SOW_LMD5WeedMappingProj_05312022.pdf

STATEMENT OF WORK

Land Management 5 Noxious Weed Inventory & Report Project

641,560 acres Leupp, Birdsprings, Tolani Lake

Arizona

To conduct a comprehensive Noxious Weed GIS Inventory & Report

I. Background:

The Western Navajo Agency Branch of Natural Resources is planning to conduct a comprehensive noxious weed inventory and report for the Land Management District 5 Project Area to manage noxious/invasive weed infestation. The weed mapping protocol can be found inside the Draft Navajo Nation Integrated Weed Management Plan. The agricultural land use and grazing permit holders and community members have requested this type of planning, with the ultimate goals are to improve the rangelands, croplands and livestock quality including removal of targeted noxious weeds.

The Contractor will conduct a comprehensive noxious/invasive weed inventory including required reports and clearances and to comply with the Secretarial Order 3398, 3399 and 508 compliances.

An Integrated Weed Management Plan (IWMP) and Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement is currently being prepared for the Navajo Nation by the Bureau of Indian Affairs Navajo Region. Weed inventory using GIS has been completed in the past and the GIS with the weed reports are available.

The Western Navajo Agency (WNA) Noxious Weed Inventory and Control Program received funding for the FY 2022. The project location would be in LMD 5 with a total acre of 641,559 but the priority areas will be: road, streams, designated rang units and farm plots, designated communities, rights-of-ways (waterlines, infrastructures, etc) which is outlined in the Draft IWMP. The project will be a cooperative effort to inventory and control noxious weeds. The target weed species will include the 45 noxious/invasive weed species identified in the Draft IWMP but it will not be limited this. There may be new weed infestation that need to be document and treated if needed. Previous Noxious Weed Inventory was completed for LMD 5, a copy of the report is available. The land users request and support this project. This project will come into different phases where 1) to conduct a comprehensive weed inventory mapping 2) to remove exotic weedy target species with initial and retreatment 3) to conduct stream assessment and planning with federal and Tribal partners including land users and 4) to implement watershed restoration protection and/or range and cropland management plan. The project will focus on weed inventory. The area is also located on a trust land where the BIA has the trust responsibility to protect and preserve the natural resources.

PROJECT OBJECTIVES

The objective is to complete Noxious/Invasive Weed Inventory and Report for the Project Area, which shall include:

1. Preparation of the Project meetings and local data resources

2. Preparation of the Weed Mapping using GPS/GIS tools

3. Preparation of the Draft & Final Noxious/Invasive Weed Report

The tasks need to comply with the Secretarial Order 3398, 3399 and 508 compliances.

KEY PERSONNEL SUBSTITUTIONS

During the first 90 days of performance, the Contractor shall make no substitutions of key personnel unless the substitution is necessitated by illness, death, or termination of employment. The Contractor shall notify the BIA Contracting Officer within 15 calendar days after the occurrence of any of these events and provide the information required below. After the initial 90-day period, the Contractor shall submit the information required to the Contracting Officer at least 15 days before making any permanent substitutions.

The Contractor shall provide a detailed explanation of the circumstances necessitating the proposed substitutions, complete resumes for the proposed substitutes, and any additional information requested by the BIA Contracting Officer. Proposed substitutes should have comparable qualifications to those of the persons being replaced. The Contracting Officer will notify the Contractor within 15 calendar days after receipt of all required information of the decision on substitutions. This clause shall be modified to reflect any approved changes of key personnel.

SERVICES TO BE COMPLETED

This statement of work defines the project information requirements, products, and services to be produced by the Contractor. Also included in this statement of work are communication and coordination activities such as conference calls and meetings with BIA and the Navajo Nation staff.

The Contractor shall develop a noxious/invasive weed inventory and report with goals and objectives using the best available project data, best management practices and other related resourceful information. For example, the 2010 noxious/invasive weed report with a GIS database. The Draft NN IWMP is available online https://www.bia.gov/regional-offices/navajo/navajo-nation-integrated-weed-management-plan for guidance on weed mapping and GIS database management. See Appendix for Weed Mapping Protocol.

The Contractor shall provide all manpower, equipment, and services to perform the tasks described in this Scope of Work. All work shall be technically and legally defensible and in compliance with the requirements.

For the report, the Contractor shall identify and use all available scientific data and research associated with the impacts of the PROJECT AREA All products must be edited and user-friendly for public review and understanding. The Contractor’s name shall not appear on the cover and/or coversheet of any draft or final products. Draft products shall include line numbers to facilitate the review process. The Contractor shall perform a consistency check of all data and facts used throughout all deliverable products.

NOTES ON DELIVERABLES:

• All draft deliverables shall be line numbered and include the date of revision in the header or footer.

• When timeframes are specified in the statement of work, they are given in working days, not calendar days.

• Unless specifically stated, the Contractor shall submit deliverables to the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) in an electronic format (both Word and pdf). As appropriate, the COR will complete a Quality Assurance review to verify the deliverable is complete, meets contract requirements and meets professional standards. Within thirty (30) calendar days of receipt of the draft deliverable, the COR will notify the Contractor of any substantive corrections needed before it can be accepted and distributed to the Project Team for review. The Contractor shall then correct the document and resubmit the draft to the COR within fourteen

(14) calendar days of receiving notification. Once approved by the COR, the contractor shall distribute the draft deliverable to the Project Team for one round of review and comment.

https://www.bia.gov/regional-offices/navajo/navajo-nation-integrated-weed-management-plan

TASKS

Task 1 – Preparation of the Project meetings and local data resources

Subtask 1-A. Project Conference Call

Approximately 10 days after the task order is issued, the BIA and the Navajo Nation will facilitate a project conference call for the project. The Contractor shall include 1-2 key personnel on this conference call. The primary purpose of this conference call will be to introduce team members, identify candidate dates for the interdisciplinary team meeting (Subtask B), and determine the appropriate method for transmitting existing information to the Contractor. Existing information will be transmitted as quickly as possible and will be reviewed by the Contractor prior to the interdisciplinary team meeting described in Subtask B.

The Contractor shall prepare meeting notes that document the discussion and decisions related to each agenda topic. The Contractor shall assume one revision of the notes, if the first draft is of acceptable quality to the BIA and the Navajo Nation.

• Deliverable: conference call attendance and notes

Subtask 1-B. Interdisciplinary Team Meeting Attendance and Facilitation

The Contractor shall provide one to two (1-2) key personnel for travel to Project Area to do a field visit.

The schedule for the weed mapping will be determined during the project conference call.

The Contractor shall also perform the following tasks as part of the interdisciplinary team meeting:

Note Taking – One member of the contractor staff shall take detailed notes during the meetings (see subtask C for details).

Gathering Information – While visiting with the BIA and the Navajo Nation, the Contractor shall obtain or make arrangements to obtain copies of the documents necessary to complete the analysis. The information gathered shall be included in an annotated bibliography and attached to the internal Meeting Notes.

• Deliverables: Interdisciplinary team meeting attendance and facilitation

Subtask 1-C. Interdisciplinary Team Meeting Notes The Contractor shall prepare Interdisciplinary Team Meeting notes in summary form and not a meeting transcription. The summary shall document the discussion and decisions related to each agenda topic, as well as background information shared orally by BIA and Navajo Nation staff. When the Contractor provides the meeting notes, the related information that was prepared for the meeting (background, enabling legislation, purpose and significance, etc.) shall also be included. Contractor shall assume one revision of the notes, if the first draft is of acceptable quality to the BIA and the Navajo Nation.

• Deliverables: Draft and final interdisciplinary team meeting notes

Task 2 - Preparation of the Internal & Final Draft Noxious/Invasive Weed Management Plan

Subtask 2-A. Report Outline The contractor will request a copy of the Shonto Wash Weed Inventory Report as a template to use.

• Deliverables: Draft and Final EA Outline

Subtask 2-B. Draft and Final draft versions of Noxious Weed Inventory & Report The Contractor shall submit a draft Report for BIA and Navajo Nation review and comment. The Contractor shall incorporate the appropriate information from the final Internal Meeting notes and other relevant information. This plan shall include project background; the history of the PROJECT AREA;

Draft NN IWMP provides guidance and will be used as a reference, existing data and analysis, etc.;

overall purpose and need for action; objectives; issues and impact topics carried forward and/or dismissed from further investigation; and related laws, regulations, policies, and plans. Included in this plan shall be supporting draft color graphics for internal BIA and Navajo Nation review. The Contractor shall track all comments and how they were addressed, apprising BIA and Navajo Nation of any unresolved comments, and facilitating their resolution. After the Contractor has satisfactorily addressed all of the comments from the Project Team, a “final draft” will be submitted for approval. Once approved, the deliverable is considered ready for inclusion in the Complete First Internal Draft Report to be use for the related documents.

• Deliverables: Draft and final draft versions of Noxious Weed Inventory Report

Task 3. Project Schedule and Coordination

Subtask 3-A. Project Schedule A draft project schedule will be prepared by the Contractor within 10 days after the conference call described in Task 1. The schedule developed by the Contractor shall include the deliverables as identified in the Statement of Work, review periods for BIA and Navajo Nation, and other important milestones.

Following BIA and Navajo Nation review and comment, the Contractor shall make the necessary changes to the draft schedule to produce a final schedule. The Contractor shall be responsible for updating the final schedule on a quarterly basis and upon the request of BIA and the Navajo Nation to reflect changes to the overall project schedule. The contractor shall adapt to extension of the project schedule upon BIA and Navajo Nation request.

• Deliverables: Draft and final project schedule (including periodic updates)

Subtask 3-B. Monthly Project Status Calls The Contractor shall participate in one conference call every month (one hour in duration). The Contractor shall work with the BIA and the Navajo Nation to set the agenda; facilitation of these calls will be shared between BIA, the Navajo Nation and the Contractor, as necessary. The Contractor shall provide two staff members on each call, one of which will be dedicated to note taking. The Contractor shall provide a concise written summary of each call (in electronic format) to the BIA COR within a week of each call and should assume minor clarifications will need to be incorporated after BIA and Navajo Nation review.

• Deliverables: Monthly status call summaries

Task 4 - Administrative Record The Contractor shall be responsible for creating and maintaining an administrative record for the project that will be used to document the BIA and Navajo Nation’s decision-making process. The administrative record shall be compiled as documents are generated or received during the planning and compliance process, making it a contemporaneous record of the process. The Contractor shall maintain an administrative record for documents related to the project using Microsoft Excel. The Contractor shall ensure quality assurance by comparing the information logged in the database with the document file. A complete version of every document in the administrative record shall be saved in electronic format (PDF). The administrative record shall be organized chronologically by date of the document, with the file name corresponding to the date and entry number in the database/spreadsheet. The record shall be maintained throughout the project and kept current. The Contractor shall provide BIA and the Navajo Nation with electronic copies of additions to the administrative record documents and an updated index on a monthly basis.

• Deliverables: Administrative Record documents

Task 5 - Preparation of the Internal Draft & Final Noxious Weed Inventory Report

Subtask 5-A. Internal Draft & Final Report The Contractor shall submit a draft Weed Inventory Report for BIA and Navajo Nation review and comment. The Contractor shall incorporate the appropriate information from the final Internal Meeting notes and other relevant information. This report shall include project background; the history of the PROJECT AREA; summary of the literature review conducted, existing data and analysis, etc.; overall purpose and need for action; objectives; issues and impact topics carried forward and/or dismissed from further analysis; and related laws, regulations, policies, and plans. Included in this chapter shall be supporting draft color graphics for internal BIA and Navajo Nation review. The Contractor shall track all comments and how they were addressed, apprising BIA and Navajo Nation of any unresolved comments, and facilitating their resolution. After the Contractor has satisfactorily addressed all of the comments from the Project Team, a “final draft” will be submitted for approval.

List of Prepares summarizes the consultation and coordination occurring in the preparation of the Report.

The contractor shall be responsible for preparing up to 15 maps (8.5 x 11 or 11x17 as appropriate) for the Report including the PROJECT AREA Location map and maps. Maps must be of an appropriate scale for readability. The contractor shall be responsible for the development of tables and graphs for the report.

All of the maps, tables, and graphs should be incorporated into the Report sections described above.

The Contractor shall deliver one complete, technically adequate, edited Final Report for BIA and Navajo Nation review.

• Deliverables: Draft and final draft versions of Noxious Weed Inventory Report

II. Government Provided Information

The government will provide to the Contractor the following information:

1. Draft Navajo Nation Integrated Weed Management Plan is available online

2. Past Noxious Weed Inventory Report & GIS data

Additional Information about the Project area and specific project information is available at:

1. Ecological Site Description available online (MRLA 35X, Arizona) http://esis.sc.egov.usda.gov/Welcome/pgReportLocation.aspx?type=ESD

2. Soil information can be found at NRCS website: Soil Survey Staff, Natural Resource Conservation Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Web Soil Survey. Available online at http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov/ http://esis.sc.egov.usda.gov/Welcome/pgReportLocation.aspx?type=ESD http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov/

Appendix 2: Map of the Land Management 5 Weed Inventory & Report Project, 641,560 acres.