SOW_WRFO_CRI.pdf

140L3723Q0020

Statement of Work

CULTURAL RESOURCE INVENTORY

White River Field Office 2023 Fuels Treatment CRI In Northwest Colorado

1.0 General: Furnish labor and equipment to complete Class III archaeological inventories.

1.1 Introduction

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) White River Field Office (WRFO) proposes to conduct vegetation treatment projects on 33 units ranging from 1 to 411 acres in Rio Blanco and Moffat Counties.

These areas feature sagebrush with varying densities of encroaching young juniper and pinyon pine.

Mastication and / or hand thin, pile, and burn in these regions would remove encroaching pinyon-juniper forests as well as decadent sage stands. On-the-ground treatments would begin to take place in the summer of 2024.

1.2 Project Description

The BLM WRFO plans to conduct treatments on approximately 2,861 acres and requires Class III cultural resource inventory of BLM. Prior to fieldwork the contractor will be responsible for contacting the

WRFO archaeologist to discuss procedures for completing the pre-fieldwork records search, survey requirements, and report requirements. For this project, the WRFO archaeologist has already completed the records search for all 33 units, and will make that data available to the contractor. Inventory will involve block surveys on multiple locations in the Piceance Basin, and one location in the Blue Mountain area near Moffat County Road 16 (See Attached maps).

Based on the pre-records search, previously inventoried areas nearby feature moderate to low site density.

Most of these sites consist of open lithic scatters, open camps, and historic refuse scatters. Small portions of the project area may include mature pinyon-juniper forests, which could feature wikiups. Note that the contractor should not assume that this overview is anything more than an informed projection of the project area.

Table 1. Project Timeframes

Task/Dates Description Acres

Task 1: HWY 64 mastication project in the Piceance Basin. Up to 232

Task 2: Blue Mountain HFR mastication project in the Blue Mtn area. Up to 380

Task 3: LOV Ranch CRMP mastication project in the Piceance Basin. Up to 693

Task 4: LOV Ranch CRMP prescribed burn project in the Piceance Basin. Up to 295

Task 5: Magnolia Bench HFR mastication project in the Piceance Basin Up to 128

Task 6: 14 Mile mastication project in the Piceance Basin Up to 429

Task 7: Oldland CRMP (Phase III) mastication project in the Piceance Basin Up to 704

1.3 Project Location

-Task 1: The HWY 64 mastication project area is located in the White River Field Office in northwest

Colorado near the Piceance Basin (see attached map).

-Task 2: The Blue Mountain HFR mastication project area is located in the White River Field Office in northwest Colorado near Moffat County Road 16 (see attached map).

-Task 3: The LOV Ranch CRMP mastication project is located in the White River Field Office in

Northwest Colorado near to Rio Blanco County Road 103 (see attached map).

-Task 4: The LOV Ranch CRMP prescribed burn project is located in the White River Field Office in

Northwest Colorado near to Rio Blanco County Road 103 (see attached map).

-Task 5: The Magnolia Bench HFR mastication project is located in the White River Field Office in

Northwest Colorado adjacent to Rio Blanco County Road 76 (see attached map).

-Task 6: The 14 Mile mastication project is located in the White River Field Office in Northwest

Colorado near Rio Blanco County Road 5 (see attached map).

-Task 7: The Oldland CRMP (Phase III) mastication project is located in the White River Field Office in

Northwest Colorado near to Rio Blanco County Road 5 (see attached map).

1.4 Access to Work

Access to the location will be provided by the contractor as their expense. The terrain is fairly flat with slopes of 15% or less, and most areas are accessible by 4WD vehicle and/or ATV/UTV. County roads run near the project areas but can become impassable when wet.

1.5 Work Limits

Bidders must have a valid Colorado consulting archaeological permit or be able to obtain a permit (see attached BLM Handbook for more information). Bidders must also have, or be able to obtain, a Colorado

Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation consulting permit prior to conducting work in the field office. In addition, the contractor must also carry a Fieldwork Authorization Form (FAF) at all times when conducting fieldwork. Please contact the BLM WRFO archaeologist for the FAF after the contract is awarded.

1.6 Selection Criteria

Selection will be based on a low-bid technically acceptable basis. Successful bidders will be selected based on technical detail in addressing how standards and procedures for WRFO and Colorado are achieved to ensure a high quality product that requires minimal review and correction by the reviewing official, and on the quality of past work demonstrated by example of acceptable work in northwest

Colorado (Submit a minimum of 2 and no more than 4). WRFO also requests a list of project leads and their experience conducting cultural surveys in Colorado.

2.0 Federal Specifications

Specifications for cultural surveys are outlined in the attached standards and Procedures/BLM Colorado

Handbook

Equipment

3.0 Government Furnished Items

BLM WRFO will furnish shapefiles of all polygons that require survey.

Any Maps needed by the contractor will be provided by the WRFO.

3.1 Contractor Furnished Items

The contractor will supply all equipment transportation and personnel to complete cultural resource inventories described above

4.0 Deliverables

See Reporting Standards in Section III of the “2021 Procedures and Reporting Standards for Cultural

Resources Consultants Conducting Projects Under A CRUP Permit for The Colorado Northwest District and Grand Junction Field Office, Bureau of Land Management”. The WRFO archaeologist prefers draft reports and site files to be sent electronically as both Word and a PDF documents.

Contractors must also follow the BLM Colorado Handbook (revised 2022) and CRUP permit stipulations, including the delivery of geospatial data containing inventory and site shapefiles. The contractor shall follow the specifications for geospatial data, as detailed in the most recent Digital Data Specifications

Guide, which may be found on the BLM website or obtained from either the COR or the Project

Inspectors.

After the field office receives acceptable site and inventory shapefiles, the field office shall request a

SHPO document number. Once the SHPO assigns the number (usually the same or next day), it, and the field office report number, shall be sent back to the contractor to incorporate into the documentation.

Contractors are expected to collect a representative sample of obsidian debitage or tools located during survey, for X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) analysis sourcing, by the contractor (see Section II, F of the 2021

Procedures and Reporting Standards…).

A. Item 1 payment shall be made based on acceptance of a digital letter report in PDF format that describes the results of the Class III inventory. Payment shall total 35% of the contract cost. The letter report is due to the BLM within 10 days after completion of fieldwork, and shall contain at a minimum:

1. A brief description of each site, which shall include site type, temporal or cultural affiliation, and the NRHP eligibility recommendation. This information can be in table format.

2. A draft or field sketch site plan map including standard archaeological site information for each site.

3. A copy of a 7.5' topographic map showing the project inventory boundary and site locations.

The COR’s review of the letter report and verbal notification of acceptance of the results to the contractor within 10 days of receipt constitutes completion of this item of the contract.

B. Item 2 payment shall be made based on the digital submission of a Draft Final Report and draft site forms in Word format, along with inventory and site shapefile data. Payment shall total 35% of the contract cost. This documentation must be submitted to the BLM for review within 120 calendar days after completing the fieldwork.

The BLM shall not accept CDs containing the draft documentation (report and forms) and geospatial data. Instead, the contractor may supply these data on a USB flash drive or arrange for digital transfer via an FTP site or other secure internet location (again pursuant to the most current Digital Data

Specifications Guide).

The Draft Final Report, and all required inventory and site forms, shall meet the guidelines established by the Secretary of Interior’s Standards and Guidelines for Archaeology and Historic Preservation, BLM

Colorado Handbook (revised 2017), OAHP Guidelines, and the field office standards and procedures. The draft documentation shall not be digitally secured or protected. A complete list of the previous inventories and complete site and isolate numbers found during the literature search may be included as a table and summarized in the text.

A description of the APE, including the potential for direct, indirect and cumulative effects, must be included in the report. The draft report shall also evaluate the sites in the APE for National Register eligibility and make a recommendation regarding a Determination of Effect for the undertaking. Those evaluations should be made in the context of previous investigations and findings in the general area, and management issues for the region. All sites determined to be “needs data” shall include a detailed justification for such a determination.

The BLM shall provide a written response to the Draft Final Report within 30 days of receipt.

C. Item 3 payment shall be made upon acceptance of the Final Report by BLM. Final payment shall total 30% of the contract cost. Delivery of the Final Report and supporting records is required no later than 180 days after completion of fieldwork. BLM shall notify the contractor of acceptance of the

Final Report within 14 days of receipt which constitutes completion of the contract.

The final report and forms shall respond to the corrections and comments made by WRFO during the review of the Draft Final Report. Additional requirements for the final report and forms are:

• Final payment is contingent upon BLM’s acceptance of the response to the comments and corrections made during the BLM review.

• Cultural resource legal, UTM, or specific narrative descriptions are not to be presented anywhere in the report narrative.

• The report cover page, appendices with legal/UTM locations, and maps with site locations must contain the following statement in large font, bold type “For Official Use Only: Disclosure of site locations prohibited (43 CFR 7.18).”

• One unbound copies of the final report and forms with photographs, maps, and associated documentation are required. The final PDF files of reports and site and isolate forms must follow

SHPO file naming conventions, pursuant to the most current Digital Data Specifications

Guide and shall not be digitally secured or protected.

• BLM shall not accept CDs containing the project documentation (report and forms) and geospatial data. Instead, the contractor may supply these data on a USB flash drive or arrange for digital transfer via an FTP site or other secure internet location (again pursuant to the most current Digital Data Specifications Guide)

• Site and Isolated Find forms MUST NOT be bound with the report narrative.

The Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) will be supplied at the time of award

Period of Performance: May 1, 2023 to January 31, 2024.

Attachment 1: HWY 64 Mastication Vicinity Map

Attachment 2: Blue Mountain Vicinity Map

Attachment 3: LOV Ranch CRMP Vicinity Map

Attachment 4: LOV Ranch CRMP Vicinity Map

Attachment 5: Magnolia Bench HFR Vicinity Map

Attachment 6: 14 Mile Mastication Vicinity Map

Attachment 7: Oldland CRMP (Phase III) Vicinity Map

Attachment 8: WRFO Standards and Procedures

Please contact WRFO archaeologist (Cody Walton) for pdf

Attachment 9: BLM Colorado Handbook

Attachment 10: BLM Digital Specifications