bidder must hold INVASIVE SPECIES pre-qualifiCATION in the areaS of HERBACEOUS control AND HERBICIDE for the department of natural resources to be awarded this project

PHRAGMITES, REED CANARY GRASS, and CAT-TAIL LUDINGTON, Muskegon, GRAND MERE, AND WARREN DUNES STATE PARKS

RFP# 180000003068

BID DUE DATE: JULY 31, 2018 – 9:30 AM

WORK STATEMENT

A BACKGROUND/PROBLEM STATEMENT

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Parks & Recreation Division, Stewardship Unit is seeking bids for control of the invasive herbaceous plants phragmites (Phragmites australis), reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea), and non-native cat-tail (Typha angustifolia and T. xglauca) at Ludington State Park (Mason County), Muskegon State Park (Muskegon County), and at Warren Dunes and Grand Mere State Parks (Berrien County). The shoreline of Ludington, Muskegon, Grand Mere, and Warren Dunes consists of a sandy beach and open dunes, and the interior of Ludington is characterized by Great lakes barrens (pine savanna on dune sand), open and forested dunes, with scattered interdunal wetlands and ponds. These communities provide important habitat for several rare plants and animals. The general goal of this project is to control patches of phragmites, reed canary grass, and cat-tail primarily in the interdunal wetlands, ponds, and lake shorelines at these four parks. This work will be accomplished by applying herbicide to the foliage of the plants. The work will be bid as lump sum prices for each of the treatment areas or point clusters, with the number of areas awarded dependent upon bid prices. Bidders may bid on any combination of treatment areas. NO pre-bid meeting will be held for this project, but questions will be accepted via the SIGMA-VSS website prior to bidding.

The project must be completed between August 28 and September 30, 2017, or prior to the date of the first killing frost, whichever is earlier.

B OBJECTIVE

The objective of this project is to substantially reduce the presence of non-native phragmites, reed canary grass, and non-native cat-tail in the designated areas of Ludington, Muskegon, Grand Mere, and Warren Dunes State Parks, thereby further favoring the presence of native vegetation. The treatments will be accomplished by applying herbicide to these targeted plants within the designated treatment areas.

C TASK DESCRIPTION

1. TREATMENT

a. SPECIES TO TREAT Within treatment areas P1 – P5 at Ludington, control all non-native phragmites and reed canary grass using the techniques specified below. Also control non native cat-tail (Typha angustifolia and T. xglauca) only in Area P2 using the techniques specified below.

At Warren Dunes and Muskegon, control all non-native phragmites using the techniques specified below. At Warren Dunes, also control all Japanese knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum) and any giant knotweed (Polygonum sachalininese) or hybrid knotweed that may be present at the mapped points. Navigate to each of the point locations shown on the attached maps to locate the stands of phragmites or knotweed. Search within a minimum 200-foot radius beyond the mapped size of the point to account for GPS error and to make sure the entire stand is located and treated.

At Grand Mere, control all non-native phragmites using the techniques specified below. Within Zone A only, also control non native cat-tail (Typha angustifolia and T. xglauca). Within all zones, search for and treat all populations of the target species within the zone.

For the purpose of this project, any stands of phragmites that are not clearly native shall be treated as if they are non-native (e.g., mixed stands or difficult to ID stands).

b. TREATMENT TECHNIQUES

Apply herbicide to the foliage of all live culms of non-native phragmites (Phragmites australis). Also apply herbicide to the foliage of all reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea) and non native cat-tail (Typha angustifolia and T. xglauca) in the specific areas described above, and to Japanese knotweed where specified above. For knotweed, herbicide must be applied to 100% of all leaf foliage in each stand, up to the dripping point. Foliar spraying may be used in areas where significant damage to non-target native vegetation can be avoided (i.e., in dense patches composed of 75% or more of the target invasive plants or stands of any density mixed with other non-native vegetation). For isolated plants or sparse patches adjacent to native vegetation, individual plants must be treated by a careful wick or hand application of herbicide to individual plants. “Isolated” and “sparse” are generally stands of fewer than 50 seed heads.

Seed heads of all isolated phragmites plants (< 50 heads) must be cut, securely bagged, and removed from the site (disposed in a dumpster).

Treatment of all three species must occur after the majority of phragmites plants have tasseled (while plants are supplying nutrients to the rhizome), between August 13 – September 30, 2018 or prior to the date of the first killing frost, whichever comes first. Payment will not be made for treatment that occurs outside this window.

2. HERBICIDES

Ludington State Park – all species The required herbicide is Accord® at a mix concentration of 1.5% by volume mixed with Habitat® at a mix concentration of 1.5% by volume. A mix concentration of 5% Accord® and 5% Habitat® by volume shall be used for wicking, spray-bottle, or hand application methods.

In a few areas, to be specified by the DNR project manager, the herbicide may be specified as glyphosate only. If this occurs, then the required herbicide in these areas will be Accord® at a mix concentration of 2% by volume. A mix concentration of 5% Accord® by volume shall be used for wicking or hand application methods.

Grand Mere, Warren Dunes, and Muskegon State Parks – all species except knotweed The required herbicide is Accord® at a mix concentration of 2% by volume. A mix concentration of 5% Accord® by volume shall be used for wicking, spray-bottle, or hand application methods.

Warren Dunes State Park – Japanese knotweed The required herbicide is Milestone® at a mix concentration of 0.1% by volume.

3. ADJUVANTS

Cygnet Plus® must be used with all herbicides at a rate of 0.8% of the mix volume.

4. The contractor is expected to achieve a minimum of 98% treatment of the extant target species and a minimum of 85% kill of any herbicided plants within the treatment areas.

5. The contractor is responsible for re-treatment if rain occurs within six (6) hours of the original treatment.

6. Bidders must propose specific treatment technique(s), specific herbicide(s), and surfactant(s) in their bid. Specific brand name chemical products must be listed in the bid and are subject to approval by the DNR project manager. Herbicides or surfactants other than those specified in #2–3 above will be considered if requested by the bidder, but the bidder must include such information in the bid with a brief written justification of why they wish to make the change. Any herbicide or concentration other than those specified above must be approved by the DNR Project Manager prior to use. The contractor shall apply herbicide at a concentration not outside label directions for the appropriate task (stump treatment or foliar application). All herbicide concentrations must be mutually agreed upon by the contractor and the DNR project manager prior to treatment.

7. All herbicide treatments must be according to label specifications and performed by a certified commercial pesticide applicator. Proof of certification in appropriate categories will be required prior to start of work. Overspray onto non-target vegetation and/or soil as well as runoff of the herbicide into the ground or water must not occur. All treatments must be marked in the field. An appropriate marking dye shall be used with the herbicide. Flagging may be required in some zones to document which plants have been treated.

8. SURVEY/MAPPING

a. At Ludington and Grand Mere, thoroughly survey the entire area within the zones for the target species. In order to thoroughly survey the entire zone, it is required that surveyors systematically walk transects through the zone at a tight spacing (approximately 50–75 feet apart). The bidder’s proposed survey methodology and type of GPS equipment should be described in their bid response. Alternate survey methods besides tightly-spaced transects will be considered if proposed in the bid response. Maps of known locations of the target species will be provided (posted on the Buy4Michigan web site). However, identification/location of all populations of the target species within the defined treatment areas is the responsibility of the contractor, regardless of what is currently shown on the maps. GPS coordinates are available for known infestation point locations, but portions of the areas may not have been surveyed.

b. At all parks, each target species population (point location) treated and each point location visited but not treated shall be recorded using the Invasive Plant Mapping protocol and form (posted with the bid on the web). The protocol requires recording an estimate of the size and density of each population on a form. All point locations provided by DNR must be navigated to and updated with the current population size and density (based on condition at the time of initial treatment for the season). In addition, new GPS point locations shall be mapped to the nearest 50-feet or better only for newly-discovered infestations not on the original map provided to the contractor. As stated in the protocol, populations of the target species greater than one acre shall also have a GPS track recorded around the perimeter of the population. All new points shall be labeled with a unique number, and no two points can have the same ID number.

c. For phragmites at all parks, map only the non-native variety of phragmites and mixed stands. If plants have characteristics of both native and non-native varieties so identification is uncertain, then record them as non-native. If a population includes both native and non-native plants growing integrated together then record the population and density estimates of the non-native and the native plants at that point on separate lines on the mapping data form.

9. Signs must be posted by the contractor wherever chemical treatment occurs within 50 feet of a trail or developed area or anywhere else where there is a reasonable expectation of public exposure to the herbicide. Signage shall remain in place for the minimum length of time as determined by the herbicide label and for a maximum amount of time as agreed between the contractor and the DNR project manager. The contractor is responsible for removing all signage.

10. A DEQ Aquatic Nuisance Control (ANC) Certificate of Coverage has been obtained by DNR for all treatment areas over standing water or in Great Lakes Bottomlands. A copy of the COC has been posted on Buy4Michigan. If the bidder wishes to use different herbicides that are not specified on the General Permit, they will be responsible for obtaining a modification to the ANC permit.

11. In all treatment areas where an ANC permit is required and obtained, the contractor will be responsible for posting the required advisory signage as specified in the ANC permit for the site. In locations where ANC signage is required, it may be used in place of the other signage previously described above (i.e., it is not necessary to do both). ANC advisory signage must be posted surrounding the landward side of any area where chemicals will be applied over standing water or on Great Lakes bottomlands on the day of treatment (just prior to commencing spraying) at 100-foot intervals. The approved sign may be downloaded from the DEQ aquatic nuisance control web site (www.michigan.gov/deq/0,1607,7-135-3313_3681_3710-57109--,00.html). The contractor is responsible for printing and duplicating the sign, attaching it to stakes (supplied by the contractor), and posting the signs at the required 100-foot intervals along the landward side of any area where chemicals will be applied over standing water or on Great Lakes bottomlands. Signage shall remain in place for the minimum length of time as determined by the herbicide label and the requirements of the ANC permit and for a maximum amount of time as agreed between the contractor and the DNR project manager. The contractor is responsible for removing all signage.

12. To maintain compliance with the federal Clean Water Act, pesticide treatments under this contract that occur “in, over, or near waters of the state” will fall under a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Certificate of Coverage under the DEQ General Permit for Nuisance Plant and Algae Control (GP #MIG031000, COC #MIG031030). All treatments conducted in areas that fall under this Certificate of Coverage must follow all conditions of the NPDES general permit and the DNR, Parks & Recreation Division Pesticide Discharge Management Plan.

13. Equipment Moving and Weed Seed Contamination All equipment, footwear, clothing, and all other materials brought on site for this project must be completely clean and free of ALL plant material and soil (seeds, pieces of vegetation, chunks of soil, etc.) prior to arrival at each park. These precautions are critical to preventing the spread of invasive plants and contamination of genetic material (seeds) from locations outside of the state park.

All footwear, clothing, and equipment must be checked and cleaned of seeds, other plant fragments, and soil again before moving between work areas to prevent the spread of invasive plants from one work area to another and into un-infested areas. Travel routes and order of work between treatment areas may be dictated by the DNR project manager to further prevent the possible spread of invasive seed and plant material.

14. State-listed endangered and threatened species occur throughout the treatment areas at these parks and are subject to the protection of Michigan Public Act 451 of 1994, Section 365 (Endangered Species Protection). All herbicide applicators working at these sites must be capable of identifying the applicable protected plants and the common native plants that could be confused with the target species (such as marram grass, blue-joint grass, and native sedges). The most likely protected plants to be encountered at Ludington would be Houghton’s goldenrod, Pitcher’s thistle, and Lake Huron tansy.

15. No off-road vehicles (quads, trucks, etc.) are allowed off the roads and parking lots, except ORV’s may be used in a limited manner on the beach at Ludington as long as they are kept in the bare sand at the water’s edge in the splash zone. Vehicles will be permitted to drive to the lighthouse at Ludington on the service road. Permission may be granted by the DNR project manager for ORV use in other specific areas at the request of the contractor, but such use must be pre-approved by the DNR project manager. Where off-road vehicles are allowed in the park, they must not create ruts deeper than 2 inches. Use of ORVs (where approved) for transportation of people and supplies should be kept to a minimum. If any ruts or tracks greater than 2 inches deep are created, the DNR project manager must be notified immediately. The contractor may be responsible for repairing damage to site.

16. The contractor must obtain prior approval to work on Saturdays or Sundays due to high park visitor use. Other specific dates may be unavailable for work due to special events. The contractor will be notified of any such dates a minimum of two weeks in advance.

17. The contractor will be provided with treatment area boundaries and invasive plant point locations via GPS Exchange format (.gpx) file and will be expected to navigate and find points and treatment area boundaries in the field using GPS. The DNR project manager will provide clarification, including ground marking if necessary, upon request of the contractor.

18. The contractor is responsible for supplying all equipment needed to complete the job, including herbicide, sprayers, safety equipment, signs, and transportation.

19. All equipment must be removed from the site within one (1) week following completion of work under this contract.

20. The contractor shall make known to the public its presence through signage, vehicle logos, uniforms, or some other means of identifying the ongoing work whenever workers are present on site.

21. The contractor shall leave the background GPS “track log” turned on during their entire time surveying as part of this project. The track log shall be saved and submitted with the GPS mapping data as documentation of the areas covered. Each employee surveying shall have their own GPS unit.

22. All GPS data must be submitted to the DNR electronically at the conclusion of the project as either GPS Exchange format (gpx) files or ArcGIS shapefiles in the Michigan Georef (meters) coordinate system. (1) New invasive plant waypoints, (2) tracks/polygons around large populations, and (3) the “track logs” for surveying must be submitted as separate files, with exactly ONE gpx file or shapefile for each of these four items. If track logs are submitted in gpx format, they may be split into multiple files if necessary to reduce file size.

D DESCRIPTION OF TREATMENT AREAS

The first work site is within Ludington State Park (Mason County). Phragmites, reed canary grass, and cat-tail were treated annually from 2013 – 2017. All points were last visited and updated in 2017. Most phragmites patches in the park are very sparse or patchy (growing like native phragmites) but exhibiting all other characteristics of the non-native variety.

The second work site is at Muskegon State Park (Muskegon County). The points to be treated are primarily along the shoreline. All populations were treated and the shoreline was surveyed previously in 2017.

The other work sites are within the boundaries of Grand Mere and Warren Dunes State Parks, near Stevensville and Bridgman, Michigan, respectively. Warren Dunes is approximately 1,950 acres and Grand Mere is approximately 985 acres in size, both well known for their tall sand dunes and diverse dune forests and associated wetlands. Thirteen isolated phragmites patches and five knotweed patches have been mapped in scattered locations at Warren Dunes. Non-native phragmites occurs in many patches throughout Grand Mere, especially along roadsides and in the lakes.

*NOTE: Some of the isolated points at Warren Dunes and Grand Mere may require extensive hiking on high dunes and shoreline to remote areas. Vehicle access to areas away from roads is not an option. Grand Mere Zone A is in an old sand mine; Zones B and C are on lakes with dense vegetation and difficult access (most likely accessible primarily by boat or amphibious vehicle); Zones D and F are mostly within 100-200 feet of a road and should be mostly accessible from a vehicle-mounted sprayer, with some patches extending further in; and Zone E is easily accessible by walking in a short distance from the road, but it contains a high quality lakeplain prairie remnant with protected plants known to occur in the prairie that must be avoided.

Example phragmites stand at Ludington, typical of the small (“1” or “2”) populations.

Example phragmites stand at Ludington, typical of the larger (“3” or “4”) populations.

E PROJECT CONTROL AND REPORTS

l. Project Control

a. The Contractor will carry out this project under the direction and control of the DNR project manager, who will be a representative of the Parks & Recreation Division, Stewardship Unit.

b. The Contractor must contact the DNR project manager within five (5) business days after the contract is awarded to provide an approximate schedule of work start and end dates.

c. The Contractor will notify both the DNR project manager and the Ludington State Park or Muskegon State Park or Warren Dunes State Park (for Warren Dunes and Grand Mere) managers a minimum of 24 hours prior to beginning on-site work at each park, and within 24 hours following final completion of all on-site work at the park under this contract.

d. Once work begins on site, the Contractor will keep the DNR project manager informed of the progress of the work at least weekly and any real or anticipated problems (such as chemical spills, injuries, etc.) as they arise. The Contractor will also inform the DNR project manager of any long-term breaks in work (longer than one week) during the course of the project.

e. The contractor will also notify the DNR project manager a minimum of 48 hours before the expected project completion at each park so that a final field inspection can be scheduled.

f. All follow-up procedures and deadlines specified in pre-qualification Exhibit A, Section 1.04 apply.

2. Reports

Within two weeks following the completion of the project, the contractor shall submit one electronic copy of a brief report using the templates provided. All information must be filled in completely on the report templates.

In addition to the final report template and associated pesticide information, the contractor must provide a) GPS data for any updated polygons or newly mapped points, and b) completed invasive mapping forms showing updates to all existing points.

The above reports and information shall be sent, preferably by email, to:

Glenn Palmgren Parks & Recreation Division Michigan Department of Natural Resources PO Box 30257 Lansing, MI 48909 Email: palmgreng@michigan.gov

F INFORMATION REQUIRED FROM BIDDERS

Complete and attach to your bid on the Buy4Michigan website the “Contractor Bid Response” form with the following information:

1. Work Plan/Task Description Provide a brief technical plan (sequential summary and description of tasks) for accomplishing the work. Describe your proposed specific type of equipment to be used. List all chemicals to be used. Indicate the approximate number of days that are anticipated to complete the fieldwork and the estimated number of personnel expected to be working on site.

2. Project Staffing The contractor must be able to staff a project team (or individual) which possesses the talent and expertise necessary to complete the tasks associated with this project. Include names of each person/employee (grouped by job title) that will be employed in the work. The project manager must be identified.

3. Subcontractors List all subcontractors; include firm name and address, contact person, complete description of work to be subcontracted. Include descriptive information concerning subcontractor's organization and abilities.

4. Prior Experience Provide three references who can verify prior experience of your company directly related to the specific work to be performed in this project. Include sufficient detail in the description of work performed to demonstrate the relevance of the experience to this project.

5. Price Proposal See section G below.

The successful bidder will be a vendor who has experience controlling invasive species in a manner similar to the specifications of this project, possesses a team (or individual) capable of carrying out the work effectively and with knowledge on the identification of the target invasive plants and associated protected or similar-looking native plants (especially Houghton’s goldenrod, Lake Huron tansy, and Pitcher’s thistle), and use the most cost-efficient technique(s) that are effective but cause the least amount of incidental damage to the surrounding native vegetation.

G PRICE PROPOSAL

All prices/rates quoted in bidder's response to this work statement will be firm for the duration of the Contract. No price changes will be permitted.

This project will be bid on a lump sum basis by treatment area. The price for each treatment area should reflect the complete cost of surveying and applying herbicide as specified for each area. This includes the cost of all equipment, labor, herbicide, and transportation. NO additional charges (such as equipment repair) beyond the original bid price will be permitted.

Bidders may submit bids for any combination of treatment areas. A different vendor may be awarded for each area if price and overall proposal warrants. Indicate in your bid any price discounts that may apply for completing multiple treatment areas with your business.

H REQUIRED PRE-BID INFORMATION

NO PRE-BID MEETINGS ARE SCHEDULED FOR THIS PROJECT. However, detailed 11x17 maps and survey data have been posted on the web with this work statement for the purpose of formulating more specific bids tailored to the expected amount of work in each treatment area. Prospective bidders are also welcome to visit the parks to view the treatment areas on their own time prior to submitting a bid if they wish.

Questions about this project may be submitted on the SIGMA-VSS website, until 10:00 a.m. on July 25, 2018. Questions must be submitted via the website or by email to vanostranl@michigan.gov. Questions (if any are received) and answers are expected to be posted on the SIGMA-VSS website by approximately July 26.

I EVALUATION/AWARD

The state will review all proposals and information provided by the bidder in the Contractor Response Form and any additional attachments. Submissions will be evaluated for a technical pass/fail determination based upon proposed work plan for completing this project, personnel qualifications and prior experience. Pricing will be evaluated for only those contractors who pass the technical portion of the evaluation.

J PRE-QUALIFICATION TERMS

All terms and conditions included in the pre-qualification documents apply to this project, unless specific variances are given in this work statement above. This includes review and acceptance of work, performance evaluation, payment, and liquidated damages clauses.

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