Statement of Work.pdf

ATTACHMENT #1

DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATIONS/STATEMENT OF WORK

SCOPE

It is the intent of this contract to secure labor, equipment, and supplies necessary to accomplish timber marking in Red Pine stands scheduled for timber harvest on the Huron-Manistee National Forest. The three areas (Alcona Trail, Largo, and Wildcat Creek) involve timber marking only on approximately 1,177 acres. Marking paint is required to be applied using a Panama sprayer or similar product, such as a hand gun. Type C marking paint will be provided for use.

Work will consist of painting trees in accordance with the technical specification outlined below.

DESCRIPTION AND LOCATIONS

The proposed Timber Sale Areas are located on the Huron National Forest. The Alcona Trail sale is located west of Oscoda, MI in sections 30, 31, 32, and 33 of T26N R5E in Alcona county, and the Largo and Wildcat Creek sales are located west of Oscoda, MI in section 34 of T24N R6E, and sections 25, 26, 27, and 34 of T24N R7E in Iosco County, respectively.

Working Area Boundaries – The Forest Service has designated Payment Unit boundaries using orange paint or in combination with roads or skids. Payment Unit acreage has been determined with a combination of satellite imagery and traversing using GPS to establish actual acreages for payment. The acreage listed in the Schedule of Items will be the basis of payment, no changes will be made to the acreages due to calculation errors. Bidders are encouraged to check acreage estimates for accuracy prior to bidding.

Marking Guides

General Marking Instructions

These timber sales will be cut tree marked with blue or green paint and, where required, will have primary skids marked with an S on the bole of the tree, above stump height but below 5 feet. All paint provided will be accounted for throughout the life of this contract. The designated COR and district paint custodian will oversee the accountability procedures and go over in detail the exact procedures to be used prior to issuing any tree marking paint. If a problem is discovered by either party, that party will notify the other immediately so corrective action can be taken. Security of paint must be a top priority of contractor. Paint will either be under lock and key and out of view of the public or be carried on-person by an individual working in the field on behalf of the contractor. All paint cans (empty, full, or partially used) will need to be returned to the Government. The Government must be notified immediately once contractor has become aware of any missing paint cans; Forest Service personnel are required to notify Forest Service Law Enforcement when paint is not accounted for. Contractor will then give a good faith effort to find the missing paint can. For each unreturned paint can, the contractor will be required to submit a written report describing in detail the circumstances which led to the misplacement of the paint can(s), along with security measures to be implemented to ensure no further losses. The contractor may be required to reimburse Government for the cost of any investigation that results from missing paint can(s); although not a maximum cost, an estimated cost for an investigation may be $500.

Providing equipment access is the most important criteria for this contract. Primary skids to be painted with an S on the bole of the tree, above stump height but below 5 feet are approximated on the accompanying maps. Primary skids are to be a minimum width of 18 feet. The primary species to harvest is red pine; however, any tree ≥ 5” DBH which requires removal for harvesting will need to be painted.

In stands which have access established, basal area (BA) will be the criteria for choosing how many trees to mark for harvest. A residual BA target for each stand is given in the attached marking guides. Criteria for selecting which trees to harvest depends on first verifying that a minimum 14 feet wide skid trail for harvesting equipment access exists. Second is focus on stem quality removing culls, and finally retaining canopy structure diversity. The intent is not to only thin from below. Overall, it is the quality of the residual stand that is most important. All painted trees must be accessible by timber harvesting equipment.

Only timber marking will be done on these sale units. Volume determination is not required.

Along with timber marking the contractor will be required to keep a count of trees marked per Payment Unit by species and product.

Products to be counted include:

• Softwood Pulpwood ≥ 5 inches DBH and ≤ 8.9 inches DBH

• Softwood Sawtimber ≥ 9 inches DBH and ≤ 12.9 inches DBH

• Softwood Sawtimber ≥ 13 inches DBH

• Hardwood Pulpwood ≥ 5 inches DBH and ≤ 10.9 inches DBH

• Hardwood Sawtimber ≥ 11 inches DBH

The specific merchantability specification and minimum piece specification requirements for each sale will be gone over in detail by the COR prior to starting the first area.

DBH Marks:

All diameter at breast height (DBH) marks will be slashes at least 2” (inches) wide and will cover approximately 75% of the trees circumference. DBH marks will be made at not less than 4 feet and not higher than 5 feet from the ground. This technique will be used on both pulpwood and sawtimber.

Marking timber should be avoided during extreme wet weather, or when the boles of standing timber are saturated and wet to the touch. The contractor should contact the COR for site-specific details and direction when this saturation occurs. Paint will be expected to last a minimum of 4 years. If the contractor fails to use good judgment, he/she will remark the problem area with no adjustment in total acres. The Forest Service will supply only additional paint.

The COR will review marking language and technique with contractor prior to starting the first unit.

Stump Marks:

All marked trees require stump marks. Stump marks must be a minimum of 4 inches in height and two inches wide. Stump marks must intersect the ground and be located in a moss free area, on the downhill side of the stump. This may require scraping off moss/debris prior to painting the stump.

Individual Sale Unit Marking Guides

Project: Alcona Trail (item 1) Delivery Completion Date: 12/15/2021

Payment Unit Acres

1 44.3

2 27.4

3 10.7

505 Acres

Alcona Trail Marking Guides

General to ALL Alcona Trail Payment Units: Cut mark all merchantable jack pine and aspen.

Payment Units 1 and 2: Row thin (take 1 leave 2 or take 2 leave 3) to average residual 145 BA. Ensure rows are a minimum of 14 feet width. Discriminate against poor form, small crown, and suppressed trees.

Place take rows to create a 50/50 mix of red pine and white pine residual trees, where feasible. Retain well-formed, dominant red pine. Retain oak where possible for species diversity and mast production.

Payment Units 3, 4, 5, and 6: Thin across diameter range and crown class, focusing on general marking instructions outlined above, to average residual 85 BA. Discriminate against poor form, small crown, and suppressed trees. Ensure minimum 14 feet skid width. Use existing skid rows. If oak canopy cover is >50% then remove poor formed black oak and pin oak to release red pine. Leave all white oak. Retain well-formed, dominant red pine.

4 27.1

5 10.5

6 20.3

7 51.1

8 30.1

9 39.1

10 17.0

11 31.2

12 20.9

13 50.0

14 44.4

15 23.7

16 15.4

17 24.1

18 17.3

Payment Units 7 and 10: Row thin (take 1 leave 2 or take 2 leave 3) to average residual 125 BA. Ensure rows are a minimum of 14 feet width. Discriminate against poor form, small crown, and suppressed trees.

Retain well-formed, dominant red pine. Retain oak where possible for species diversity and mast production.

Payment Unit 8: Row thin (take 1 leave 2 or take 2 leave 3) to average residual 130 BA. Ensure skid rows are a minimum of 14 feet width. Discriminate against poor form, small crown, and suppressed trees.

Place take rows to create a 50/50 mix of red pine and white pine residual trees where feasible. Retain well-formed, dominant red pine. Retain oak where possible for species diversity and mast production.

Payment Unit 9: Row thin (take 1 leave 2 or take 2 leave 3), or, where rows are not apparent, thin across diameter range and crown class, focusing on general marking instructions outlined above, to average residual 110 BA. Ensure skid rows are a minimum of 14 feet width. Place take rows to create a 50/50 mix of red pine and white pine residual trees, where feasible. Discriminate against poor form, small crowns, and suppressed trees.

Payment Units 11 and 12: Row thin (take 1 leave 2 or take 2 leave 3 or, where rows are not apparent, thin across diameter range and crown class, focusing on general marking instructions outlined above, to average residual 95 BA. Ensure skid rows are a minimum of 14 feet width. Place take rows to create a 50/50 mix of red pine and white pine residual trees, where feasible. Discriminate against poor form, small crowns, and suppressed trees.

Payment Units 13, 14, and 15: Row thin (take 1 leave 2 or take 2 leave 3), or, where rows are not apparent, thin across diameter range and crown class, focusing on general marking instructions outlined above, to average residual 145 BA. Ensure skid rows are a minimum of 14 feet width. Discriminate against poor form, small crowns, and suppressed trees.

Payment Unit 16: Row thin (take 1 leave 2 or take 2 leave 3), or, where rows are not apparent, thin across diameter range and crown class, focusing on general marking instructions outlined above, to average residual 115 BA. Ensure skid rows are a minimum of 14 feet width. Discriminate against poor form, small crowns, and suppressed trees.

Payment Unit 17: Row thin (take 1 leave 2 or take 2 leave 3) to average residual 170 BA. Ensure skid rows are a minimum of 14 feet width. Discriminate against poor form, small crown, and suppressed trees.

Payment Unit 18: Row thin (take 1 leave 2 or take 2 leave 3) to average residual 160 BA. Ensure skid rows are a minimum of 14 feet width. Discriminate against poor form, small crown, and suppressed trees.

Project: Largo (item 2) Delivery Completion Date: 4/1/2022

1 39.7

2 46.8

3 36.8

4 45.8

5 28.1

197 Acres

Largo Marking Guides

All Payment Units: Use existing skid trails to greatest extent possible and ensure minimum 14 feet skid width. Thin to average residual 100 BA. Mark to cut all jack pine within one chain of the main roads.

Discriminate against poor form, small crown, and suppressed trees.

Project: Wildcat Creek (item 3) Delivery Completion Date: 9/20/2022

1 53.1

2 45.2

3 63.2

4 43.2

5 27.4

6 39.8

7 44.6

8 42.3

9 43.7

10 28.8

11 43.4

475 Acres

Wildcat Creek Marking Guides

General to ALL Wildcat Creek Payment Units: Follow existing access and ensure minimum 14 feet skid width. Use existing skid trails to greatest extent possible. Leave the healthiest and best-formed trees where feasible. Cut mark all trees within 20 feet of all White Pine and Oak > 8” DBH.

Payment Units 1 and 6: Thin to average residual 110 BA.

Payment Unit 3: Row thin (take 2 leave 3) to average residual 100 BA.

Payment Units 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11: Thin to average residual 100 BA.