SAMPLE_SOW__GRTE_Plant_Salvage.docx

THIS IS A SAMPLE SCOPE OF SERVICES TO BE USED FOR EVALUATION PURPOSES ONLY

A BPA CALL WILL NOT BE ISSUED FOR THIS SAMPLE REQUIREMENT

SOLICITATION # 140P2022QXXXX

Grand Teton National Park (GRTE) Plant Salvage along Moose Wilson Road

SAMPLE Scope of Services

I. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE WORK:

Phase I of the Grand Teton National Park (GRTE) Moose Wilson Road will result in significant ground disturbance along the road corridor. Plants occurring within the planned limits of disturbance of the road construction project that will be impacted by construction activities will be manually removed (salvaged) and stored for replanting. Plant salvage activities for this scope include hand digging of plant materials; using equipment to salvage shrubs and trees with larger root balls; transferring materials to ball and burlap, pots, or other approved containers; watering transplants; and transporting materials to temporary holding facilities. This task order requires traveling to Grand Teton National Park, located in Moose, Wyoming to salvage 490 plants including tree and shrub species.

PERFORMANCE PERIOD: The work of this task order shall be provided in the Fall 2022. If an early shut down occurs due to weather conditions, then remaining salvage activities may be completed in the Spring or Fall of 2023. It should be noted that road construction activities will begin in early Spring of 2023 and it is likely the window for salvaging of plants will be very narrow. The period of performance for this contract is from the time of the award, estimated at 10/1/2022, to 01/23/2024.

PROJECT IDENTIFICATION: The work of this task order shall consist of the services described below for the referenced project. In this document, the project shall be referred to as Grand Teton, Moose Wilson Road Phase 1 Plant Salvage.

CONTACTS FOR THIS TASK ORDER:

The Contracting Officer (CO) is: Lawrence Gravelle, lj_gravelle@nps.gov The Contract Specialist (CS) is: Damon Griffin, Damon_Griffin The Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) is: Ken Stella, ken_stella@nps.gov

II. SCOPE OF SERVICE REQUIREMENTS:

Task 1. Plant salvage

Plant salvage, for this task order, is defined as the physical excavation and removal of plants occurring within the planned limits of disturbance of the Moose Wilson Road construction project. Excavating, or salvage, of plants will occur before construction activities.

The area where plants will be salvaged from is along the Moose Wilson Road beginning in the south at the Granite Entrance Station and extending along the road to the junction of the Teton Park Road at the north end of the project. The soil types along the road include flatter deep to cobbly soils at the southern entrance station, rocky cobbly soils, and decomposed granite areas. Some deeper and wetter soils can occur where Serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia), Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana), and Black hawthorn (Crataegus douglasii) are growing. The general vegetation types along the road corridor include sagebrush shrublands, aspen groves, lodgepole and mixed conifer forests and wetland shrublands.

Plant locations are or will be marked via GPS coordinates (Appendix A) and with flagging by NPS staff. All plants identified will be within the road construction limits of disturbance and as such will be accessible to equipment from the Moose Wilson Road or parking areas.

Salvaging of plants includes:

· Excavating a root zone around each plant that will be the appropriate dimension and size to maximize survivability of each plant.

· Securely placing excavated root mass and associated dirt in a container (pot or ball and burlap) such that damage to all roots including small and fine roots is minimized.

· Watering excavated root mass with in the first few hours following excavation to firm soil up in the container and prevent root exposure to air and allow the material to recover from excavation.

· Transporting all salvaged plant material to the Beaver Creek shade house storage facility, approximately 15 miles from the Granite Entrance Station, unload, and store material.

Salvage Methods:

· Root balls must be excavated in an intact condition. If soils are dry this may require the contractor to pre-water the excavation zone to moisten soil before digging. Soil must be moist but not saturated. The purpose of watering is to keep soil in the root ball intact during the digging process.

· Do not dig plants in excessively wet soil conditions.

· All roots must be cut cleanly with sharp tools.

· Materials may be excavated by hand, with small equipment, or tree spades.

· The selected excavation method must cut roots in such a way as to maximize survivorship of the excavated plants (clean precise cutting of roots).

· The selected excavation method must minimize impacts to surrounding soils and vegetation and leave surrounding roads and parking area surfaces unimpacted.

· Root ball size will be of a diameter and depth to encompass enough of the tap roots, fibrous, and feeding root system to allow for plant recovery.

· Conifer species up to 5' in height shall have a minimum root ball of 44” in diameter.

· Root ball depth will be a minimum of 60 to 70% of the root ball diameter measurement (trees and large shrubs).

· For trees and larger shrubs the root ball will be 10 to 12 inches in diameter for each inch of stem caliper.

· The center of the trunk or stem of the plant shall be in the center of the root ball (to the degree possible).

· Excavated root balls will be transferred to nursery grade pots of appropriate size (5 gallon or larger) or burlap or other all-natural biodegradable fiber cloth or bags may be used but must fully contain the root ball and be a tight enough weave to hold root ball structure.

· All root balls must be secured and able to be moved from planting location and from storage while remaining intact. Larger root balls that are secured with burlap or other biodegradable material will likely need supporting lacing or wire baskets.

Salvage Timing:

All plant salvage shall take place in the fall following contract award when plants are dormant and before soils freeze between October 15 to November 30.

Species to Salvage:

Task 1a, 1b, 1c - 487 plants (Tables 1 and 2) in three different size classes will be salvaged potted or balled and burlapped.

Task 1d. Following excavation all plants shall be transported to the park shade house in the Beaver Creek housing area approximately 15 miles from the Granite Entrance Station. All plants will be offloaded from transport vehicles placed in shade house in an organized fashion as approved by the COR. All materials shall be watered upon placement in the shade house. Watering should occur a second time for all plant materials before the contractor leaves the site and upon work completion. Water is available via a standard hose bib in the shade house facility.

Species substitutions may be made if field conditions change. If species substitutions are required, they will be of similar size plant material and will be mutually agreed upon by the contractor and the government.

Table 1. Tree salvage species and quantities.

(Pseudotsuga menziesii)

(Pseudotsuga menziesii)

(Juniperus scopulorum)

(Pinus contorta)

(Pinus contorta)

(Juniperus scopulorum)

(Populus tremuloides)

(Populus tremuloides)

*Spread measurement shall be the average spread of the branches of the plant, without leaves for deciduous shrubs, including leaves for evergreens. ** Generalized from nursery stock standards in ANSI Z60.1-2014.

Table 2. Shrub salvage species and quantities.

(Purshia tridentata)

(Sarcobatus vermiculatus)

(Ericameria nauseosus)

(Prunus virginiana)

20-inch diameter and 12-inch depth

(Amelanchier alnifolia)

(Symphoricarpos oreophilus)

(Crataegus douglasii)

*Spread measurement shall be the average spread of the branches of the plant, without leaves for deciduous shrubs, including leaves for evergreens. ** Generalized from nursery stock standards in ANSI Z60.1-2014.

Task 2. Reshaping excavated holes greater than 6” deep Where plant materials are salvaged the contractor will reshape all excavated holes greater than 6” in depth. Soils or rocks disturbed in excavation can be pushed in or used as backfill. Precautions shall be made as not to damage any existing vegetation adjacent to salvage locations.

Task 3. Record keeping and reporting The contractor will maintain records (plant log) on the collection process (species, size of specimen, ease of collection, size of root mass, dates of excavation). Following project completion contractor will provide a report with executive summary documenting site conditions (to assist in planning for future salvage and installation operations), total plants salvaged, type of container, method of salvage, task outcomes, lessons learned, and other information useful to this project. Final report to be completed, electronically in MS Word, and distributed to the designated park staff and the COR within two weeks of work completion at the park.

Optional Bid Items

Option A. Road Corridor and Traffic Control The Moose Wilson Road is a narrow two-lane road with periodic pull-outs and several formalized parking areas. The road is closed to public traffic on October 30 of each year. For work that is done before the road is closed the contractor will need to provide adequate traffic control including flaggers and safety signage per the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) and follow the National Standards for Traffic Control. Submit a traffic control plan for review and approval prior to the beginning of work. Total allowable traffic delays will be negotiated with the CO. The contractor should expect only short delays would be allowable. This is a low-speed dirt road, and the work may only require single lane closures while equipment is working or getting off-loaded, or plant materials loaded.

The work and traffic control period will be determined by COR and park staff a minimum of four (4) weeks prior to work initiation. Utility work is being planned along Moose Wilson Road for Fall of 2021. Currently the park is planning to close the road a week or two earlier than the normal October 30 seasonal closure. If this occurs it is likely traffic control will not be required.

Option B. Watering and Winterizing Park staff will show contractors the general location to place the plant materials at the Beaver Creek shade house facility. Plants should be placed in blocks organized by species that are appropriate to the shade house facility roughly 10ft long by 5 to 10ft wide. Each block of plants shall have wattle placed tightly around the perimeter of the block. The blocks shall then be covered with a minimum of 4 inches of mulch material such that all air pockets between the plants are filled with mulch and a protective layer of mulch surrounds each root ball. While the contractor is on site all the plant materials will be watered such that the entire root ball stays wet during the entire time the contractor is on site. The water at the shade house facility will be turned off to winterize the facility thus the contractor should plan on utilizing a water truck or trailer to provide water.

· Wattles -all natural weed free wattles, no photodegradable materials, either 100% wood fiber or coir fiber or approved substitute. Estimated up to 3,000 linear feet.

· Mulch -100% natural wood fiber no dyes or paper fiber are allowable. Source must be approved by the government. Estimated up to 30 cubic yards of mulch

· Watering -estimate 2-3 gallons per plant every day to every other day during the work period (2-3 weeks). Government will provide a heated parking bay for water trailer or truck for overnight storage.

IV. QUALITY STANDARD

Quality Standard shall be in accordance with the base contract, commercial practices and as described in this task order. Task orders will be issued from the National Park Service Contracting division and must be executed by signature by both parties before work begins. Submit proposed schedule and plans to the COR two weeks after the award is issued. It is the Contractor’s responsibility to request clarification of the work requested in the Task Order if it is not completely clear to the Contractor. The Contractor shall provide copies of all required items to the COR in a reasonable and timely manner.

All Contractor, Subcontractor and employees will attend Park orientation meetings presented by the NPS prior to beginning work. Notify the CO 14 days prior to beginning work and 7 days before adding staff so orientations can be scheduled.

The salvage area and nursery shall be kept clean at all times. Remove dirt clogs and debris at the end of each day. The entire work area shall be returned to its existing condition upon project completion.

1. Plant Salvage Refer to American Standard for Nursery Stock ANSI Z60.1-2014 (approved April 14, 2014) for industry standard in measuring plant materials and determining root ball sizes and container sizes. When defining the root ball to be excavated for each plant, factor in the following:

· Smaller material often survives the best.

· Using clean, sharp tools prune branches when necessary to access trunk and root system, or to remove dead materials.

· Roots are similar to branches in their response to pruning practices. With directional root pruning, objectionable and severely injured roots are properly cut to a lateral root 1/3 the size of the root being cut, if possible, that is growing downward or in a favorable direction. All roots needing to be pruned or removed shall be cut cleanly.

· Typical rooting structure of each species is variable and accommodations for species specific root structures must be accounted for. For example, aspen and fir trees often have many lateral roots (wide root ball excavation) whereas most pine, spruce, and sage are tap rooted species (deep root ball excavation).

The following plant salvage guidelines apply:

Timing Plant salvage shall take place in the fall after plant dormancy and before soils freeze (approximately October 15 to November 30). Collect transplants when soil is moist. If precipitation has not occurred, irrigate prior to lifting. Ideally, plants should be removed on the mornings of cool, cloudy days when the plants are fully turgid.

Construction activities within the Moose-Wilson corridor would be limited to 30 minutes after sunrise to 30 minutes prior to sunset.

Techniques Smaller specimens should be collected to increase greater chance of survival and transplant success. All plants will be marked on the south side of the specimen and placed in the same orientation when planted in holding beds.

Lift the root ball gently out of the hole while attempting to keep the root ball intact. Hand pruners/saws can be used to cut away woody roots that do not come free during removal. Cover the root ball with damp untreated burlap until planting. The root ball can then be transferred to a suitable container (large bucket, pot, burlap, or plastic bag) for transport to the transplanting site/nursery. A small soft-tracked all-surface vehicle (supplied by contractor) may be used to assist with uprooting larger specimens, to backfill holes, and to move salvaged plant materials to transport vehicles. Salvaged root balls should be watered prior to transport and should be transported to the storage site the same day as removal from the work site.

Transportation Plant materials must be protected when transporting to holding facilities. Assure transportation does not harm the plant materials and that debris is not left on roadway.

2. Equipment Cleaning Standards The following equipment and vehicle cleaning standards apply:

· Because the Resor Pit Staging Area and the Granite Entrance Station represent the only known locations of leafy spurge in the park, special precautions must be taken to eliminate the potential spread of this and other identified high priority invasive species. Park staff will provide the contractor with the locations of where populations have been identified and are being treated and monitored.

· Contractor will notify the CO a minimum of 48 hours prior to the entry of vehicles and equipment.

· All vehicles and equipment will be inspected before their entry into a National Park Site for mud, weeds, exotic seeds, and other unwanted substances.

· Power-wash all equipment before entry. Clean hauling vehicles before their initial entrance into the Park; subsequent entries may not require cleaning unless requested.

· At no time will equipment cleaning be allowed within the park boundaries.

· NPS reserves the right to reject equipment that is dirty and could potentially spread unwanted substances within the park. The contractor shall clean all equipment working within areas where the soil has been designated as exotic species infected topsoil prior to work in other areas to ensure that exotics are not transferred beyond those areas.

· Contractor shall be responsible for providing labor, equipment, and materials necessary to clean their own equipment.

· Do not operate or park any vehicles or equipment off the paved roadway except in approved areas. Do not damage or otherwise impact any soils or vegetation other that the plants identified to be salvaged and removed as part of this contract.

3. Environmental Protections

· Confine all operations to work limits described in the task order. Take precautions to protect adjacent built and natural features and choose work methods and procedures that will mitigate the risk of damaging areas outside the scope of work. Do not break, crack, or damage the edge of pavement. If any damages occur, report this to CO. Contractor will repair damages in preference to replacement in kind. Contractor will proceed with restoration or replacement of damaged items only after direction is provided by CO. Prevent damage to natural surroundings. Repair or replace damaged trees and plants. Repair to architectural and landscape elements will be done at no additional expense to the Government. If damage occurs outside the work limits, revegetate, and repair or replace damaged trees and plants, using approved native seed and/or plants at no additional expense to the NPS.

· Do not feed, approach, or disturb wildlife within the Park or National Forest boundaries. Store and handle food, fuel, or other attractants in a manner that does not attract bears. No food, pet food, garbage, drinks, trash, or food and drink containers (including water bottles) will be placed outside of enclosed vehicles, trailers, buildings, or bear-resistant containers except during actual use. Contractor supplied garbage bins must be bear proof and meet Park requirements. Any mishandling of garbage, trash, food, and other potential bear attractants described above will result in the responsible person, or Contractor, receiving a citation subject to a fine. Remove from the project any person who receives more than one citation for food storage violations or any other violation within the Park.

· Immediately (within 1 hour) report all bear and wolf sightings and any carcasses found or observed to the Teton Interagency Dispatch Center (TIDC) at 307-739-3301. Temporarily suspend construction activities when a grizzly bear or wolf comes near an active construction area and creates a potential animal/human conflict. Contractor, Subcontractor, and employees may be required to carry bear pepper spray as a condition of being allowed to continue operations in areas of bear activity.

4. Safety and Traffic Control The contractor will understand that its employees will be working alongside, near, and in some cases on the road. proper safety protocols will be the responsibility of the contractor. Follow all pertinent safety standards for work zone safety and traffic control safety. During all operations, the contractor will be required to wear safety clothing or vests and provide bright orange traffic cones and signs per MUTCD standards. Both should be placed so that oncoming traffic has plenty of warning that work is being conducted ahead. The plant salvage contractor will be working in the road corridor at the same time as other contractors and will need to coordinate activities to assure actions of either contractor do not interfere with each other. Work will not be permitted at night and is restricted to 30 minutes after sunrise to 30 minutes prior to sunset.

5. Quality Assurance The contractor will be responsible for its workers at all times. The NPS expects full compliance with National Park Service regulations and the quality standards listed in this task order. The contractor is to assume this responsibility. In most instances the contracting project manager is expected to be on site daily while the work is occurring.

6. Materials All erosion control wattles or logs will be 100% natural fibers and certified weed free such as virgin wood fibers or coir (coconut) fibers. All mulch shall be weed free and free of dyes.

V. SCHEDULE

Only six (6) consecutive weeks are being allowed for plant salvage, provided work begins on October 15, 2022. Travel to Grand Teton National Park to utilize a full four (4)-week window. Please stay in close contact with the CO, to be informed when the construction contract is awarded as well as the anticipated date for field marking of trees and shrubs by NPS. Work shall occur between October 15 and November 30, 2022 or during the dormant season for all plants to be excavated.

Final report to be completed, electronically in MS Word, and distributed to the designated park staff and the COR within two weeks after the work is completed at the park.

VI. FEE AND PAYMENT

Payment shall not be made in excess of the ceiling price unless a revision in the ceiling price is authorized in writing by the Contracting Officer.

Original invoices are to be submitted electronically via the IPP website.

VII. CONTRACTOR BID PRICING

IGE Plant Salvage GRTE Moose Wilson Road

Base-Total

Total Base+Option

1a = root ball diameter 44-32 inches and depth 19-27 inches;

1b = root ball diameter 18-20 inches and depth 11-12 inches;

1c = root ball diameter 14-16 inches and depth 9-11 inches.

Appendix A. Project Area Description and Maps.

The Moose Wilson Road (MWR) project area includes a 3.324-mile section of MWR beginning at the Granite Canyon Entrance Station at the southern border of GRTE and extends through the park to the Moose Entrance Station. The project will be completed in phases. Phase 1 includes road improvements along the Moose-Wilson road (MWR) between the Granite Entrance and the Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve (LSR) visitor center entrance.

Location Map – Phase 1.

Vicinity Map of the Moose-Wilson Road Corridor.

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