P03 1120819 FY2024 WESTERN AREA NV NRI Updated SOW.pdf

FY 2024 NV NRCS SOW for FY2024 Contract Agreement WESTERN NV AREA NRI

NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE

STATEMENT OF WORK (SOW) FOR

NATIONAL RESOURCES INVENTORY – NEVADA

FEDERAL USDI-BLM AND NON-FEDERAL ON-SITE

PRIVATE GRAZING LAND (OPGL) DATA COLLECTION

A. GENERAL

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), an agency of the United States

Department of Agriculture is mandated (through the Rural Development Act of 1972, the Soil and Water Resources Conservation Act of 1977, and other supporting legislation) to assess the status, condition, and trends of soil, water, and related resources on the Nation's Non-Federal lands. Resources inventory legislative authorities, NRCS policy, and responsibilities for conducting the National Resources Inventory (NRI) are contained in NRCS General Manual

290, Part 400. Separate authorities govern NRCS completing NRI on Federal lands under agreement with other federal agencies.

B. OBJECTIVE/SCOPE

The objective of this solicitation is to acquire specified inventory data at data collection points found within selected sample segment boundaries in Nevada. Data will be collected on federal and non-federal lands in accordance with the standards outlined in the most current and applicable NRCS National Resources Inventory Grazing Land On-Site Data Collection

Handbook of Instructions and its supplements, amendments, and appendices (hereafter referred to in this document as the Handbook), as referenced in Section P. Reference Materials, and elsewhere. Sample segments are located in remote areas situated on federal or non-federal land.

Access may require 4-wheeled vehicles and/or hiking long distances over rough terrain.

NRCS policy requires obtaining landowner/operator permission before entering onto private property. Permission to access private lands is an important issue. The Contractor, acting on behalf of NRCS, shall strictly adhere to NRCS policy of securing permissions to access non-federal lands prior to entry onto the land where the segment is located. Contractors shall make every reasonable effort, using all publicly-available information sources to obtain ownership information for all assigned segments, following the procedures in the Handbook and this SOW for securing and documenting permissions to access or transit non-federal land prior to data collection.

Required data to be collected on non-federal segments is detailed in the Handbook referenced in Section P, and will include:

• Landscape information

• Soil component determinations

• Ecological site assignments

• Pasture condition

• Rangeland health assessments

• Plant identification and census

• Species composition, standing biomass

• Disturbance indicators

• Sagebrush shape and identification

• Identification of resource concerns

• Occurrence of conservation practices and conservation needs

• Plant cover, density, and height

• Other attributes

The Contractor shall enter the data collected into hand-held computers using NRCS approved software - the Computer Assisted Survey Instrument (CASI). All data will be submitted to the server at Iowa State University CSSM (ISU server) located in Ames, Iowa.

All data will be collected in accordance with the Handbook and related references.

C. DEFINITIONS, ROLES, AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1. "Contractor" as used in these specifications refers to the service provider selected to perform the work defined in this contract.

2. Contracting Officer (CO). The duly appointed and warranted government NRCS person authorized to enter into, administer or terminate contracts, and make related determinations and findings. The contracting officer is the only person authorized to contractually obligate the government. The contracting officer is responsible for ensuring performance of all necessary actions for effective contracting, ensuring that the requirements of all pertinent laws, regulations, etc. have been met, ensuring compliance with the terms of the contract, and safeguarding the interests of the United States in its contractual relationships. The contracting officer ensures that sufficient funds are available for government contractual obligation and ensures that all contractors receive impartial, fair, equitable treatment in the solicitation process.

3. Contracting Officer's Representative (COR). The Contracting Officer will appoint and delegate in writing limited authority for certain contract-related decisions to an NRCS employee who will serve as the COR. The COR Appointment Letter details exactly what responsibilities lie within the scope of the COR's authority. The COR will notify the CO of recommendations for technical acceptance or rejection by the Government of all articles and services required to be furnished and/or performed under the contract; will receive, for the Government, all articles and services called for by the contract and will represent the Contracting Officer in the technical phases of the work. The COR monitors the Contractor's performance to ensure compliance with technical requirements of the contract, verifies and certifies that the items have been inspected and meet the requirements of the contract. The COR notifies the CO if performance is not meeting the requirements of the contract.

4. Segment (formerly referenced as PSU). A bounded area of land from 40 to 640 acres in size.

Within the segment, sample points are assigned. Certain data elements are collected for the entire segment; while others are collected at the segment point. The size of the segment is based on the shape, size, and complexity of the resources being inventoried. In the Western United States, segments are often 40 to 640-acre square areas; the 40-acre units are used in most irrigated areas, and the larger segments in homogeneous areas containing large tracts of range, forest land, or barren land. A segment contains one, two, or three possible points. A segment assigned with just one point is considered a half-segment. A segment with two or more points is considered a full segment.

5. Point refers to a known location contained within a segment boundary line, identified by a pair of coordinates using a commonly defined global coordinate system derived from the official NRI spatial data base, where data is collected. Contractor performance is, in large part, determined by completed inventory data collection competently concluded at the point. From one to three points may be located within a segment.

6. OPGL – Onsite Private Grazing Lands are those non-federal range and pasture lands where assigned segments and points are owned by non-federal entities. These segments are subject to securing explicit, documented permission for access prior to commencing data collection activities.

D. CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT

The NRI program is based upon rigorous scientific sample survey protocols. These protocols include maintaining and protecting the integrity and confidentiality of data gathering sites. USDA and NRCS policy states that: "The geographic locations of data gathering sites used for USDA's NRI are not public information and are to be used only for purposes of official NRI data gathering activities or for such purposes approved by the Secretary". The Contractor's data team leaders and all data collectors shall sign a

Confidentiality Statement under United States Code (USC), Title 18, Section 1905; USC, Title7, Section 2276 and USC, Title 7, Section 2240 for non-disclosure of confidential information relative to data site locations and/or private/corporate non-use of composite data. All confidentiality statements shall be signed and transmitted to the COR prior to starting data collection. The NRI data that identifies owners, operators, or data collection sites are never to be released to the public.

E. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE AND DELIVERABLES

Table 1. Western Area Parameters

Attend NRCS-sponsored training See Section H.

Field Data Collection Field Data collection may commence as early as May 1 and must conclude September 30, 2024. See M 1CASI data transmission

Sample segments must be electronically transferred to the Iowa State University (ISU) server no later than 10 days after commencing field data collection at the segment. All assigned segment data shall be transmitted to ISU on or before October 18 2024

Digital Camera Images and Equipment return

Digital Point Images meeting all Handbook requirements, and all GFE and GPE, must be returned to COR or their designee no later than

Progress Reports and Invoicing

Progress reports detailing work accomplished for the period will be transmitted to the COR every 30 days. Any work represented as “complete” shall be viewed as eligible for immediate government quality assurance and control auditing. Invoices for work completed shall be submitted to the COR no earlier than 10 business days AFTER submission of a progress report to assure work invoiced has undergone quality audits prior to invoicing. Invoices are submitted electronically through the Invoice Processing Platform (IPP), accompanied by a list of completed segments to be invoiced against. Final Invoice to be submitted by 4PM October 18, 2024.

Final invoice will be automatically rejected unless and until all remaining segment data and site images

Onsite Data Collection Survey Landowner Access Record (non-federal points only)

Documentation confirming landowner permission to access and collect NRI data onsite at assigned segments must accompany any invoice requesting payment, or upon request of the COR.

MAP 1. Expected NRI data collection periods across Nevada

F. DESCRIPTION OF WORK

1. The Contractor shall furnish all personnel, labor, materials, transportation, and space, and perform the work in accordance with the contract specifications and with the various NRCS manuals, handbooks, technical releases, and other as transmitted by the COR.

2. Materials to be furnished by the Contractor include but are not limited to:

• (2) 150’ flexible tapes with 0.1-inch increments (NRCS may supply these at its option)

• One dozen 12” metal survey pins

• 100’ flexible tapes for woody plots (21’ X 21’)

• grass clippers, pruning shears

• Quadrate frames (circular; 1.92 sq. ft., 4.8 sq. ft., 9.6 sq. ft.)

• Paper bags for containing and weighing vegetation samples

• Gram scales: 0-100gram x 1.0-gram increment, 0-300gram x 5.0-gram increment

• Dry-erase board, markers

• Survey pole or some other measuring stick for plant height measurements

• Clinometer, Compass with adjustable “bearing” setting ring

• Digital Camera (8-mega pixel or better) and applicable download software (.jpg)

• 10% hydrochloric acid solution to test for calcareous soils

• Tile spade, soil auger, Spud bar, Cleanout shovel

• pH meter or reagents with spot plate

• Munsell color book

• cm tape

• 10 power hand lenses

• Soils knife

• Distilled water for soil stability test

• Laptop or desktop computer with the Microsoft™ operating system Windows 2000, 2000

Professional, XP or XP Professional with communications hardware and software enabling connection to the internet.

• Internet access to the ISU server for segment data transmission

• Other items required, but not provided for under this contract by the US Government

3. Overview of Work Quantity To Be Completed in 2024 Nevada NRI

Data collection teams should consist of a team leader and at least one crew member. Team leader and data collector qualifications and experience requirements are outlined in Section G of this SOW. The Contractor shall enter data into a hand-held computer loaded with the NRCS computer-assisted survey instrument (CASI) software. The Contractor shall work with the

COR to achieve the transmittal of the data to the server at USDA-NRCS Iowa State University

Center for Survey Statistics and Methodology located in Ames, Iowa. Alternatively, the

Contractor - at their option - may use NRCS-approved paper data forms to collect the data in the field to enhance data collection efficiency, prior to the Contractor entering the data into the

CASI for review and transmission. Paper forms will be clearly labeled, retained, and sent to the COR prior to invoicing of the completed segment.

Assigned BLM and OPGL segments will have one, two or three sample points assigned per segment. The Contractor shall seek permission to access all assigned segments from the appropriate owners of property requiring transit and within the segment, prior to passage or initiating onsite data collection.

Up to two points per segment shall have data collected at assigned BLM and OPGL locations. OPGL points have additional protocols that are required for data collection – see the Handbook for additional guidance.

The Western Nevada contract area NRI USDI-BLM and Onsite Private Grazing Lands

(OPGL) expected workload for FY2024 fiscal year is detailed in Table 2 below.

Table 2. WESTERN Nevada FY2024 Contract area estimated workload, by County.

Note: Unit quantities in Table 1 is SEGMENTS.

Contract Area Nevada County

Maximum BLM Segments Contracted

Maximum OPGL Segments Contracted

Lander 12 5

BLM + OPGL ‐

WESTERN NV

Churchill 14 3

Humboldt 43.5 5

Pershing 26 3

Washoe 17.5 2.5

113 18.5

4. Range and Pasture Land Access Permissions:

a. Data collection shall proceed only on all assigned segments where permissions have been granted by the owner or their authorized designee. Permission to access or transit non-federal

(private) land enroute to or on private land must be granted by the owner or their designated, approved representative, and documented per the Handbook Appendix C guidance, prior to

Contractor attempting entry and data collection of the intended segment.

b. Acquisition of private landowner permission shall be obtained by the Contractor for all assigned segments, as necessary. Access approval or disapproval by private landowners for

NRI data collection is neither implied nor guaranteed to Contractor by this agreement.

c. A properly-documented report of attempts to secure permission to access a segment shall include all dates of attempted/successful access permission as requested on the

Access Record (see Appendix C).

d. Contractor shall furnish the COR a copy of these Access Records at the time of invoice, or as requested. Contractor may not receive payment for NRI data collection activities on segments where the Contractor does not include, or provide upon request, sufficient documentation (following Appendix C guidelines and including all dates of contact or attempted contact) documenting private landowner approval to access the segment(s).

e. The number of non-federal segments where permissions are sought prior to data collection will equal or exceed the actual number of segments where private land access is approved for data collection. The Contractor shall collect and invoice range or pasture land inventory data only on segments satisfying F.4.a. of this SOW.

f. If after reasonable efforts following Appendix C guidelines, Contractor transit and/or access to a BLM or OPGL segment is still not affirmed, Contractor shall deem the segment or segment point inaccessible-office for the purposes of NRI data collection that data year.

5. The Contractor shall collect data in full accordance with the standards outlined in the

Handbook (see section P. Reference Materials), and/or as directed by the COR, for full payment. The following identifies these certain expectations during the contract period:

a. Contractor will fully utilize the information provided them by the COR.

b. The NRI data collected shall be free of errors and collected in a logical order to minimize the number of trips to the field for data collection.

c. Range and pasture data collection protocols in the Handbook will be followed, and all data elements populated and verified by the Contractor as complete.

d. NRI data shall be entered into the NRCS CASI software. Sample points and segments will be considered complete when all field data is collected and entered the NRCS CASI software, data has fully passed all electronic completion checks in the CASI (designated as "completed/CO" status), and is successfully transmitted electronically to the ISU server as per specifications outlined in the Handbook, or as advised by the COR.

e. To ensure data safety and security, sample segment/point data elements must be electronically transferred to the ISU server no later than 10 days after commencing field data collection on sample points and segments.

f. Work shall begin and conclude in accordance with the table set forth at section E

(Period of Performance) of this SOW. Deadlines for initiating and completing

Range and Pasture segments were established using generalized USDA Plant

Hardiness Zone information; these dates may be subject to change by the COR and

Government in response to conditions.

G. REQUIRED EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE/CONTRACTOR P R O F I C I E N C Y

1. The Contractor's Team Leader (s) must meet the U.S. Office of Personnel Management

(OPM) Qualification Standard for a GS-454-11 Rangeland Management Specialist.

Qualifications for this position are described below and are published in the "OPM Operating

Manual for Qualification Standards for General Schedule Positions". Refer to:

http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/index.htm. Note: College transcripts, resumes and references may be requested by the government to verify education, experience, and performance.

Basic Requirements:

A. Degree: in range management; or a related discipline that included at least 42 semester hours in a combination of the plant, animal, and soil sciences, and natural resources management, as follows: Range Management - at least 18 hours of course work in range management, including courses in such areas as basic principles of range management, range plants, range ecology, range inventories and studies, range improvements, and ranch or rangeland planning. Directly related plant, animal, and soil sciences - at least 15 semester hours of directly related courses in the plant, animal, and soil sciences. Courses in such areas as plant taxonomy, plant physiology, plant ecology, animal nutrition, livestock production, and soil morphology or soil classification are acceptable. Related Resource Management Studies - at least 9 semester hours of course work in related resource management subjects, including courses in such areas as wildlife management, watershed management, natural resource or agricultural economics, forestry, agronomy, forage, and outdoor recreation management.

-OR-

B. A Combination of education and experience - at least 42 semester hours of course work in the combination of plant, animal, and soil sciences and natural resources management shown in A above, plus appropriate experiences or additional education.

-AND-

One year of specialized experience in rangeland plant identification and rangeland site inventory methods equivalent to at least the GS-457-9 level or 2 years of progressively higher-level graduated education leading to a master's degree or equivalent graduate degree.

Additional Requirements:

The Contractor's Team Leader(s), in addition to meeting the OPM Qualification Standard for a GS-454-11 Rangeland Management Specialist, shall have experience in the following:

Work experience on rangelands in Western U.S. states doing range and pasture land assessments and inventories, managing range, knowledge and understanding of all aspects of range and pasture land plant growth patterns, using data and correctly interpreting seasonal climate patterns to on-the-ground conditions, and experience training others on plant production estimates on range and pasture land.

The ability to use Nevada NRCS Ecological Sites (or Range Sites) information to correctly correlate and interpret them against onsite conditions.

Global Position System (GPS) equipment to navigate to sample sites.

Use of soil survey information and ability to identify and describe the soil component at the point location (depth, texture and modifier, effervescence, other features).

Observe and interpret apparent rangeland trend indicators.

Training and experience in conducting rangeland health assessments using the 17 indicators of rangeland health.

Nevada plant identification.

Identification of resource concerns.

Identification of disturbance indicators.

NRCS Conservation Practice Standards.

Establishing and inventorying rangeland vegetation using line transects - plant cover, canopy gaps.

Vegetation cover density and height measurements.

Soil stability measurements.

Sagebrush identification and shape.

Crew Member data collectors shall have experience in the following:

Global Position System (GPS) equipment to navigate to sample sites.

Use of soil survey information and ability to identify and describe the soil component at the point location (depth, texture and modifier, effervescence, other features).

Nevada plant identification.

Working in Western states in rangeland management and conducting rangeland inventories, including understanding plant growth patterns, correctly interpreting seasonal climate conditions, and conducting plant production estimates on range and pasture land.

Establishing and inventorying using line transects: plant cover composition and canopy gaps.

Vegetation cover density and height measurements.

Soil stability measurements.

Sagebrush identification and shape.

NRCS-PROVIDED TRAINING

1. All Team Leaders and data collectors must be authorized by the COR before collecting NRI grazing land data for the 2024 field season. Mandatory training may be delivered either at the regional or state-level. Contractors shall submit a list of all contractor staff requesting training, and the COR will authorize attendance through consultation with Contractor.

2. There are two levels of authorization of data collectors: Team Leader and Crew Member.

3. All Contractor field personnel must be authorized before collecting NRI grazing land data.

Each field crew must have at least one authorized team leader; all crew members collecting and inputting data must have at least crew member level authorization.

To be granted Team Leader authorization, you must:

1. Have participated in two previous NRI Grazing Land On-Site Study trainings;

2. Pass a written test, if offered;

3. Pass a performance-based test;

4. Successfully perform calibration exercises; and

5. Sign an NRI confidentiality certification agreement.

To be granted Crew Member authorization, you must:

1. Participate in assigned NRI Grazing Land On-Site Study training, as approved by the COR;

2. Pass a written test, if offered;

3. Successfully perform assigned calibration exercises; and

4. Sign an NRI confidentiality certification agreement.

4. State NRCS personnel may provide training to Contractor staff, as coordinated with the parties.

5. In addition, all Contractor staff completing NRI data collection will be required to complete at least two additional quality assurance calibration exercises onsite with the COR or designee during the data collection season. All staff will be required to attend these calibrations, together, at a time, date, and location jointly determined by the COR and the Contractor.

The Contractor will schedule the quality assurance calibration exercises with the COR by written notification following commencement of the field season data collection.

6. In addition, the Contractor shall coordinate with the COR to schedule an in-person coordination conference in Reno, NV NRCS State Office, or at a location of mutual convenience. This coordination conference shall be attended, at minimum, by all Contractor technical team leaders.

The in-person meeting should last no more than 5 hours, with a purpose of addressing logistical and other matters supporting data collection. The meeting will be scheduled concurrent with the time of exchange of Government Furnished Property (GFP) and/or Government Furnished

Materials (GFM). The Contractor shall schedule these meetings directly with COR upon initiation of contract, to be held upon commencement of the field season data collection.

I. QUALITY ASSURANCE (QA)/PERFORMANCE BASED REQUIREMENTS

The COR and/or their designee will coordinate and carry out evaluations of Contractor performance. For each activity required of the Contractor the following Quality Assurance (QA) standards will be applied:

Task - Collection of Nevada NRI Grazing Land On-Site Data Collection on USDI-BLM and non-federal lands.

Indicator(s) - Timeliness and Accuracy; Access permissions properly documented for collecting data at assigned segments, as prescribed.

Standard - data accurately reflects field conditions at the assigned point, and meets the specifications as defined in the Handbook. Data collection is free of errors, work is performed in a logical order, with minimal number of trips to field for information gathering. Work is to begin at a date climatically appropriate to optimizing the collection of seasonal range and pasture land attributes at the point, but be completed by September 30, 2024, of the year as described in Section D, and with good quality as defined elsewhere in this statement of work.

QA data entry – The data collection software has quality assurance built into the data entry software. The Contractor must resolve all (100 percent) errors and warnings identified by the software.

1. All Contractor work shall be performed in a professional manner in accordance with the

Handbook and guidance provided by the COR, as applicable.

2. NRCS shall provide for Quality Assurance Reviews (QAR) for a minimum of 10% of collected data for sample segments. The QARs will consist of an in-field review, and/or review of data submitted to the ISU server by the Contractor. Any issues relative to the quality or correctness of collected data brought to the attention of the Contractor by the COR will be corrected by the Contractor as soon as possible and before submission of an invoice for payment. The Contractor will transmit corrected sample segments, as needed, to the ISU server, and notify the COR concurrent with transmission.

3. The Contractor's team leaders and/or data collectors may be required to participate in additional quality assurance calibrations during the data collection period, if and when the circumstances warrant, as determined solely by the CO and/or COR. An announcement of need and justification of the requirement for additional quality assurance activities involving the Contractor staff will be transmitted in writing to the Contractor by the Contracting Officer and/or COR. These additional quality assurance calibrations would be in addition to those described elsewhere in this SOW, and intended to redress a specific technical need. Once requested by NRCS in writing, the Contractor shall affirmatively respond within seven (7) days of the date of NRCS request, and schedule a quality assurance calibration within 30 days of NRCS request at a time, date, and place mutually agreed-upon by the parties.

J. GOVERNMENT FURNISHED PROPERTY, MATERIALS, AND FACILITIES

1. Government Furnished Property (GFP): The property supplied by the NRCS shall only be used for direct performance of the work specified in this contract. Use for purposes other than this contract is prohibited. NRCS will provide the following GFP items: Hand-held computers loaded with the NRCS Computer Assisted Survey

Instrument (CASI) software, spare batteries, cables, and vehicle chargers if available and applicable. All GFP must be returned by the Contractor to the COR at the end of the performance period, as identified in Section E, in full working condition. The final invoice will not be processed for payment until all equipment have been returned, in good working order, to the COR or their designee.

2. Government Furnished Materials (GFM): The NRCS will provide GFM in the form of NRI sample segment casefile support materials including legal descriptions and photographs of each sample segment with the sample segment boundary and data collection segments located and labeled. Additional information may be provided by the NRCS.

Materials will be delivered by the performance start date by mutual arrangement of the

Contractor and NRCS. All NRI support materials provided shall be returned to the COR by the date identified in Section E, if requested. The Contractor final invoice will not be processed for payment until all requested equipment and NRI support materials have been returned, in good order, to the COR or their designee.

3. Government Furnished Facilities (GFF): NRCS may provide the Contractor temporary, intermittent use of Government workspace within NRCS facilities as needed and available. Use of

Government workspace shall be coordinated with the COR in writing 14 calendar days prior to scheduled need, but is not guaranteed under this agreement. Contractor may travel in GOV vehicles on occasion, but not operate them without specific written authorization.

4. Contractor Responsibility for GFP and GFM: The Contractor shall notify the COR in writing within two working days after the discovery of lost, damaged, or destroyed GFP, GFF, or

GFM. The notification shall include the specific Property Number or other identifying codes and property nomenclature; the circumstances surrounding the loss, damage, or destruction; estimated cost of alleviating the problem, if appropriate; and the expected impact on provision of Contractor services. The Contractor may be held financially liable for any shortage, loss, damage, or destruction of GFP or GFF as determined by the contracting officer (CO). Deductions may be made by the CO to the Contractor's payment.

K. CONTRACTOR-PROVIDED PROPERTY

The Contractor shall furnish all property, etc. to perform this contract that is not specifically identified as GFP, GFM or GFF above.

L. COMMUNICATIONS

"As-needed" teleconferences with NRCS shall be scheduled whenever requested by the CO, COR, or the Contractor to review items including progress, questions relating to the project, work revised, or decisions which need to be made with the intention of expediting the completion of the contract. All contracting inquiries shall be directed only to the CO. All technical inquiries shall be directed only to the COR. Communications can be verbal or in written form, via email, text, or hand-delivered. The CO or COR may also request follow-up written communications regarding any specific inquiry.

M. PROGRESS REVIEW AND INVOICE PROCEDURES

Progress reports detailing work accomplished for the period will be transmitted to the COR every 30 days following initiation of data collection activities, as detailed below. Any field work represented as “complete” in the ISU system shall be viewed by the COR as eligible for immediate government quality assurance and control auditing, unless otherwise communicated to the COR by Contractor.

The designation of “complete” includes having uploaded all required on-site photo imagery meeting Handbook standards to the ISU server and providing notice to the COR or their designee in writing, prior to invoicing. Invoices will be rejected if not accompanied by properly formatted uploads of point site imagery as required in the Handbook.

Invoices for work completed in the monthly Progress Report shall be submitted to the COR no earlier than 7 business days after submission of said progress report, but no later than 15 business days after submission of that monthly progress report. For example:

Contractor begins data collection: May 15, 2024

First Monthly progress report is due: June 15, July 25, etc.

Earliest date First Invoice can be submitted to IPP for data collection: Seven (7) business days following June 15

Latest date First Invoice can be submitted to IPP for data collection: fifteen (15) business days following June 15

Invoices are submitted electronically through the Invoice Processing Platform (IPP).

Completed work properly invoiced by the Contractor will normally be approved in IPP within 3-5 business days of IPP invoicing. Invoices may be rejected as a result of technical issues, non-conformance with the contract requirements, or absence of an itemized segments by county submitted for payment. Final Invoice for this contract year must be submitted by

4PM October 18, 2024.

Final invoice will be automatically rejected unless and until all remaining segment data and site photo images have been uploaded to ISU servers, QA’d, including review of segments identified as inaccessible/ineligible.

Invoices may also be rejected unless sufficient documentation related to private land access permissions accompanies the invoice, as explained elsewhere in this SOW.

N. CHANGES

Throughout the contract period, the Contractor may anticipate government-directed changes in data collection instructions and data collection software. Directives outlining these changes may be written communications, or verbal followed up by written communications. The

Contractor shall immediately implement changes to processes approved by the CO and COR that result in a decrease to or no change in the contract price. Requests documenting the decreased cost will be submitted within 10 working days. Any changes that result in decreases or increases in cost can only be approved by the CO. A proposal showing the revised work and changed cost must be submitted to the CO and approved in a written modification before commencing the change in work.

O. PAYMENT

Payment will only be made for deliverables that meet contract quality standards and protocols of this SOW, and are successfully submitted and accepted. Payment for invoices shall be made in accordance with the contract requirements as outlined below in items 1 – Full

Payment; 2 – Non-Payment; and 3 – Partial Payment, below.

1. Full Payment: Payments shall be made in accordance with the contract requirements outlined in Section M of this SOW, and elsewhere.

The Contractor invoice shall be accompanied by an uploaded attachment to the IPP invoice listing the unique segments completed, by county, that are to be paid against.

Invoices for this deliverable shall be submitted against the CLIN titled “Federal Segments” or “Non-Federal Onsite Private Grazing Land (OPGL) Segments,” as applicable.

A segment may be invoiced against only once.

Payment can only be made for a completed segment that meets contract quality standards, is transmitted to the ISU server, and accepted by Government.

Full payment for one segment is possible when two points in a segment (with two or three points assigned) have had the full data set collected, meeting all the requirements for quality and performance documentation, and properly invoiced.

Segments with only one assigned point (instead of two or three points) are considered half-segments, and are paid accordingly.

The final invoice may be processed for payment once all assigned segments are documented as complete or otherwise evaluated, communicated, and reconciled for payment, non-payment, or partial payment. The COR is available to assist in this process.

2. Non-Payment

The Contractor, acting on behalf of NRCS, shall strictly adhere to NRCS policy of securing permissions to access non-federal lands prior to entry onto the land where the segment is located. Access approval or disapproval by private landowners for NRI data collection is neither implied nor guaranteed by this agreement.

No payment will be made for segments where no, or incomplete, NRI data has been collected, as determined by the COR.

No payment may be made for a segment if required site photo images do not meet quality standards identified in the Handbook and/or have not been properly uploaded to

ISU servers prior to invoicing, as prescribed elsewhere in this SOW.

No payment will be made for a segment where private owner permissions necessary to access or transit through an area were not confirmed prior to the attempt. If after reasonable efforts to gain permissions following SOW and Appendix C guidelines

Contractor transit and/or access approval is still not affirmed, the Contractor shall deem the segment ineligible-office for the purposes of NRI data collection that data year, and no payment made.

Contractor is responsible for using ancillary resource information sources to determine whether travel to the segment will require transiting over slopes > 65%, hazardous terrain, more than 2.5 miles to a segment point from nearest road access, or ineligible land use/cover. Known circumstances such as these are subject to designations of ineligible-office, and subject to non-payment. If questionable, Contractor may consult with COR before designating a segment ineligible to retain payment options.

Land use types that can be readily determined on sequential aerial imagery and/or using ancillary resources information at the certified segment location as not meeting a land use type definition subject to data collection per the Handbook (e.g. waterbody, 4-lane highways, roof-tops, baseball fields, agricultural cropland, etc.), shall be deemed ineligible-office and not be invoiced against. Contractor can inquire with COR to resolve all questions of land use eligibility before proceeding with an attempt at data collection to retain payment options.

Final invoice payments may be rejected if any GFP, GFM, or GFF have not been returned to the COR following the close of the data collection year (see Section E.).

3. Partial Payments

Partial payments for data collection activities at any segment or half-segment determined

‘ineligible’ may be made in this contract under these conditions:

A. Per NRCS policy, SOW and Appendix C guidelines, the Contractor sought permission to access assigned segments from the appropriate owners of land requiring transit to, over, or within the segment prior to initiating onsite data collection; and

B. Access approval/disapproval by private landowners for NRI data collection is understood to be neither implied nor guaranteed to Contractor by this agreement; and

C. Segment/point(s) are pre-screened and pre-confirmed by the Contractor as a land use that triggers NRI data collection using the provided ancillary information sources and following the Handbook protocols in place that year; and

D. Segments subject to partial payment shall only include a segment/point where the

Contractor did physically attempt navigation and field-access to each point center within the segment, as documented by a photograph and a GPS waypoint as described elsewhere in this SOW, but in the attempt, the Contractor was impeded from further field traversing by one or more of the following five barriers (see also

Table 3 – Partial Payment Scenarios below):

1) a locked gate or road washout encountered while traveling to the segment;

2) the only way to access the point is by traversing very steep (>65% slopes), and/or dangerous terrain, inconsistent with the segments’ ancillary resource information available to Contractor;

3) ownership change/access permission denied on the day attempted;

4) greater than 2.5 miles distance to the point from a road or trail, inconsistent with the ancillary resource information available to Contractor;

5) change in land use/cover after publication of ancillary resource info that eliminates the need to capture onsite data.

Table 3 – Partial Payment Scenarios:

SOW PAYMENT

ITEM

BARRIER CIRCUMSTANCE SEGMENT PAYMENT AMOUNT

PARTIAL O.3.E.1

Locked gate or road(s) impassable, outside segment

Valid field attempt made, with presenting barrier located outside segment; no points inventoried.

30% of segment amount, with required documentation

PARTIAL O.3.E.2

Slopes > 65%, dangerous terrain

Valid field attempt made, encounters barrier that is inconsistent with ancillary resource info, no segment points inventoried.

30% of segment amount, with required documentation

PARTIAL O.3.E.2

Slopes > 65%, dangerous terrain

One assigned segment point successfully inventoried; other assigned inventory point(s) not inventoried due to barrier.

60% of segment amount, with required documentation

PARTIAL O.3.E.3

Change in ownership or permission to access determined in‐field the day of attempt

Valid field attempt made; no segment points inventoried due to withdrawal of properly documented permissions.

30% of segment amount, with required documentation

PARTIAL O.3.E.3

Change in ownership or permission to access determined in‐field the day of attempt

One assigned segment point successfully inventoried; other assigned inventory point(s) not inventoried due to barrier.

60% of segment amount, with required documentation

PARTIAL O.3.E.4

Assigned segment points are >2.5 miles distance from nearest access.

Valid field attempt encounters barrier that is inconsistent with ancillary resource info, no segment points inventoried.

30% of segment amount, with required documentation

PARTIAL O.3.E.5

Change made to eligible land use/cover code ‐ in field

Change in land use/cover code post‐dates published ancillary resource info ‐ field confirmed, no segment points inventoried.

30% of segment amount, with required documentation

PARTIAL O.3.E.5

Change made to eligible land use/cover code ‐ in field

One assigned segment point successfully inventoried; other assigned inventory point(s) not inventoried due to barrier.

60% of segment amount, with required documentation

HALF SEGMENT NONE

One assigned segment point assigned under contract

50% of segment amount, with required documentation

E. Partial payments may not be approved if no other successful data collection on other accessible, nearby segments were successfully completed by the Contractor within two workdays following the attempted access to an adjacent “inaccessible” segment.

P. REFERENCE MATERIALS

F. Instructions from the most current, or the 2 0 2 3 N R I Handbook of Instructions for Grazing Land On-Site Data Collection https://grazingland.cssm.iastate.edu/reference-materials

G. Appendix C - Landowner Contact Guide, Access Record, and Contact Letter Example https://grazingland.cssm.iastate.edu/reference-materials

H. Field Book for Describing and Sampling Soils USDA NRCS.

ftp://ftp- fc.sc.egov.usda.gov/NSSC/Field Book/FieldBookVer2.pdf/

I. Technical Reference 1734-4, 1999, Sampling Vegetation

Attributes http://www.blm.gov/nstc/library/techref.htm/

J. NRCS Field Office Technical Guide, Nevada http://efotg.nrcs.usda.gov/efotg locator.aspx?map=NV/

K. NRCS National Range and Pasture Handbook, 1997 as amended http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/national/landuse/rangepasture/?&cid=ste lprdbl043084

L. Technical Reference 1734-6 2005, Interpreting Indicators of Rangeland Health, Version 4 http://www.blm.gov/nstc/library/techref.htm/

M. USDA NRCS National Plants Database at http://plants.usda.gov/java/

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