Scope_of_Work.doc

SCOPE OF WORK

Bureau of Indian Affairs

Southern Plains Region- FY 2022 Class III Archaeological Survey and Report

I. Background As an agency of the U.S. Department of Interior, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), is mandated to comply with Federal laws and regulations on the identification and protection of cultural resources. These laws include but are not limited to, the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA), American Indian Religious Freedom Act (AIRFA), and implementing regulations.

As part of the compliance procedures for Section 106 of NHPA, the BIA requires a Class III archaeological survey and report on all new project(s) that may cause any ground disturbance within the Southern Plains Region. As part of the Section 110 of NHPA, all federal agencies are required to develop a program to identify, evaluate and protect historic properties. In order to identify those properties, Class III Archaeological Surveys and Reporting are necessary to inventory BIA managed lands.

II. Statement of Work A. The contractor shall furnish all necessary labor, transportation, equipment, specialized personnel, and material to complete the archaeological survey and reports.

B. A Class III archaeology inventory will consist of a 100 percent pedestrian survey of all affected tracts as shown on the attached topographic maps and/or aerial photographs. Shovel tests will be required to a depth of 60 cm within the tracts at strategic locations but not to exceed 30 meters. Shovel testing should be completed on transects encompassing the project boundaries as well as systematically within the area of potential effect on transects no wider than 30 meters. Additional shovel test must be dug whenever there is less than 30 percent ground surface visibility, except on slopes greater than 20 percent with proper documentation and description explained within the report. They are dug in layers no thicker than 20 cm and screened through ¼ inch mesh unless high clay or water content requires that they be troweled through.

C. There will be no collecting of artifacts and no testing of cultural resources prior to approval from the Southern Plains Regional Archeologist in consultation with the Tribal Historic Preservation Offices and/or Tribal Leaders. An Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA) Permit may be necessary and the contractor is obligated to apply for one prior to fieldwork. In order to determine whether the ARPA Permit is necessary, the contractor shall contact the Regional Archeologist for guidance, forms and review. Within the ARPA Permit Application, the contractor will give dates for field work. Once the Permit is approved the cover letter will determine the period of fieldwork, amendments to the Permit must be made prior to the expiration. The Permit gives a date range, the contractor shall notify the Regional Archeologist of actual dates fieldwork is to be performed for random monitoring in the field by the Regional Archeologist.

D. In addition to fieldwork searching for in ground deposits and pedestrian survey methods for surface finds, research is to be completed on the property in relation of ownership to the current tribe of jurisdiction and eligibility criteria. As part of the inventory process, the sites, structures and objects located during the cultural resources survey must receive a determination of eligibility. For historic sites, structures and objects, a historic records review must be completed with copies of all previous archeological work, archival research, oral traditions of Traditional Cultural Properties and/or Traditional Cultural Plant Use on the survey location.

E. Consultation or collaboration with the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer (THPO) when the tribe has representation in that capacity. Not all Federally Recognized tribes in Southern Plains have this position established and filled. A pre-field meeting will take place with the BIA, awarded contractor Principle Investigator and Tribal Historic Preservation Office or designated representative. Formal consultation will be conducted by the Southern Plains Regional Archeologist, this may encompass multiple rounds of consultation with comments and corrections to be completed by the contracted archeological firm.

F. The report and the abstract must meet the Secretary of Interior’s standards and guidelines and be accepted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs Regional Archeologist, the Oklahoma State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), the Oklahoma Archeological Survey (OAS) and any Federally Recognized Tribe with ancestral/current jurisdictional control for the area of potential effect. If a finding of adverse effects or the agencies do not agree on whether an adverse effect will result, consultation with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) will begin. The reporting will be broken down by parcel not by overall contract. In most cases the contracts cover several parcels covering a wide variety of BIA actions/projects. For example, one contract with four parcels will have four reports. For parcels near one another, the background information is likely to be the same with differences in specific location information based on the survey conducted.

G. The report(s) will be in color and include the following:

1. Abstract. The abstract must outline the report contents and refer to specific highlights of the findings

2. Table of Contents.

3. Description of the project area and any areas within the project area that were not surveyed.

4. Environmental setting and cultural history.

5. Background review of historical research including: previous archeological work, museum collections, gathering relevant data on geology, botany, urban geography and other related disciplines; archival research; informant reviews; and/or recording of oral traditions where Traditional Cultural Properties and/or Traditional Cultural Plant Use may be concerned.

6. Research Design

a. Description of proposed field survey methods, procedures, reasoning, and strategy used to identify cultural resources.

a. Description of actual field survey methods, procedures, reasoning, strategy used to identify cultural resources and any reasoning for deviation from the research design.

7. A list of all recorded sites including site designation, elevation, and site type with: Historic Preservation Resource Identification Form; Historic Preservation Resource Identification Form for Cemeteries; Truss Bridge Forms; and/or Non-Truss Bridge Forms when applicable.

8. Pictures of project area and of historic sites. No photographs are to be taken of Traditional Cultural Properties or locations of Traditional Cultural Plants without permission of Tribal consulting parties. The use of Tribal Monitors may be required in these locations and arrangement with the tribe will be developed in the pre-field meeting.

9. A general vicinity map depicting the location of the project in region.

10. Description, site legal location, and evaluation of all identified cultural resources; document their potential to contribute data on cultural resource problems of the project area; identify sites which may be eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, with rational and justification under National Register criteria (36CFR60.4).

11. Appendices of maps:

a. A general vicinity map depicting the location of the project in the region.

b. Location of shovel tests within the project area

c. National Register eligible sites within each project area

d. Archaeological sites within each project area

e. Location of shovel tests in relation to National Register eligible sites and archaeological sites within the project area.

f. Location of sites, NRHP eligible sites or listed sites, TCPs and National Landmarks within one mile of each project area.

H. All maps shall include a key, title, north arrow, and are to be drawn to scale in color. USGS 7.5 minute maps are to include quad map name and date, with townships and ranges placed in the margins.

I. ‘Site’ is to be defined by the criteria of the State Historic Preservation Office and/or Tribal Historic Preservation Office with jurisdiction. Prepare site records for newly discovered sites and updated for previously recorded sites. Provide a summary table.

At a minimum, site records will include the following:

1. State specific site designations (Oklahoma Archeology Survey guidelines)

2. Pagination with page number and total number of pages on each page.

3. For previously recorded sites, include the original site record as well as all updates.

4. Maps: a portion of the USGS 7.5 minute topographic map showing the site locations, name of 7.5 minute USGS map; a site map depicting the location of the site datum (or site datum if secondary data are required), features, any site impacts, contour lines, UTM coordinates for site boundaries.

5. Site description: Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates in for latitude and longitude and for the site datum/data: 7.5 minute USGS map name, township, range, 1/4 of 1/4 section; site elevation, site size in acres; a photo of the site area, a photo of the site datum which includes the immediate surrounding area, a description and photos of features and diagnostic artifacts; the location of any site impacts, and a photo and general description of the impacts. At a minimum, GPS coordinates are to be recorded with the level of accuracy with Trimble’s GeoExplorer 3 or better.

J. Within 30 days of the issuance of the ARPA permit not to exceed 45 days after the award of the contract, the contractor will be responsible for the delivery of the following:

1.

One unbound color copy of the draft archeology report to the BIA Southern Plains Regional Archeologist.

2.

One unbound color copy of all site records to the BIA Southern Plains Regional Archeologist. All site records and maps are exempt from the Freedom of Information Act and will be delivered to the affected federally recognized tribes of Oklahoma as separate documents.

3.

An Encrypted USB storage device containing all photographs shall be delivered to the BIA Southern Plains Regional Archeologist or their designated official.

4.

An Encrypted USB storage device containing topographic maps depicting the areas surveyed and location of all sites documented shall be delivered to the BIA Southern Plains Regional Archeologist or their designated official.

5.

An Encrypted USB storage device containing the shapefiles for all maps within the report. Shapefiles must be made of any Traditional Cultural Properties within the APE, Isolated Find locations within the APE, and sites found within the APE.

**If all necessary information in high quality format will fit on an encrypted USB, only one will be necessary rather than a separate USB for each of the required listed above. However, two USBs will need to be furnished in case of damage to files, the second USB would be a backup.

III. Qualifications

At a minimum, the principal investigator, the archaeology field crew supervisor are to meet the Secretary of the Interior Professional Qualification standards for Archaeology (36 CFR Part 61:48 FR 44716). The principal investigator, and the archaeology field crew supervisor are to have a minimum of an MA or MS degree in archaeology; at least one year of full time professional experience in archeological research, administration, or management; at least one year of supervised field and analytic experience in North American archaeology; in addition, at least one year of field experience in the Plains and Northeastern Oklahoma region. At a minimum, all field surveyors must possess professional training in archaeology methodology and be under supervision of the field crew supervisor and/or principal investigator. If the contractor anticipates using a subcontracted crew, the contractor must supply the curriculum vitae and/or resume of the subcontracted crew for evaluation. This will ensure the standards are met on ground at all times. If changes in the contractor or subcontractor conducting the archaeological field work or the principal investigator take place in the duration of the contract, the replacement staff curriculum vitae and/or resume must be supplied to the Regional Archeologist for review.

IV. Required Consultation

Within 14 days of the Southern Plains Regional Archaeologist receiving the approved or corrected version of the deliverables from the awarded contractor, the Regional Archeologist will consult with the minimum of the following entities:

1. Federally Recognized Tribe with current jurisdiction over the project area

2. Federally Recognized Tribe with ancestral jurisdiction over the project area

3. The State Historic Preservation Office and The Oklahoma Archeological Survey (shared duties) The awarded contractor is required to address any/all requests for additional surveys or information relating to the submitted survey reports. No more than 14 days will pass without addressing said potential requests from these entities.

The awarded contractor will receive 60% of the awarded payment once the survey reports are submitted to the Southern Plains Regional Archaeologist and are deemed satisfactory. The remaining 40% of the awarded payment will be release to the contractor once all consulting parties have accepted all survey reports.

V. Contract Timeline

The Southern Plains Regional Archeologist meets all the standards of the Secretary of Interior Standards and will be responsible for consultation and coordination of the cultural resource survey. The following timeline will allow for prompt processing of all required permits, fieldwork completion, reporting, consultation and any corrections needed to ensure a quality deliverable is provided to all consulting parties:

1. ARPA application and permit must be submitted and processed within 14 calendar days of signing the contract.

2. All fieldwork and draft report must be submitted within 30 calendar days of ARPA permit issuance.

3. Southern Plains Regional Archeologist must review the draft and supply comments within 14 calendar days of receipt. If no corrections needed it will move to #5.

4. If corrections are needed, contractor will have a corrected copy to the Regional Archeologist within 14 calendar days from received date.

5. The Regional Archeologist will submit the report to all consulting parties within 14 calendar days. At this point the contractor may submit the invoice for the initial 60% payment.

6. The consulting parties have 40 calendar days to submit comments or concurrence on the project. If concurrence see #11.

7. The Regional Archeologist has 14 calendar days to supply the contractor with notice to make corrections.

8. If corrections are requested the contractor has 14 calendar days to make corrections/answer questions.

9. Regional Archeologist has 7 calendar days to submit continued consultation.

10. Consulting parties have 40 calendar days to submit comments or concurrence on the project.

11. Regional Archeologist has 7 calendar days to notify contractor of concurrence in order to submit their final 40% payment.

**Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, timeline adjustments may occur in keeping with the tribal, local, state and federal government safety protocols and requirements. At the time of this solicitation, the Oklahoma State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) and Oklahoma Archeological Survey (OAS) are still in full operation but closed to the public. All coordination and consultation with these organizations are taking place digitally rather than in person. There should be no delay in the background research necessary, however should either organization release notification of closings or delays that information will be taken into consideration in adjusting the timeline without penalty to the contractor. When the initial research requests are submitted to the SHPO and OAS, the Regional Archeologist will be cc’d on the request. The research submission will also request that the SHPO and OAS cc the Regional Archeologist in their response.

Note: since the Southern Plains Region is comprised of three states with differing Archaeological Survey Standards, the Oklahoma requirements are attached.