LLA - HMU Wildlife Services

The US Army Corps of Engineers, Walla Walla District is has awarded this service contract to provide personnel, materials, supplies, equipment, transportation, supervision and other items and services for the following: Under the Lower Snake River Fish and Wildlife Compensation Plan (Comp Plan), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) managed federal lands on the lower Snake River, along with other lands purchased and leased in adjacent areas of southeast Washington would be developed and managed for terrestrial wildlife habitat [habitat management units (HMU)]. Presently, the Corps manages 84 HMUs encompassing over 50,000 acres (ac) from Lake Wallula on the lower Columbia River through the Snake River/Clearwater River confluence in Lewiston, ID.

Management of HMUs is split between the Clarkston, Washington, and Tri-Rivers, Burbank, Washington, Natural Resources Management (NRM) teams. The Clarkston NRM team is responsible for HMUs upriver from and including Lyon’s Ferry on the west bank of the Palouse River. The Tri-Rivers NRM team manages HMUs downriver of Lyon’s Ferry including those on the lower Columbia River in Lake Wallula.

The geographic range of items under this Statement of Work encompasses approximately 100 river miles and 18,000 acres of land managed by the Corps Clarkston NRM team. Work shall include, but is not limited to the following.

1. Planting and irrigating wildlife food plots
2. Establishing and maintaining shrub and tree plots
3. Removing invasive tree species such as Tree-of-Heaven and Russian olive
4. Removing invasive Himalayan blackberry and false Indigo shrubs
5. Installing new information kiosks
6. Placement of boulders for parking areas and trail boundaries
7. Removal of waterfowl hunting blinds
8. Fence repair/maintenance
9. Cleaning vault toilets
10. Removing and disposing of litter
11. Erecting and maintaining goose nesting tubs, brush pile structures, and gallinaceous guzzlers
12. Chemical and biological control of invasive and noxious weeds
13. Use of Geographical Information Systems to document weed and pest control activities
14. Operation and maintenance of irrigation systems
15. Custom mowing/swathing and agricultural bailing

There are two broad categories of HMUs; 1) intensively managed, and 2) maintained. There are 9 intensively managed HMUs with active irrigation systems, maintained tree and shrub plots, and irrigated pastures. Three (3) of these HMUs are in Idaho while the remaining 6 are in Washington. Managed HMUs comprise remote shoreline corridors and large, rugged, upland tracts. Where accessible, gallinaceous guzzlers and brush piles are installed in managed HMUs, as well as tree and shrub plantings in appropriate locations. Noxious weed control is a priority among all HMUs.

The contractor should be aware that a number of HMUs (nearly 20) are accessible only by boat to include the 2 largest intensively managed HMUs.  This would mean that the heavy equipment needed to accomplish all listed work items, except for numbers 6 and 9, would need to be transported with no available road access.

Some Government-Furnished-Property will be available to the Contractor.

The Contractor must provide personnel, materials, supplies, parts, tools, equipment, vehicles, vessels, GPS/GIS software/hardware and other items and services necessary to monitor, operate, maintain, and treat public facilities and lands. This includes public-use facilities, operational facilities and equipment as defined in this PWS on lands and waters of the Snake, Clearwater, Palouse, and Tucannon Rivers within Lake Granite, Lake Bryan, and the upper portion of Lake West (upstream of the Joso Bridge).

Awarded contract W912EF20C0017 to DeRuwe, Inc. for 5978559.28 on 2020-03-20.