SOW_-_RGdN_National_Monument_8_6_2021.docx

U.S Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management

Scope of Work for the

RIO GRANDE DEL NORTE NATIONAL MONUMENT

MANAGEMENT PLAN

Taos Resource Management Plan Amendment / Environmental Impact Statement

August 2021

Table of Contents

Scope of Work: Rio Grande del Norte National Monument Management Plan

I. Introduction

The Rio Grande del Norte National Monument was designated on March 25, 2013. The Monument consists of approximately 245,290 acres of public lands in Taos and Rio Arriba Counties in north-central New Mexico, managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Taos Field Office.

In accordance with the Presidential Proclamation which established the Monument, a new stand-alone management plan is being prepared for the Monument. In preparing a new management plan, the Taos Field Office is amending its current land use plan, the 2012 Taos Resource Management Plan (RMP).

The BLM initiated the preparation of the Monument management plan in January 2014. Originally, an EA-level plan amendment was determined to be the appropriate means of streamlining the Monument planning process since the BLM did not anticipate substantial changes in how it manages the Monument under the Taos RMP. At the time, the BLM believed that the purposes for which the Monument was designated—the protection, preservation, and restoration of important resource values—could be achieved without substantial changes to its current management of traditional uses, including livestock grazing, fuelwood collection, hunting, fishing, recreation, and other long-standing opportunities. At the time the Monument was designated, the area was being managed as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) under the Taos RMP, largely consistent with the purposes of the Monument’s designation.

Following the 2014 initiation of the planning process, extensive public scoping was completed, a scoping report was published, and the BLM worked closely with its cooperating agencies to develop a reasonable range of alternatives. Cooperating agencies that have contributed extensively to the development of the draft alternatives include the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, the Taos Soil and Water Conservation District, the Village of Questa, the New Mexico State Historic Preservation Officer, the San Antonio del Rio Colorado Land Grant, and the New Mexico Land Grants Council.

In April 2017, the effort to prepare the Monument management plan was essentially put on hold with the issuance of Executive Order 13792, “Review of Designations Under the Antiquities Act,” which included Rio Grande del Norte National Monument among those placed under review. Since expending resources on the Monument planning effort would have been contradictory to the on-going review of the Monument’s designation per the executive order, the Monument planning process was suspended.

Executive Order 13792 was rescinded in March 202l, and the Taos Field Office was directed to proceed with its Monument planning effort. Due to various reasons, however, including changes in NEPA regulations and the addition of two new wilderness areas within the Monument, the BLM has decided to re-initiate the NEPA process to evaluate an amendment to the Taos RMP with the preparation of an environmental impact statement (EIS).

This statement of work (SOW) focuses on completion of pre-planning and scoping steps of the process and associated tasks. Tasks associated with the completion of Monument management plan and EIS are considered optional for the purpose of this SOW. Phases of the contract are identified under Section VII.

II. Objectives

1. To re-initiate the Monument planning effort, this time with an EIS-level NEPA analysis.

2. To use the preliminary alternatives, developed prior to 2017, to the extent possible as the starting point for a full range of alternatives that account for the new wilderness designations and any other changes in circumstances.

3. To complete a fully defensible EIS-level NEPA process with approval of a high-quality Monument Plan and amendment to the Taos Resource Management Plan. (Note that fulfillment of this objective involves optional tasks.)

III. Federal Agency Responsibilities

The BLM shall:

1. Assign a COR for this BPA Call to act as a single point of contact for the contractor.

1. Assign a BLM Project Manager (PM).

1. Provide interdisciplinary team (ID team) participation as needed, which will be scheduled to the mutual agreement of the contractor and the BLM a specified number of days in advance of the facilitated meeting and at a BLM-provided venue. The ID team will provide necessary resource information based on the agreed upon schedule.

1. Edit and approve final decision documents(s).

1. Add to the administrative record (or decision file), if necessary, and review the final administrative record provided by the contractor.

1. Schedule internal agency review periods.

1. Maintain good communications with the contractor.

1. Update, compile, reformat, and furnish data from the BLM’s databases as needed for use in the optional NEPA document analysis and planning process.

1. Provide all GIS data, including current maps of the affected environment and alternatives, prepared as part of the original Monument planning effort.

1. Assist with public affairs, media, and messaging.

IV. Contractor’s General Responsibilities

The contractor must be familiar with all laws, regulation, policies and guidelines related to the BLM NEPA processes, and have knowledge of issues-based NEPA.

The contractor shall meet with the BLM COR, BLM PM, and other BLM personnel on a regular basis. Consistent communication is vital to producing acceptable documents.

The contractor shall have demonstrated project management experience and the ability to meet timelines for completion of land use plan and NEPA document page limitations, as applicable.

The contractor shall maintain good communications with the BLM and provide progress reports and hold meetings with the BLM on an agreed-upon frequency.

The contractor shall follow industry-standard and BLM-specific (where available and defined) geospatial and tabular data management practices. Additionally, the contractor shall consult with the COR prior to using licensed data that have distribution and use restrictions that may limit BLM’s ability to share the data with the public.

The contractor shall possess and retain competence in project administration and shall provide key personnel for this project who are appropriately qualified. If during performance of the order, contractor support key-personnel resign or are terminated, the contractor shall provide the Contracting Officer (CO) within 15 business days the proposed substitutes resume, as they should have comparable qualifications to the individual being replaced. All proposed substitutes will be subjected to a two-week trial period. Proposed replacements which do not satisfy the BLM during the trial period will be removed from the order at no cost to the Government. Any replacement or substitution of key-personnel would not result in project delays.

The Proposed Monument Plan/Final EIS and associated Record of Decision (ROD)—both of which involve optional tasks to complete—must legally defensible and meet the requirements of applicable laws, regulations, court decisions, and manuals. The Quality Standards listed in Section X have been included to provide additional information regarding timing, products, and to help define the desired results BLM needs for this contract.

The contractor would be responsible for compiling, organizing, and maintaining the administrative record (or decision file) for the EIS, including the incorporation of previously generated records provided by the BLM. The contractor shall be responsible for protecting all information used, gathered, or developed as a result of work under this contract. The contractor shall protect all Sensitive but Unclassified (SBU) government data. The contractor shall not make copies, screen shots or save SBU government data to be removed from the physical premises without explicit written permission from the BLM COR responsible for this contract. All information, work papers, drafts, and final documents developed or accessed, or any product/system developed are the property of the United States Government.

V. Contractor-provided Services and Materials

The contractor shall furnish all labor, equipment, supervision, transportation, travel, materials, supplies, and incidentals, except those indicated as government-furnished, to perform all work necessary for completion of this BPA Call, and to provide deliverables in accordance with the requirements of this BPA Call.

All data, metadata, analyses, documents, official records and other materials generated by the contractor under this BPA Call become government property and shall be provided to the BLM in a project record that meets the administrative record requirements of the agency prior to completion of the BPA Call.

All work, findings, determinations, and products related to the BPA Call are inherently proprietary to the BLM and thus, may be communicated with other parties only with the expressed written consent of the COR.

VI. List of Tasks

Task 1: Project Management

During all phases of the contract, the contractor shall provide project management support to the BLM Project Managers as needed to ensure proper planning and implementation of required agency tasks, as well as monitoring progress to ensure the project progresses within schedule.

Communication is a critical component of this task. The contractor will facilitate internal recurring meetings as well as a series of interdisciplinary meetings during the development of alternative and preparation of impact analysis (via phone or video conference), including developing agenda and meeting materials. The contractor will also facilitate interdisciplinary team meetings that include the participation of cooperating agencies. Internal recurring meetings will occur weekly or bimonthly, as necessary.

Follow up to all meetings by the contractor will be necessary to ensure all action items are completed, including distribution of meeting notes and all other assignments identified during the meeting. A record of these meetings will be included in the decision file.

The contractor will maintain one or more secure, web-based sites (e.g., Microsoft OneDrive or similar) that will serve as the clearinghouse for document review for the duration of the project.

Deliverables:

1. Project Schedule (see Appendix A for Preliminary Schedule). Due: 30 days after contract award, unless mutually agreed upon by PM and contractor.

1. Draft and final meeting agendas, information boards, handouts, and materials for meetings. Due: To be dependent on nature of meeting, however in general, final agendas for internal meetings shall be submitted no less than 4 hours prior to the meeting, and for external, public meetings final agendas shall be submitted no less than 10 days prior to the meeting. Final meeting materials may be distributed during the meeting, however drafts shall be approved no less than one day prior to meeting. Final meeting notes and records for project file. Due: No greater than 5 days following the meeting.

Task 2: Pre-Planning

2.a Preparation Plan

The contractor will assist the BLM to write a Preparation Plan (Prep Plan). Working closely with the BLM Project Manager, the contractor will assist with drafting the following sections of the Prep Plan, as necessary:

· Identification of preliminary issues

· Identification of preliminary planning criteria

· Identification of expertise or skill necessary for the planning and NEPA effort

· A preliminary budget (cost estimate) for the planning and NEPA effort

· Any data needs

· Planning and NEPA process outline

· Process timeline outline—with reference to Project Schedule (see Task 1)

· Outline of public participation strategy

The Prep Plan will be organized largely consistent with the recommend format provided in Appendix F-1 of the Land Use Plan Handbook (H01601-1).

Deliverables:

1. Draft Prep Plan. Due: 60 days after contract award

2.b Communications Plan

The contractor will assist the BLM in drafting a communications plan for internal and external communications regarding the planning and NEPA process, which will outline the target audience, new and emerging audiences, key messages, and talking points, consistent with BLM policy. The communications plan will also outline the public participation strategy. The BLM will be responsible for finalizing the plan.

Deliverables:

1. Draft Communications Plan. Due: 60 days after contract award

2.c: Federal Register Notice of Intent (NOI)

The contractor will assist the BLM in drafting the NOI and associated documentation, which includes a briefing paper, communications plan, draft news release, and FAQs in the BLM-provided formats (the latter of which is consistent with the public participation outline addressed under Task 2). The NOI will be prepared consistent with the guidance provided in the Land Use Planning Handbook (H-1601-1), Section III (A)(2), and other BLM policy on Federal Register notice requirements regarding BLM and Departmental reviews and publication.

Deliverables:

1. Draft Federal Register notice and associated materials. Due: No later than 75 days after contract award

Task 3: NEPA Compliance: Initiation of EIS

3.a Scoping

The public scoping for the EIS will have two primary focuses: (a) on the preliminary range of alternatives previously developed based on the original public scoping for the Monument plan—and how they might be adjusted for changed circumstances and new information—and (b) the management of two new wilderness units within the Monument, designated in 2019.

The preliminary alternatives—currently in table format—will be provided by the BLM and given final formatting and editing by the contractor in preparation for release to the public. Associated maps, provided by the BLM, will also be made available to the public as part of public scoping.

The contractor will also be responsible for drafting all public outreach materials, including a press release and Interested Public letter.

The contractor will facilitate and conduct one public meeting in Taos, New Mexico; one in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and one virtual, web-based public meeting, and document the meeting with notetaking. The in-person meetings will be held at venues determined by the BLM in coordination with the contractor. The contractor will provide the platform for web-based public meetings. The contractor will also provide English to Spanish translation, as necessary.

The contractor will prepare all necessary materials, including but not limited to the following:

· Sign-in sheets

· Foam-backed signs, maps, process flow-charts, and other necessary graphics

· Power Point presentation

· Agenda, if needed

· Professional facilitator

Following the close of the public scoping period, the contractor will systematically evaluate all public input, identify and organize substantive comments, and prepare a scoping report on the input received.

Deliverables:

a. Preliminary Alternatives document

b. Draft news releases

c. Monthly web-based newsletter to support the public participation component of the communications plan

d. Draft Interested Public letter

e. All materials described above for facilitating and conducting a public scoping meeting

f. Public scoping meetings

g. Chart of comments and agency responses and frequent communications to public as the process evolves

h. Scoping Report

Task 4: NEPA Compliance: Completion of EIS—Optional

4.a Draft Monument Plan/EIS—Optional

Under the direction of the BLM, the contractor will prepare a Draft Monument Plan/EIS in compliance with regulations at 40 CFR 1500, current Departmental policy, and the BLM NEPA Handbook (H-1790-1), including knowledge and adherence to page numbers, appendix, etc.

The contractor will draft Chapters 1 and 2 of the Draft Monument Plan/EIS. The BLM will review Chapters 1 and 2 and provide all comments to the contractor for corrections and revisions.

Chapter 3 will then be prepared by the contractor (based on the scope of issues and alternatives established in Chapters 1 and 2). The BLM will review Chapters 3 and provide all comments to the contractor for corrections and revisions.

A complete administrative draft of the Draft Monument Plan/EIS will be provided by the contractor to the BLM and its cooperating agencies for review. Two electronic versions may be prepared for the BLM, a print ready version and a red-lined version highlighting all changes made since the previous version of the document. The contractor will correct and revise the administrative draft document in coordination with the BLM Project Manager. A comment matrix will be used to document and indicate responses to all internal and cooperating agency comments.

Review of documents may occur at the field office, district office, state office, headquarters office and/or solicitor’s office, and may also include cooperating agency review. A first round of reviews by the field office ID team is expected to proceed a second-round review by headquarters and/or solicitor’s office and cooperating agencies.

Review periods may be 2-4 weeks, to be determined by the BLM in coordination with the contractor, as time allows. The contractor will set up a comment process that all internal reviewers will use, and a feedback loop will be built into all the internal comment periods. Collaborative editing may be accomplished through a mutually agreed upon internet cloud-based storage system (e.g., Microsoft OneDrive or similar).

The contractor will print at least two hard copies of the camera-ready Draft Monument Plan/EIS, including at least one or the contractor’s writer/editor and/or project manager to review and one for the BLM project manager to review. Any final edits identified by the contractor or BLM project manager will be made by the contractor. The BLM expects the document to be 100 percent accurate and without any typos or misstatements, and that tables, figures, maps, headings, etc. are clearly understood and flow for readability.

The camera-ready Draft Monument Plan/EIS will then be prepared for publication for public review and comment, including Section 508 compliance. The contractor will make all documents available to the BLM for posting to ePlanning for public review and comment.

The contractor will draft the Federal Register Notice of Availability (NOA) and associated materials. package. The NOA package prepared by the contractor will include the NOA, briefing paper, any other documents required per current BLM policy.

The contractor will be responsible for proofing a print-ready copy and all printed materials to include 30 hard copies (spiral bound), 50 CDs, and 20 thumb drives.

During the public review and comment period, the contractor will facilitate and conduct one public meeting in Taos, and one in Santa Fe New Mexico, with a third virtual meeting at venues determined by the BLM in coordination and paid by with the contractor. The contractor will prepare all necessary materials including the following:

· Sign-in sheets

· Foam-backed signs, maps, process flow-charts, and other necessary graphics

· Power Point presentation, if needed

· Agenda, if needed

Deliverables:

1. Administrative draft of Chapters 1 and 2 of Draft Monument Plan/EIS

2. Internal comment response document on Chapters 1 and 2 of Draft Monument Plan/EIS

3. Administrative draft of Chapter 3 of Draft Monument Plan/EIS

4. Internal comment response document on Chapter 3 of Draft Monument Plan/EIS

5. Administrative draft of Draft Monument Plan/EIS

6. Internal comment response document Draft Monument Plan/EIS

7. Revised Draft Monument Plan/EIS with all editorial changes and revisions made: one print-ready version for electronic distribution and printing production and one red-lined version highlighting all changes made since the previous version of the document.

8. Printer Proof review and comments and delivery

9. Draft news releases

10. Monthly eNewsletters

11. Draft Interested Public letter

12. All materials described above for facilitating and conducting a public meeting.

13. All facilitation, greetings, zoom/virtual meetings, handling facilities

14. Public meeting

15. Federal Register notice materials, as described under Task 4.d

4.b Proposed Monument Plan/Final EIS—Optional

Following the close of the public review and comment period, the contractor will systematically evaluate all public input, identifying and cataloguing all substantive comments. The substantive comments will be organized in a Public Comments Evaluation Report that can be included in the Final EIS as an appendix. The BLM will make the final determination as to which comments are considered substantive.

The contractor will draft responses to all substantive comments and coordinate responses with the BLM and its cooperating agencies. Responses will generally include (a) an indication that the document was changed and where the change was made or (b) a brief explanation as to why a change to the document was not warranted.

A complete administrative draft of the Proposed Monument Plan/Final EIS will be provided by the contractor to the BLM and its cooperating agencies for review, which will include the draft responses to public comments. Two electronic versions may be prepared for the BLM, a print ready version and a red-lined version highlighting all changes made since the previous version of the document. The contractor will correct and revise the administrative draft document in coordination with the BLM Project Manager. A comment matrix will be used to document and indicate responses to all internal and cooperating agency comments.

Review of documents may occur at the field office, district office, state office, headquarters office and/or solicitor’s office, and may also include cooperating agency review. A first round of reviews by the field office ID team is expected to proceed a second-round review by headquarters and/or solicitor’s office and cooperating agencies.

Review periods may be 2-4 weeks, to be determined by the BLM in coordination with the contractor, as time allows. The contractor will set up a comment process that all internal reviewers will use, and a feedback loop will be built into all the internal comment periods. Collaborative editing may be accomplished through a mutually agreed upon internet cloud-based storage system (e.g., Microsoft OneDrive or similar).

The contractor will print at least two copies of the camera-ready Proposed Monument Plan/Final EIS, including at least one or the contractor’s writer/editor and/or project manager to review and one for the BLM project manager to review. Any final edits identified by the contractor or BLM project manager will be made by the contractor. The BLM expects the document to be 100 percent accurate and without any typos or misstatements.

The camera-ready Proposed Monument Plan/Final EIS will then be prepared for publication, including Section 508 compliance. The contractor will make all documents available to the BLM for posting to ePlanning. The contractor will be responsible for proofing a print-ready copy and all printed materials to include 30 hard copies (spiral bound), 50 CDs, and 20 thumb drives.

Deliverables:

1. Public Comments Evaluation Report

2. Administrative draft of Proposed Monument Plan/Final EIS

3. Internal comment response document on Proposed Monument Plan/Final EIS

4. Revised Proposed Monument Plan/Final EIS with all editorial changes and revisions made: one print-ready version for electronic distribution and printing production and one red-lined version highlighting all changes made since the previous version of the document.

5. Printer Proof review and comments and delivery.

6. Printed materials as described under Task 4.b.

7. Draft press release

8. Draft Interested Public letter

9. Federal Register notice materials, as described under Task 4.d

4.c Record of Decision—Optional

The contractor will draft the Record of Decision (ROD) per instructions from the BLM on its proposed decision, reflecting any changes made to the proposed plan in response to protest and the Governor’s consistency review. The BLM will review the draft ROD and work directly with the contractor to make final revisions.

The contractor will then prepare a camera-ready ROD for publication, including 508 compliance. The contractor will be responsible for proofing a print-ready copy of the ROD and approved Monument Plan/Taos RMP Amendment. The contractor will provide to the BLM 50 hard copies (spiral bound), 50 CDs, and 20 thumb drives of the approved Monument Plan/Taos RMP Amendment.

All work, findings, determinations, and products related to the BPA Call are inherently proprietary to the BLM and thus, may be communicated with other parties only with the expressed written consent of the COR.

4.d Federal Register Notices of Availability (NOAs)—Optional

The contractor shall assist BLM with drafting the Federal Register Notices of Availability (NOA), briefing materials, and other materials required per current BLM policy for both the Draft Monument Plan/EIS and Proposed Monument Plan/Final EIS. The BLM will initiate the internal review process of the NOA and transmit the Notice to the Federal Register.

Deliverables:

1. Draft NOA—Draft Monument Plan/EIS and associated documents

2. Draft NOA—Proposed Monument Plan/Final EIS and associated documents

3. Associated draft news releases, Q/A sheet, and an updated communications plan (as required as part of the Federal Register package)

Task 5: Tribal and State Historic Preservation Office Consultation

The BLM, with support from the contractor, will continue to work cooperatively and collaboratively with State, County, Tribal, Federal, and municipal governments and agencies, as well as other interests, groups and individuals, throughout the project. The focus of this task provides for the successful completion of Tribal consultation in compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) (36 CFR §§ 800.2).

5.a Ongoing Support

During all phases of the contract, the contractor will provide ongoing support to ensure all NHPA Section 106 tasks are appropriately provided for, such as maintain contact list for participants in the Section 106 process, draft all communications with participants in the Section 106 process, prepare materials for individual meetings with Section 106 participants as needed, and meet with BLM personnel as needed to ensure all Section 106 tasks are appropriately provided for. All final, signed letters will be mailed (Certified) and tracked by the contractor.

5.b Government-to-Government Consultation

The BLM will be responsible for conducting government-to-government Tribal consultation, however the contractor will be responsible for providing support to BLM consultation activities by drafting communications for government-to-government meetings, following up with the tribes by phone and/or email after initial invitations and/or consultation letters have been mailed by the BLM, maintaining the government-to-government Tribal consultation contacts list, and identifying to BLM any requests by tribes for follow up consultation. The BLM will arrange any meetings with the Tribes, including notifying all parties of scheduled meetings, and the contractor will assist in logistical arrangement and prepare meeting materials, as needed.

The contractor will keep a log of all interactions with the Tribes and provide frequent reports of the interactions.

5.c Consultation with State Historic Preservation Office

The BLM will be responsible for conducting consultation with the New Mexico State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO); however, the contractor will be responsible for providing support to BLM by completing a Class I cultural resource overview to include an inventory study of the Monument. The purpose of the Class I overview is to (1) provide a narrative overview (cultural resource overview) derived from existing cultural resource information, and (2) to provide a compilation of existing cultural resource site record data to be incorporated in the Monument Plan. The contractor will utilize all relevant information tools including SHPO records and documents, BLM Government Land Office (GLO) documents, municipal and county records, and electronic databases including the New Mexico Cultural Resource Information System (NMCRIS).

Deliverables:

1. Draft communications (i.e., letters or emails).

1. Draft and final meeting agendas, handouts and materials for meetings. Due: To be dependent on nature of meeting, however in general, final agendas for internal meetings shall be submitted no less than 4 hours prior to the meeting, and for external meeting final agendas shall be submitted no less than 10 days prior to the meeting. Final meeting materials may be distributed during the meeting, however drafts shall be reviewed/approved no less than one day prior to the meeting.

1. Final meeting notes and records for project file. Due: No greater than 5 days following the meeting

1. Final record of all correspondence and interactions as part of the administrative record.

1. Complete Class I Cultural Resource Overview

Task 6: Complete Biological Assessment—Optional

The purpose of this task is to research and prepare documentation necessary to satisfy the requirements of Section 7 (Interagency Cooperation) of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) or other required permits.

The contractor shall prepare a Biological Assessment (BA) with an ESA effects determination of Not Likely to Adversely Affect (NLAA - Informal Consultation) listed species or critical habitat. The contractor shall prepare a BA or other programmatic documentation supporting the NLAA determination.

The contractor shall develop, review, and finalize the BA, including all Appendices and Maps, in consultation and approval with the BLM and United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). The contractor shall consolidate information, write the document and submit it to the agencies for review. The BA shall be completed by a competent, qualified, professional biologist with at least a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences. The agency review version of the BA shall follow a format acceptable to both agencies. The final BA shall reflect the BLM’s comments provided to the contractor on the draft version of the BA, the analysis of public comments from the comment period on the Draft Monument Plan/EIS and responses to comments, and all revisions made to the Proposed Monument Plan/Final EIS. Coordination with the New Mexico Game and Fish Department will also be necessary to provide for consistency with State plans.

The agency review version of the BA will address consequences of implementing the Agency Preferred Alternative in the Draft Monument Plan/EIS. Relative information shall be synthesized to eliminate all informational conflicts, inconsistencies, and shall include all necessary and required mitigation, impacts, and appropriate facets of the agency preferred alternative. Completion of the work in this project will require the production of a document that will allow BLM to consult and conference with the USFWS as needed and as identified in guidance in the Endangered Species Act, Section 7 Programmatic Consultations and Coordination, Memorandum of Agreement among the Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, National Marine Fisheries Service and Fish and Wildlife Service dated August 30, 2000, BLM Manual 6840, and 50 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 402. The final BA shall comply with guidance, outlines, content requirements, and format agreed to with BLM and the USFWS.

Deliverables—Optional:

1. One copy of Draft BA in electronic format. Due: To be determined by agreement between the BLM and USFWS.

1. Five hard copies (bound) and one electronic copy of the Final BA based on the agency’s proposed alternative in the Proposed Monument Plan/Final EIS. Due: To be determined by agreement between the BLM and USFWS.

Task 7: Administrative Record

During all phases of the contract, the contractor will maintain the administrative record (or decision file) for the EIS. The contractor is responsible for compiling and keeping all records, documents and materials that comprise the administrative record. The official record must be in electronic format, with copies of all relevant documents scanned with a linking index and converted to PDF files and provided on compact discs or other electronic media as specified. A list of relevant supporting records can be found in the BLM NEPA Handbook, Appendix 10: “Items to Include in the Administrative Record.”

The contractor shall update the record on at least a monthly basis, or more frequently if requested by the BLM. The contractor shall compile and deliver the official administrative record to the COR with copies of all materials created, reviewed, used, or cited by the reviewers, including personal communications, electronic messages, and other non-published materials.

The BLM requires that all data collected under this contract be submitted to the BLM as a reporting requirement before the end of the performance period. Data are important products of the scientific enterprise, and they should be preserved and usable for decades in the future. Data must be in the form of individual data points used in the study, not just summaries. Metadata must be included that comprehensively explain all variables, conditions, etc., such that the results can be understood and replicated by others. Conduct audits of record as needed. The contractor is referred to the National Planning and NEPA Services BPA – PWS Task 8, “Data Management” for details on data and metadata deliverables.

The contractor must safeguard all information, including that which is received from, given access to, independently researched/gathered, or produced for the BLM. Any data provided in support of the NEPA analysis by the non-Federal party, which they feel is confidential, must be marked as such.

The BLM retain all intellectual property rights. Publishing of any product (either interim findings or final product) is solely at the discretion of the BLM.

The contractor shall support the assembly, organization, indexing, updating, maintaining and copying of documents for the administrative record as necessary for lawsuits and responses to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.

The record will be subject to audit by the BLM Project Manager, COR, or CO at any time.

Deliverables:

1. All administrative record materials in electronic format on CDs or DVDs. Due: To be determined, but no later than the performance period.

Task 8: Outreach and Coordination

Stakeholder outreach and coordination will be required for information-sharing purposes. The contractor will maintain a current list of external contacts, organized by group (e.g., government-to-government consultation, 106 consultation, cooperating agencies, general interested parties, and individuals). Next, the contractor will conduct research on emerging and new organizations and audience since 2014, when the original public scoping period ended, to ensure all known entities are included, especially in a transient-residential area and major metropolitan area of Santa Fe. The list shall include group name (if applicable), contact name, mailing address, email, and phone number.

The contractor will maintain a complete mailing list of interested parties, cooperating agencies, and other stakeholders throughout the project. An letters or materials requiring mailing will be handled by the contractor using US Postal Service or other carrier as necessary. Handling includes labeling and any costs associated with mailing or shipping.

To keep the audiences informed on a routine basis, especially on the development of alternatives and how public comments were used, the contractor will develop a monthly eNewsletter and ensure the audiences receive updates.

VII. CORRELATION OF TASKS WITH BLANKET PURCHASE AGREEMENT – PERFORMANCE OF WORK

The tasks listed under Section VI of this SOW are outlined below to indicate their correlates with the 13 Tasks identified in the Blanket Purchase Agreement – Performance of Work (BPA – POW) for contracts to prepare NEPA-compliance documents as outlined in the interagency Ordering Guide.

13 – Special Requirements

9 - Mailings

7 – Administrative Record/Record of Decision 9 - Mailings

3 – Collaboration/Coordination 2-3

3 – Collaboration/Coordination

8 – Data Management 1-3

*Optional

VIII. SCHEDULE

The period of performance for this SOW will be October 1, 2021 through June 15, 2022, during which all tasks associated pre-planning and scoping will be completed.

If options are applied, the anticipated period of performance would extend to March 15, 2024, allowing for pre-planning tasks and tasks pertaining to the plan amendment and EIS and processes. The completion date for the Monument Plan/EIS is anticipated to be February 15, 2024.

See Appendix A: Preliminary Schedule for a general, rough draft timeline.

The BLM and the contractor will come to agreement on a comprehensive Project Schedule at project initiation (see Task 1). The schedule must comply with regulations and BLM policy on the land use planning process in addition to the time limitations established by 40 CFR 1501.10.

Completion dates for deliverables from the contractor may be adjusted during the planning process due to delays caused by prolonged government review and approval. The contractor must have the ability to be flexible in dealing with unplanned delays in the schedule due to several factors, including but not limited to unresolved resource conflicts or public concerns, printing and publication delays, EIS approval and scheduling delays within higher levels of the agency or department. The contractor must be prepared to manage these potential delays and return resources to the EIS effort upon solution of the delaying issue.

IX. DELIVERABLES

The contractor is responsible for timely submission of deliverables identified in this SOW. A schedule for due dates for deliverables will be agreed to by BLM and the contractor at the onset of the project. If a contractor deliverable is dependent on the provision of materials, data, information, etc., by BLM, due dates for BLM provision of these materials will be developed as well. Due dates for BLM provisions of materials, data, and information are not expected to take more than one to two weeks. If BLM does not meet agreed upon due dates, contractor due dates will be adjusted accordingly. It is not acceptable if a product is turned in to meet a time frame but does not meet the content requirements (and needs) of the task or document. The BLM retains the option to terminate this contract if more than two deliverables are late based on the timelines agreed upon.

Deliverables shall be addressed (subject to change) to the BLM Project Manager:

Bureau of Land Management Attn: Brad Higdon Taos Field Office 226 Cruz Alta Road Taos, New Mexico 87571

All submitted deliverables must:

1. Meet BLM requirements (quality standards), as required by laws, regulations, and guidance and

2. Be approved by BLM and Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) or Project Inspector (PI), to be determined.

All documents shall be published to BLM standards as identified by COR and/or Project Manager. The contractor shall work with the BLM for preparing a camera-ready copy of all published documents, such as the Proposed Monument Plan/Final EIS and Approved Monument Plan/ROD. All deliverables will follow all publication, printing, or mapping standards provided by BLM and will be received by the BLM Project Inspector on time and in the formats and quantities specified.

All maps for inclusion in the various deliverables including those for public meetings, display, presentations (other than regularly scheduled planning meetings), etc. are subject to a quality control inspection by the Farmington Field Office GIS Division or the New Mexico State Office, GIS/Mapping Science Division. Each map must be submitted with enough lead time to allow for editing and final approval. See “Spatial Data Standards” below for additional information.

With each published document, the contractor shall deliver on CD all data used specifically in each document, and Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) compliant metadata. The metadata shall include detailed process steps such that the process could be recreated from these steps if necessary.

Spatial Data Standards

Existing GIS data that has been used in the development of the Monument Plan/EIS can be submitted in its existing format, however any newly developed GIS data shall be in the format as follows. Frequent and often coordination with BLM GIS Specialist is highly encouraged.

General Standards:

· All GIS data developed by the contractor shall meet BLM accuracy standards for geographic data and shall be provided electronically for horizontal datum North American Datum 1983 with projection UTM zone 13N (EPSG WKID 26913) and vertical datum North American Vertical Datum 1988 (EPSG WKID 5703), in units meters, unless otherwise specified. The BLM is using the ESRI suite of GIS products, ArcGIS Desktop Advanced 10.8.1 and ArcGIS Pro 2.7.2 software version currently in use in the Taos Field Office. All GIS data must be in a file geodatabase format. All geospatial deliverables shall comply with applicable Federal and State BLM geographic information standards, particularly those determined by the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) as supporting the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI). Data collected may be collected in any convenient datum for which there are adequate transformation to the specified delivery projected datum (with the exception of Z-enabled data, see hydrology and vertical survey geoid discussions); however, the National Spatial Reference System’s emerging to-be-named “Datum of 2022” and related terrestrial reference frames, geopotential datum, and gravimetric geoid will not be used until it has been evaluated by BLM. The contractor will provide complete geospatial data to include a spatial component, attribute information, and metadata.

· Spatial data will maximize use of the file geodatabase structure by utilizing appropriate subtypes, relationship classes, coded domains, and permissible ranges. Domains will be reused whenever possible to minimize the quantity named domains. Where used, fields leveraging domains will be QA/QCed for values inconsistent with prescribed domains. Repetitive outliers will be considered for update to the respective domain or the attributes will be corrected to an existing domain value. Subtypes which utilized different domains to populate the same field depending on subtype are permissible and encouraged when complexity warrants, provided that the metadata clearly draws attention to this functionality’s utilization. Fields which utilize a unique value will not require a coded domain or range. In order to minimize errors of omission, wherever possible, Null values will not be utilized. In lieu of Null values, attributes will instead be encoded with a more specific value such as Not Applicable, Not Evaluated, Not Analyzed, Unknown, etc. All spatial data will have at least one appropriate spatial index. All non-raster geodatabase data will utilize an appropriate attribute index to enable quick querying in addition to readily supporting joins and relates.

· Any automated geoprocessing tools developed to support analyses will be provided as a fully documented Model Builder toolbox housed in a file geodatabase. Similarly, any python or other language scripting will be documented and provided. All scripts must be capable of being compiled and executed on BLM systems using software approved by the National BLM baseline, save for modifications required to re-source file locations.

· All data utilizing the Public Land Survey System (PLSS) will be snapped to and topologically coincident with the Cadastral National Spatial Data Infrastructure (CadNSDI), version 2 or current version if a newer version is released more than 30 days in advance of delivery and will not appreciably impact the integrity of analyses theretofore completed. The feature dataset(s) containing CadNSDI-dependent data need not implement an actual topological relationship with the CadNSDI; however, close inspection will confirm effective topology in the absence of actual topology. The prevalence of slivers and gaps will be minimized; however, where topologic ambiguity resulting from various source data cannot be reasonably overcome, remaining slivers will be annotated as such using an attribute.

· Any proximity analysis performed will be calculated using geodesic methodology.

· Any intervisibility analysis performed will utilize earth curvature corrected for atmospheric conditions utilizing the default values present in applicable ESRI tools. The surface model utilized and vertical offsets of the observer and targets will be of sufficient horizontal and vertical resolution to capture and satisfy the intent of the analysis.

· Any survey data with a vertical specification will be collected utilizing the National Geodetic Survey 12B geoid model and orthometric heights will be subsequently transformed to the specified vertical datum. In the event that newer releases of ArcGIS software available to the BLM adequately support geoids during vertical transformations, this requirement will no longer apply; however, the metadata of Z-enabled data will explicitly reference if this transformation has been applied regardless of the available software generation available.

· Any data collected for the purpose of hydraulic modelling will be tied to a monumented and recoverable NGS control point with appropriate vertical accuracy.

Metadata:

· All data shall be accompanied by comprehensively populated metadata, free of errors, and complying with ISO 19115: Geographic Information Metadata standard (https://www.fgdc.gov/metadata/iso-standards) in accordance with the Federal Geographic Data Committee’s (FGDC) guidelines, the Geospatial Data Act of 2018, and OMB Circular A-16 in .xml format - to include fully and explicitly describing all coded domains and ranges utilized and each attribute field. The metadata shall adequately relate the purpose of the data, a description of the data’s lineage and a summary of how the data was derived, temporal constraints if applicable, the intended scale range, and a discussion of any assumptions or limitations of the data sufficient to influence proper future use of the data.

· All ISO 19115 metadata must be capable of being imported and processed by BLM Navigator (https://navigator.blm.gov/home).

· Additionally, ISO 19115 metadata will be transcribed using an automated crosswalk into legacy Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (CSDGM), FGDC-STD-001-1998 (http://www.fgdc.gov/metadata); however, CSDGM metadata need not be validated for errors and completeness – the default output of any number of industry standard automated tools will be sufficient.

· In addition to stand-alone XML files, metadata will accompany the data and be discoverable utilizing the “Data>View item description…” context menu in ArcGIS Desktop or the metadata tab in ArcCatalog and similar functions of ArcGIS Pro.

· Any non-spatial, non-tabular data referenced by the metadata that is external to the deliverable will be included as a metadata attachment or the external URL will be provided.

· In some limited circumstances, feature level metadata attribution may be required as attachments, e.g., photographs or PDF realty documents such as a patent, where not otherwise prescribed by an agreed-upon data model.

Map products:

· All map compositions produced, to include maps that accompany report texts, will be provided as .mxd or .aprx files in addition to exported optimized layered, PDF files georeferenced to the NAD83 datum and UTM 13N projection in both RGB and CMYK colorspaces supporting both digital distribution and hardcopy reproduction, respectively. RGB colorspace files will not exceed 5MB in size when compressed using standard native Windows compression tools; CMYK files may be larger.

· All fonts utilized will be included in the exported maps and marker symbols will be vectorized when necessary to ensure that PDF maps reproduced on machines lacking the source fonts will be depicted exactly as intended in the original production environment.

· Maps will be Section 508 compliant. While this is often not practical and automatically effected by the production software, in order to be fully Section 508 compliant, all maps…