Whaleback and Huckleberry Meadow Enhancement 2024-25 SlashPile - Addedum 1.pdf

ADDENDUM #1

ITB # S-63500-00011706

WHALEBACK & HUCKLEBERRY MEADOW

ENHANCEMENT 2024-25 SLASH/PILE PROJECT

DATE: October 25, 2024

This addendum modifies the Invitation to Bid (ITB) document(s) for work only to the extent indicated herein. All other areas not specifically mentioned or affected by this addendum shall remain in full force. This addendum shall be added as a part of the original ITB document(s) and shall become part of the work required.

Deleted language is shown within [brackets and strikethrough] New language is show in Bold and Underlined.

ADDENDUM

1. Changes to the SECTION 1: GENERAL INFORMATION, 1.2 Scope of Work

I. Technical Specifications for Pre-Commercial Thinning:

A. Selection of Leave Trees

a. All trees larger than 8.0 inches diameter breast height (DBH) shall be left uncut.

b. Leave all hardwood species (oaks, aspen, chinkapin, dogwoods, alders, etc.)

c. The following conifer species shall be considered leave trees and NOT CUT:

• Sitka Spruce,

• Englemann Spruce,

• Pacific Silver Fir,

• Pacific Yew

d. Spacing – Well formed Incense cedars (no defect and with over 1/3 live crown ratio) will be retained if they are spaced 25’ from any retained trees.

B. Felling

a. All trees other than leave trees shall be completely severed at the stump, and all live limbs below the cutting point shall be removed.

b. All trees other than leave trees greater than 12 inches in height, including trees 8 inch DBH shall be cut.

c. The stump height of cut trees shall be no more than 4 inches from ground or 4 inches above a natural obstacle. Again, all live limbs below the cutting point shall be removed unless prevented from a natural obstacle.

d. Cut trees shall be felled away from unit boundaries, roads, fences, stock driveways, established land corners and other physical improvements. Any trees falling on such areas shall be removed

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and treated as specified below and elsewhere herein.

e. Removal of felled trees and slash from roads shall be accomplished within half an hour.

f. Removal of felled trees from trails and stock driveways shall be accomplished within 24 hours.

C. Hang-Ups

a. All cut trees shall be placed on or near the ground surface so that it will not lean against or be suspended by an uncut tree.

D. Pre-Commercial Thinning Within Riparian Areas and Wet Meadow Complexes

a. No cutting within 25’ of riparian areas (creeks, springs, seeps).

b. Avoidance areas will be clearly marked with orange and black flagging.

E. Existing downed trees and standing dead snags

a. Existing downed trees can be left in place. If a downed tree presents an obstacle for contractor to safely access unreserved trees to be cut, they can be bucked up and/or limbed and used to help build piles, or left in place so long as bole in contact with soil and generated slash treated like any other live slash in Technical Specs III below.

b. Standing dead trees/snags should be retained in most cases. If a standing dead tree less than 8 inches dbh is removed, it shall only be done so in order so that non-reserved trees can be safely cut by contractor. Snags/standing dead trees over 8” dbh should be retained.

II. Technical Specifications for Brush Cutting

a. Brush species will not be cut as part of this contract.

III. Technical Specifications for Treatment of Slash

a. Bucking –felled trees over 2 inches DBH shall be bucked into 6-8 foot lengths and piled.

b. Lopping – Limbs shall be cut within two inches of the bole of the tree on all cut trees.

c. Small conifer trees less than 2 inches diameter can be lopped and scattered, not to exceed 6 inches in depth of slash.

d. All conifer slash 3 or more inch diameter that is not piled shall be in contact with soil, not to exceed 6 inch in depth.

e. All cut boles greater than 6 inches in diameter can be limbed and left in contact with soil.

IV. Technical Specifications for Slash Hand Piling:

a. Pile generated slash of less than 6 inch in diameter and greater than 2’ in length into piles of 6’ X 6’ X 6’, not to exceed 8’ X 8’ X 6’. Slash less than 2’ in length will be left on the ground, not to exceed 6” in depth. Slash that would need to be carried further than 25’ to build a minimum sized pile should be left on the ground (“Lop and Scatter”).

b. Construct piles by laying limbs, stems, cut boles, and other slash in the pile parallel with each other. Cut slash that causes large air spaces to eliminate air spaces. Include an area of small sized slash in the center of the pile (small branches less than ¼ to ½ inch in diameter and/or small branches with needles or leaves attached) to provide “kindling” for prompt ignition and to aid in combustion of larger slash.

c. On steep slopes, generate piles with boles and limbs running parallel with the slope. This will prevent boles from rolling down hill once the piles are burned. These piles may just need to be smaller in order to prevent them from toppling over as they dry.

d. All piles shall be covered with 4-mil polyethylene plastic or alternate material approved by ODFW. Size of plastic shall be no less than 6’x6’ on each pile. to cover at least 90% of the surface of each pile. All four corners and the middle of the plastic sheets shall be stretched to maximize the coverage over the pile and be anchored with slash or other debris. Covering shall be done at the time of piling.

e. Do not pile slash under leave tree drip lines, on logs or stumps, in roadways or drainage ditches, in buffer zones, under power lines, or within channel bottoms or streams unless designated otherwise by the ODFW.

f. Remove slash and do not pile within 10’ of leave/overstory trees, on top of huckleberry patches, within 10’ of brush species (i.e. huckleberry patches), or within 25’ of a unit boundary. If contractor encounters an area with an abundance of huckleberry and no open ground to construct a pile, then lopping and scattering is recommended, or choosing a location to build the pile with the least amount of impact to huckleberry in the vicinity, but also meets the clearance requirement for leave/overstory trees. Contractor can note these locations with ODFW to get guidance on best practice to follow to have the least amount of impact to leave vegetation.

The prospective bidders have until Close of Business on 10/28/24, to submit written questions or protests regarding this Addendum.

Closing Date and Time: Remain unchanged OR

Addendum prepared by:

Name: Ryan Battleson Email: ryan.d.battleson@odfw.oregon.gov

END OF ADDENDUM No. 1 mailto:ryan.d.battleson@odfw.oregon.gov

ADDENDUM #1 – ITB S-63500-00011706 4

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS:

Following are questions asked during the Mandatory pre-bid conference held on 10/17/24 OR received by Offerors/Proposers and ODFW’s answers. The answers and clarifications provided below by ODFW are for informational purposes ONLY and DO NOT constitute a change to the terms, conditions, technical specifications or requirements of the ITB.

• Question: Will brush be cut?

Answer: brush will not be cut in this project. Only unreserved conifers will be cut up to and including 8” diameter breast height. Sitka Spruce, Englemann Spruce, and Pacific Yew are the conifers that are to be considered leave trees and not cut. Section III(a) specifically states that bush cutting is not part of the contract.

• Question/Comment: Shasta Red fir and Pacific Silver Fir can often look alike. How do we know that we are cutting the correct tree (shasta red fir), and leaving the Pacific Silver Fir?

Answer: After consultation with the USFS, we removed Pacific Silver Fir from the list of leave conifers. It can be difficult for the untrained eye to differentiate between these two species, which can also hybridize. Pacific Silver Fir are more likely to be encountered as one moves north into the Umpqua National Forest. No Pacific Silver Fir were encountered on a quick survey by the Siviculturist and we did not want contractors to leave Shasta Red Fir, thinking that they may actually be the very very sparce or non-existent Pacific Silver Fir in this unit.

• Question: Will there be any spacing requirement?

Answer: Yes there will actually, only for incense cedar. While in the field, we noted that there would be no spacing requirements when asked this question. However, after consulting with USFS Silviculturalist, we decided to have a spacing requirement for Incense Cedar. Incense Cedar will be one of the most common tree species targeted for removal in much of this project. However, growing single dominant incense cedars that stand alone in meadows is a goal. The language that is under section I subsection A(d) now reads:

“d. Spacing- Well formed Incense Cedars (no defect and with over 1/3 live crown ratio) will be retained if they are spaced 25’ away from any retained trees.”

• Question/Concern: How do we handle dead and downed trees/wood/snags?

Answer: This project is specific to cutting standing live unreserved conifers. There is new language under section I, subsection E(a) and (b) pertaining to dead trees and downed wood.

• Question/Concern: How do you want to pile on steep slopes?

Answer: On most of this project, contractors will encounter some gradient of slope. In most cases, piling will not be affected due to steepness. However, there are some limited areas that are much steeper than the rest of the unit. This was addressed in Section IV subsection (c) to read:

“c. On steep slopes, generate piles with boles and limbs running parallel with the slop. This will prevent boles from rolling down-hill once the piles are burned. These piles may just need to be smaller in order to prevent them from toppling over as they dry.”

• Comment/Concern: 90% plastic coverage seems like a lot for piles.

Answer: We realized that this would likely dramatically increase bid prices, but we also know that good coverage of piles will make burning much easier to ignite and ensure more complete combustion of dried vegetation. Since this is such a high elevation unit, we wanted to make sure that piles will be of high quality for burning which would limit staff time expenditure when getting them to ignite and completely burn. We settled on a compromise that would be helpful for contractors in estimating their bids, and something measurable for ODFW and USFS when doing quality control of pile construction. Section IV. subsection (d) now reads:

“d. All piles shall be covered with 4-mil polyethylene plastic or alternate material approved by ODFW. Size of plastic shall be no less than 6’x6’ on each pile. All four corners and the middle of the plastic sheets shall be stretched to maximilze the coverage over the pile and be anchored with slash or other debris. Covering shall be done at the time of piling.”

• Concern: There’s a lot of huckleberry in places, piling may be challenging to find a suitable spot in order to limit impact to huckleberry.

We are trying to limit the amount of impact to huckleberry which is a culturally important first foods for native American tribes. We want to reduce the amount of impacts to huckleberry to the greatest extent possible. It is difficult to design a broad prescription that can cover every nuanced circumstance and this scenario should be only in a few cases. In most cases there will be either an opening created where the cut conifers were once standing where a pile can now be placed, or there will be some bare ground within 25 feet.

Section IV. Subsection (f) addresses the concern for piling on and around huckleberry patches as well as the buffers for edge of the unit, leave trees, and brush. Lop and scatter would be acceptable, or if no open ground exists, choosing the spot with the least density of huckleberry to construct a single larger pile (8’x8’x6’) would be acceptable, and leaving some vegetation to be lopped and scattered, rather than constructing multiple piles on the isolated patch of huckleberries.

However, this should not be the predominant treatment solution and this will only apply in a few circumstances within the unit. All other piling specs should be followed especially not piling under drip lines or within 10 feet of leave trees. Consult with ODFW for best guidance in these locations when encountered. Contractor may have to walk materials away from these locations if there is excessive cut vegetation.