StatementOfWork_Silviculture_SAM PreSolic_DK Final_Copy.pdf

US Department of Agriculture (USDA)

Statement of Work

Measuring vegetation response to silvicultural treatments

Contents Project General Information

1.0 Scope of Work

2.0 Background

Contractor Requirements

3.0 Technical Requirements / Tasks

4.0 Government Furnished

5.0 Deliverables / Schedule

6.0 Travel

7.0 Contractor’s Key Personnel

8.0 Security Requirements

9.0 Data Rights

10.0 Section 508 – Electronic and Information Technology Standards Attachment

Project Measuring vegetation response to silvicultural treatments.

General Information

1.0 Scope of Work

Provide field vegetation sampling support of timber management activities on long-term silviculture studies following established research protocols, digitize sample data and provide metadata describing the completed tasks. Research related tasks include specialized knowledge of multiple types of measurements and specialized plant identification knowledge.

2.0 Background

Management and operational field sampling and data entry is required to monitor activities related to active management of forest ecosystems. Previous acquisitions similar in scope have been completed at periodic intervals corresponding to vegetation growth and historic intervals. Without this contract long-term timber management projects, future timber sales, and periodic growth intervals will not be assessed.

The contractor must possess a wide range of skills, including specific forestry, biological and botanical knowledge skills and abilities that are used in silvicultural research studies, and how to sample vegetation and attributes associated in differing structural layers.

Contractor Requirements

3.0 Technical Requirements / Tasks

Operationally the contractor must be able to troubleshoot and make repairs to research instrumentation, monitoring tools such as laser hypsometers, digital calipers, use of hand and power tools such as hammers and staplers for maintaining research markers and deer protection cages. The contractor must ensure minimal environmental disturbance at work locations.

All timber management and silviculture tasks include operation and maintenance of the following equipment:

GPS or similar mapping device, tree and shrub diameter tapes, laser hypsometers, and precision digital calipers. The Contractor must have extensive knowledge of plant identification and resources used to identify plant species in red pine and black ash forest types, and the ability and knowledge to use computing device to transfer field data to digital spreadsheets. Specifics of the detailed measurements include:

1a. Relocate and measure 60 vegetation plots on two long-term red pine thinning studies on Chippewa National Forest.

1b. Sample vegetation on above 1/5th acre tree plots, recording dbh for all trees >3.5 inches, mapping and verifying stem location and taking a subset of total height and height to live crown measurements. Verifying against previous measurements as to accuracy and adding new trees to maps and data that were not collected in previous samples following established protocols.

1c. Transcribe field data sheets into Excel files and provide digital files and field copies to NRS.

2a. Relocation of 170 vegetation field plots in adaptive silviculture studies Cutfoot Experimental Forest in MN.

2b. Sample vegetation on above plots following established protocols. Vegetation samples include all tree species tallied by density classes less than 3.6 inches dbh, density of all woody shrub species and categories of herbaceous vegetation percent cover.

2c. Transcribe field data sheets into Excel files and provide digital files and field copies to NRS.

3a. Conduct tree seedling and vegetation plot measurements on 192 Black Ash Phase I and 36 Phase III permanent sample points in Itasca, Aitkin, Cass, and St. Louis Counties, Minnesota.

3b. Sample vegetation on above plots following established protocols. Vegetation samples include relocation of planted tree species, measurement of two basal diameters with precision caliper and measurement of total height, notation of description of items impacting seedling health and maintenance of deer browse protection cages all following established protocols and verifying against previous measurements.

3c. Transcribe field data sheets into Excel files and provide digital files and field copies to NRS.

4. Other aspects of the work involve technical consultation with our staff, providing assistance with long-term measurements that are part of the silviculture research program. Strick adherence to standard protocols and standard methods established will be essential and required for continuity of the long-term research and monitoring program.

Communication about work is initiated by Forest Service personnel associated with Northern Research Station staff, particularly Doug Kastendick (Ecologist, 218-326-7131). Other NRS staff may consult with the contractor to provide specific location information and other guidance about the nature of any particular, requested task.

5. Resume to include: Standard resume input regarding jobs and years of experience, experience with tools and equipment, and skills that are relevant to tasks found in this section, Section 3.0.

4.0 Government Furnished

Government NRS staff will provide establish protocols and documentation to complete the field tasks independently.

Government NRS staff will provide electronic data templates for compiling field data to electronic form. Government NRS staff will be responsible for reviewing and approving digital data generated under this contract. Government does not provide computer, sampling equipment or Excel software.

5.0 Deliverables / Schedule

Timely submission of deliverables is essential to successfully completing this requirement. Schedules for deliverables are specified in Exhibit B. All deliverables shall be completed and submitted according to format, content, and schedule. All “hard copy” deliverables will be submitted on recycled content paper and printed double-sided.

The contractor is required to provide written progress reports to the GTM every 3 months for the period 10/1/25-9/31/26 (and any option years). The original and digital scanned copies are required. The progress report shall cover all work completed during the specified period and shall present the work to be accomplished during the subsequent period. This report shall also identify any problems that arose and a statement explaining how the problem was resolved. This report shall also identify any problems that have arisen but have not been completely resolved and provide an explanation.

Exhibit B Key Deliverables

Item No. Deliverable Objective Due 1 Dormant season field work Complete the required field and computer task prior to the end of the dormant season. Ref. Subtask 1

4/30/26

2 Growing season field work

Complete the required field and computer task prior to the end of the growing season. Ref. Subtask 2-3

9/30/26

3 Dormant season field work (option yr 1)

Complete the required field and computer task prior to the end of the dormant season. Ref. Subtask 4

4/30/27

4 Growing season field work (option yr 1)

Complete the required field and computer task prior to the end of the growing season. Ref. Subtask 4

9/30/27

5 Dormant season field work (option yr 2)

Complete the required field and computer task prior to the end of the dormant season. Ref. Subtask 4

4/30/28

6 Growing season field work (option yr 2)

Complete the required field and computer task prior to the end of the growing season. Ref. Subtask 4

9/30/28

6.0 Travel

Travel requirements are at the expense of the contractor which may include travel to and from the work sites, lodging, meals and incidentals. In and around mileage is not authorized or reimbursable.

7.0 Contractor’s Key Personnel

Vegetation identification, unique knowledge and special measurement capabilities are needed for this project.

The performance requirements should have at least 10 years of experience in this area.

The contractor typically works independently after receiving information, such as location and nature of work, from Forest Service personnel. In general, work occurs during normal Monday-Friday except federal holidays and during normal business hours (6:00 to 16:30 CDT). With prior consent from Forest Service personnel the contractor may work outside normal business hours and on weekends. Some work is infrequent but scheduled based upon season and environmental conditions, some jobs are flexible in timing and may be scheduled based on our need and the contractor’s availability.

8.0 Security Requirements

No security requirements apply to the contract’s performance.

9.0 Data Rights

Data templates for entry of field collected data will be provided to the contractor. All hard copies and digital data produced are to be transferred to the government at completion of each deliverable. Copies and digital data are property of the US government and are not transferable to the contractor.

10.0 Section 508 – Electronic and Information Technology Standards Data will be transferred via Excel spreadsheets and follow Section 508 requirements.

Attachment N/A