Statement_of_Work_FY22_Snail_Surveys_(2).docx

FY 2022 LAS CRUCES DISTRICT SNAIL SURVEYS

STATEMENT OF WORK

1. GENERAL

a. Objectives Snail surveys and monitoring in the Dona Ana Mountains for the Dona Ana Talussnail (Sonorella todseni), and Sugarloaf for the Organ Mountain Woodland Snail (Ashmunella organensis) within the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument. There has been an increase in casual use for rock climbing and expressed interest in commercial climbing within these areas. The goal is to find out if snails exist within these areas and monitor them should they exist to determine if climbing is affecting these species. This would help in management planning and decisions.

b. Project Dates The period of performance would be May 11th, 2022 to September 30 2023 (2 years of data) with an option year extending to September 30 2024 pending funding. Proposed project would begin on May 11th, 2022 with a project initiation meeting. The survey work would start June 1st, 2022 to September 30, 2022. Report to be due on or before December 15, 2022 for year one. Year two surveys would begin May 1, 2023 to September 30, 2023. Report to be due on or before December 15, 2023. This would allow for survey work to be conducted during the summer rainy season. We will also meet before any survey work begins in June 2022 to ensure everyone is on the same page. The exact date and time will be provided later.

c. Project Locations and Descriptions** Locations for snail surveys in the Dona Ana Mountains and Sugarloaf are as follows:

Dona Ana Mountains: 32° 26.828' N, 106° 46.858' W

Sugarloaf: 32° 20.789' N, 106° 32.553' W

*See attached maps of the project survey areas. General locations are provided for the Dona Ana Mountains and Sugarloaf.

**Additional maps can be provided upon request

2. RESPONSIBILITY OF SURVEYOR

1) Conduct adequate surveys within the 2 areas described above.

2) Habitat assessments will be completed for all sighting locations.

3) UTM locations (NAD 1983) of all snail sightings will be collected.

4) Provide survey and monitoring updates at 2 week intervals via email to BLM-LCDO Contracting Officer Representative (COR)

5) Provide the BLM Las Cruces District with a completion report summarizing snail surveys and monitoring by December 15, 2022 for year one and December 15, 2023 for year two. The survey report will be compiled in a word document (doc), including map(s), sighting location(s) (as appropriate) coordinate summary, habitat assessment summary for snail sighting locations, and summary observations from each survey date.

6) All spatial information collected and included within the summary report must meet the following specifications:

· Projection - NAD83/UTM/Units Meters.

· Vertical Datum – GSC North American 1983.

· Format – ESRI file (geodatabase)

3. STIPULATIONS OF WORK

a. The contractor will be expected to follow the rules and regulations for each of the BLM management areas where the survey is being conducted. For this survey, the BLM management areas are the OMDPNM, Dona Ana Mountains Area of Critical Environmental Concern, the Organ Mountains Wilderness Area, and Organ/Franklin Mountain Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC).

b. Wilderness: These areas are found to have characteristics of wilderness enumerated by Congress in Section 2 (c) of the Wilderness Act of 1964. The BLM is required to manage all wilderness "so as not to impair the suitability of such areas for preservation as wilderness.” Therefore, all proposed uses must meet the non-impairment standard, in that they are both temporary and do not create surface disturbance. Surface disturbance is defined as “no new disruption of the rock, soil, or vegetation, including vegetative trampling, that would necessitate reclamation, rehabilitation, or restoration in order for the site to appear and function as it did prior to the disturbance.” Most primitive forms of recreation are allowed within wilderness. Wilderness is present in the Organ Mountains unit of the survey area.

c. Vehicle Use: Motorized and mechanized vehicles are not allowed within wilderness. Within National Monuments, motorized vehicles use is restricted to designated roads. The BLM can provide information and maps as to routes open to motorized use.

d. Heritage Resources: All persons associated with operations under this contract must be informed that that any objects or sites of cultural, paleontological, and scientific interest, shall not be excavated, removed, damaged, or otherwise altered or defaced. Cultural resources include historic or prehistoric resources, graves or grave markers, human remains, ruins, cabins, rock art, and/or artifacts. Paleontological resources include vertebrate body and trace fossils, as well as body and trace fossils of uncommon/rare plants and invertebrates.

e. Land Ownership: This survey applies only to public lands (i.e., lands administered by the BLM) within the Las Cruces District of New Mexico. This contract does not authorize work on private, state, and other federal lands, including National Forests, National Parks or Preserves, National Wildlife Refuges, or lands managed by the military.

f. Survey Data: The BLM may use information obtained through this contract work as needed help improve the management of the natural resources on public lands. The deliverables should be sent to the BLM Las Cruces District Office, 1800 Marquess St., Las Cruces, NM 88005. Electronic versions of the deliverables should be sent to the COR.

4. TRANSPORTATION CHARGES

All costs associated with transportation shall be paid by the contractor and included in the unit price quoted for the survey.

Map 1: Doña Ana Mountains

Map 2: Sugarloaf (Organ Mountains) image1.jpeg image2.jpeg