Stickpin BAER Aerial Mulching, Three Rivers and Republic Ranger Districts

Stickpin BAER Aerial Mulching. The Colville National Forest has a requirement to implement an emergency aerial mulch treatment with wood shred and Certified Weed Free Ag-Straw to restore soil cover in critical High and Moderate Soil Burn Severity areas of the Stickpin Fire. These treatments should reduce the potential increase of sediment delivery on the Colville National Forest, Three Rivers and Republic Ranger Districts and other downstream values at risk (e.g. municipal watershed). Treatments will be applied to 20-60% slopes by rotary-wing aircraft. Downstream peak flows are anticipated to increase due to reduced soil cover and hydrophobic soil conditions. Mulching treatments will reduce downstream peak flows by absorbing and slowly releasing overland runoff. Mulching will also help to protect the native seedbed and retain moisture on the burned slopes to facilitate native vegetation recovery in the treatment areas.

The project is located within the Stickpin Fire on the Republic and Three Rivers Ranger Districts on the Colville National Forest and within Ferry County in Northeast Washington.

The elevation range is 4200' to 5730' above mean sea level for the treatment area. A general vicinity map is attached and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) shapefiles of project areas will be provided. These GIS shapefiles shall be provided electronically to the Contractor. All of the treatment units are located within the Stickpin Fire perimeter, north of Boulder-Deer Creek Road (Ferry County Road -602). See Attachment D for more detailed location information.

Airfields in the vicinity of the Stickpin Fire:

Airport Name Direction and Distance from Fire Area Latitude Longitude
Avey Field State North @ 11 miles 48.999821 -118.218693
Ferry County West @ 17 miles 48.713936 -118.658536
Colville Municipal Southeast @ 33 miles 48.544019 -117.884482

The work under this contract consists of aerial application of two types of mulch material to 13 designated units representing 989 acres total. Of the total acres, wood shred shall be applied to five units (241 ac) and Certified Weed Free Ag-straw shall be applied to eight units (748 ac). The mulch (wood shred and ag-straw) must be delivered to designated staging areas or processing areas, processed and prepared, and then staged for aerial delivery by rotary-wing aircraft. Potential processing, staging, and helispots are located on an attached map (Attachments D & F). Processing of the weed free ag-straw will be required using a belly grinder, tub grinder, or equivalent piece of equipment that will produce 4-8 inch mulch lengths. The Forest Service will approve the piece of equipment if it is not one of the two processers mentioned. The processing of the wood shred will be required using a variable speed biomass grinder with adjustable screen widths (recommended 4-inch screen).

Both Item 01 and Item 02 require the use of two helicopters. The Contractor may add an Optional Item 03 that includes the use of a third helicopter. Contractors are also encouraged to include alternate proposals and pricings for Optional Items 01a and 01b.

The Contractor shall furnishing of all tools, equipment, materials, supplies (except those designated as Government-Furnished), labor, supervision, workman's compensation, unemployment insurance, transportation, and incidentals to perform all work necessary to accomplish the aerial applications.

Based on the urgency of the project, the period of performance is 12 days to allow for much processing time and weather delays. Flying time for all items is estimated as 6 days.

It is estimated that the work will start right after award.

This project will be advertised as a written request for proposals and will be solicited under the Simplified Acquisition Procurement (SAP) rules and Commercial Item Procedures (Test Program).

Due to the urgent and compelling timeline of this requirement, the response time is short. The issue date of the solicitation is on or about October 30, 2015. The due date of proposals is November 3, 2015.

The proposed project listed here is a 100 percent small business set-aside. NAICS code is 115310, size standard $7.5 million.

All responsible sources may submit a proposal/offer which will be considered. An electronic copy of the solicitation will be posted at this site on the issue date.