractor

In person in the field

To be determined by Forest Service

7* Draft Survey Report/Data Package Submitted

Draft Survey report that includes required items outlined in IDIQ Statement of Work and this Task Order;

companion draft data package of all electronic data described in IDIQ Statement of Work and Task Order

Once, no more than twice*

Contractor Via email to COR

No later than September 1, 202X, or an alternate date as negotiated with the COR

8 Forest Service Review of Survey Report

Forest Service review and approval of Draft Survey Report/Data Package

Once, no more than twice

Forest Service Via email to Contractor

No later than ten

(10) business days after draft survey report/data package submittal

9 Final Survey Report and

Final Survey Report and data package

Once Contractor Via email to COR

No later than the Period of

Data Package submitted for Task Order completion

Performance Completion Date

*For the Pre-field Survey Protocols Proposal and Draft Survey Report/Data Package Submitted (Item Numbers 2 and 7), should the Government review determine substantial corrections are needed and a second review is warranted, the Government reserves the right to require the Contractor correct and resubmit these items for a second review prior to approval.

5.0 Data Rights

If data is to be produced, furnished, acquired, or used in meeting contract requirements, The Government shall delineate the respective rights and obligations of the government and the contractor regarding the use, production, and disclosure of that data.

Attachments If applicable, the Task Order may include an Attachment that supplements the IDIQ Statement of Work’s Evaluation Factors and significant Subfactors representing the key areas of importance and emphasis to be considered in the source selection decision.