SOURCES SOUGHT
R -- Young Growth Thinning Feasibility Study
- Notice Date
- 7/24/2009
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541620
— Environmental Consulting Services
- Contracting Office
- Forest Service - R-10 Tongass National Forest
- ZIP Code
- 00000
- Solicitation Number
- AGTNF011600001
- Archive Date
- 12/31/2009
- Point of Contact
- Sherman L Mayle, Phone: 9072286244
- E-Mail Address
-
smayle@fs.fed.us
(smayle@fs.fed.us)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- This description is being provided to determine possible sources for this requirement and to request suggestions as to what further information the requirement should contain. Any recommended improvements to the requirements that would better enable offerors to respond with as few points of clarification as possible would be welcome. Additionally, recommendations regarding the required period of time to adequately respond to this potential acquisition are requested. REQUIREMENT 1. PURPOSE. The purpose of this acquisition is to obtain a landscape level feasibility study and proposed action to implement young-growth fish and wildlife habitat improvement treatments, and assess the availability of wood products (pole, sawlog and biomass), within the identified Prince of Wales Island project area. 2. SCOPE. The contractor will develop a proposed action based on the results of a feasibility study delineating treatment options for appropriate young-growth stands in the project area, implementation costs of these treatments, cost recovery of young growth products derived from treatment byproducts, impacts to habitat condition, and potential wood products and related values now and in the future. The contractor’s efforts will include: 1.Use the Forest Plan to identify applicable standards and guidelines within the landscape zones identified for treatment. Define the existing condition. Use the GMU 2 deer document to understand the need for treatment in young-growth stands. Identify key areas (zones) for wildlife habitat (ie corridors) and riparian areas within the stands to be treated. Define treatment objectives for each zone. 2.Identify data gaps in the stand level information and conduct field reconnaissance adequate to accomplish the following steps. 3.Develop at least 3 treatment options for each young-growth stand or sub-stand. (3 treatments and 1 no-treatment). Treatments should be timed to meet differing objectives (for example, habitat improvement now versus 10 years from now and byproduct volume and value now versus 10 years from now). Treatment options should vary based on management objectives for each landscape zone. 4.Compare treatment options using criteria similar to that provided in the example comparison matrix in Appendix A of this document. Provide stand level treatment options and comparison matrix in a feasibility study report. 5.In concert with the Forest Service use the feasibility study results to identify a proposed action and associated GIS layer. 3. BACKGROUND Timber harvest by even-aged management through clear cutting has been the dominant timber management regime on the Tongass National Forest since the 1950s. Fifty percent of this harvest occurred during the 1960s and 1970s. Many of these harvested areas are in a stem-excluded, even-aged condition, with little structural or understory vegetation diversity. Numerous stands occur in riparian areas, at low elevations and on productive soils that can support high value habitat for wildlife. These conditions have resulted in reduced cover and forage for various wildlife species, especially deer, and changes to riparian habitats. Thinning is an intermediate silvicultural treatment used to manage young growth stands to achieve a variety of objectives, including accelerated tree growth, development of mature forest structure, and increased understory plant diversity. Reducing the stand density of trees encourages better growing conditions by increasing light and reducing competition for growing space and nutrients within the stand. This benefits wildlife by diversifying the structure and increasing the understory vegetation. Thinning can be achieved through pre-commercial or commercial treatments. Though the majority of this young-growth will not reach culmination of mean annual increment for approximately 45-55 years, opportunities for commercial thinning, particularly for fish and wildlife habitat enhancement and development of new product markets might be encouraged. At present, the greatest concern with potential commercial harvest treatments of young-growth is the economics of the anticipated projects. In current markets, it is expected that intermediate treatments in young-growth stands may be marginally economical, if not completely infeasible. In the interim, the Forest Service may need to do much of this work through service contracts or stewardship where we pay for the treatment offsetting the cost with product or we trade goods for services. In 2007, the Tongass National Forest developed a strategy for managing young growth forests in the Prince of Wales Game Management Unit (GMU2) to enhance wildlife habitat.. This strategy targeted areas that provide the greatest benefit to deer by increasing the supply of habitat in areas intensively used for hunting. It addresses the endorsement by the Southeast Alaska Regional Advisory Council to manage young growth forests for the benefit of wildlife. The GMU2 report outlines priority 13 Wildlife Analysis Areas (WAA); the proposed study area for this project lies completely within those prioritized WAAs. The Tongass National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (2008) (Forest Plan), the Tongass Young Growth Strategy (2008), and the Tongass Strategic Plan (2008) all direct, guide, and encourage the implementation of integrated management activities in young growth stands. In February 2009, the Tongass Leadership Team approved a project proposal to initiate a young growth vegetation management project to enhance or restore fish and wildlife habitat within stem excluded stands and to assess the availability of by-products as a result of these treatments. Interest in young growth-derived forest products is growing. Therefore it becomes imperative to evaluate tradeoffs and logistics associated with silvicultural treatments under consideration, particularly given different land use designation (LUD) areas on the Forest and the respective direction for those different LUDs. Considerations include timing of treatments and tradeoffs between productivity and habitat gains now vs. later; costs for implementing treatments; appropriate logging systems; and potential products for given treatments and treatment areas. A feasibility study is needed to examine these questions and tradeoffs in a quantified way such that the Forest can plan for, and act upon, young growth management decisions. This contract calls for a feasibility study to evaluate one, two, or three project areas on POW Island for habitat treatment options with an emphasis on potential products from these treatments, and a proposed action for the project derived from the results of the study. The feasibility study will aid in identifying fish and wildlife habitat improvement projects that may or may not generate by-products that may or may not be marketable. Depending on the outcome of that feasibility study and budgetary constraints, the Forest may or may not pursue environmental analysis of the thinning treatments examined in the study. 5. PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES 5.1 General. Prepare a landscape level feasibility study and develop a proposed action for implementing young-growth intermediate treatments to enhance or restore wildlife and fish habitat. Include analysis of costs associated with by-product removal and consideration of potential markets. Follow direction in the 2008 Tongass Land Management Plan and guidance in the 2008 Tongass Young-Growth Management Strategy for achieving multiple resource objectives related to habitat maintenance and restoration and timber stand improvement. i)Determine landscape level wildlife and fish habitat needs and priorities based on site specific desired condition. ii)Evaluate silvicultural treatment options, tradeoffs between those options, and costs and benefits of those options on young-growth stands 30 years old and older in the project area. iii)Prioritize and schedule treatments based on the size classes described in the Young Growth Strategy and silvicultural prescription decision tree included in the electronic project library. iv)Work in cooperation with the Forest Service to develop a proposed action based on the outcomes of (ii) and (iii). Direction for young-growth management comes from the Tongass Strategic Plan with emphasis on An Integrated Approach to Restoration and Enhancement. The emphasis for a need for treatment at this time is derived from the GMU2 Management Strategy. Prioritization of stand treatments will follow the Tongass Young-growth Strategy and the associated decision tree. The Forest will provide relevant environmental analyses, strategy documents, GIS and database access, and manual and handbook documents as necessary. 5.2 Task 1: Review Management Direction and Identify Key Landscape Zones and Resource Objectives for those Zones 5.2.1Overview The contractor will review management direction, identify important landscape zones, and describe the existing condition, desired conditions and objectives for each zone in the assessment area. GIS support from Forest Service will likely be needed to accomplish this task. 5.2.2 Strategy Reviewing Management Direction: Identify Land Use Designations (LUDs) within the assessment area and review the Desired Condition (DC) for those LUDs as specified by the Forest Plan. Consider how the DC may apply to the area. As information about the current conditions is evaluated, consider what could be done to move the area toward a desired condition. Define the Existing Condition: Identify existing key landscape zones. These are areas that reflect how key portions of the landscape function or areas having specific social or economic value. Wildlife and riparian management areas, landscape and elevational connectivity routes for wildlife, high value deer winter range, quality forage areas, snow intercept zones, visually seen areas, high public use areas, higher risk watersheds, and riparian management areas etc., should be identified at this stage. The intent of this step is to identify zones that can be mapped within the project area that may carry slightly different resource objectives, and those objectives may influence treatment options. This component is intended to further synthesize Forest Plan direction by identifying applicable standards and guidelines and completing a landscape level watershed analysis. Roles and Responsibilities The contractor will review management direction, identify important landscape zones, and describe the existing condition, desired conditions and objectives for each zone in the assessment area. GIS support from Forest Service will likely be needed to accomplish this task. 5.2.3 Output(s) i)Information to be used in the description of current conditions within the assessment area and development of potential projects that will move the area toward a specified desired condition. ii)An existing condition statement for each landscape zone. iii)Desired condition statement for each zone. iv)Resource objective(s) for each zone. 5.3 Task 2: Synthesize Existing Information and Identify and Fill Data Gaps 5.3.1 Overview The purpose of this task is to identify, review and synthesize information. Identify gaps in the stand level data and collect enough field data to accomplish the required tasks. 5.3.2 Strategy i)GIS data, INFRA data, existing stand exam data and a variety of documents (e.g., NEPA analyses, roads analysis reports, etc.) will be valuable information sources. Also, consider approaching stakeholders for additional information about the area (e.g., private land-owners, other governmental entities, research organizations, etc.). ii)Make note of gaps in the data to both qualify the analysis and to describe potential future investment opportunities. iii)Fill data-gaps as necessary and possible. iv)Attempt to keep the description of current conditions focused by limiting the description to information that relates to the key questions or identified landscape zones. v)Include a description of previous activity in the area as well as a description of the forces of change that can result in a summary to be used in subsequent NEPA analyses (e.g. existing condition description as well as past activities). vi)Where inadequate data exists, conduct focused field reviews to collect data necessary to develop treatment options and compare costs of treatments and volume and value of any possible byproduct removal. vii)To identify markets consider interviewing sawmillers and loggers currently harvesting young-growth on Prince of Wales Island. Roles and Responsibilities Contractor will identify, review, collect where lacking, and synthesize necessary information. 5.3.3 Output(s) An adequate data set to develop treatment options and compare treatment costs, habitat benefits, and volume and value of byproduct. 5.4 Task 3: Develop Potential Treatment Options 5.4.1 Overview The purpose of this task is to use the objectives by landscape zone identified in step 1 to develop potential treatment options that would address the need for change and move the area toward the desired conditions. Because project funding is contingent upon budgetary considerations, costs of treatment options will be a strong consideration in future decision-making. Work through this process as an interdisciplinary team to facilitate development of an integrated treatment plan. 5.4.2 Strategy Consider the desired condition and objectives for the landscape zone being considered (based on an understanding of how that particular zone ought to function). Consider benefits and costs (effects on wood product quality and quantity, habitat values, and economics) of treating the stand now versus the future (up to 20 years from now). Consider changing stand boundaries where it makes sense to display different treatment options based on different resource objectives or stand conditions, or the feasibility of removing by-product from part of a stand and not from the remainder of the stand. Identify at least three treatment options that will address the need for change and move the area toward the desired condition. Below are some tips for describing potential treatment options for each stand: i)Make explicit in the description of potential projects the need for change that has been identified and how the project is intended to address that need (i.e., provide a rationale for the project). ii)Explain how the treatment would address objectives identified in Task 1. iii)Attempt to develop integrated treatment options that accomplish more than one resource objective or differing resource objectives. Describe them as such in the assessment. iv)Identify any information needs that would need to be fulfilled before moving forward with a given project. v) Develop at least three treatment options for each young-growth stand or sub-stand and address and no-treatment option. Treatments should be timed to meet differing. Treatment options should vary based on management objectives for each landscape zone. Roles and Responsibilities The contractor should work through this process as an interdisciplinary team to facilitate development of an integrated treatment plan. 5.4.3 Output(s) A list of potential treatment options by stand and landscape zone that meet resource objectives for habitat and stand improvement and where it makes sense generate a by-product. 5.5 Task 4: Analysis Comparing Treatment Options and Final Study Report 5.5.1 Overview The goal of this task is to determine the costs and benefits of the treatment options. The Forest is specifically interested in and estimate of the treatment costs, the relative improvement of wildlife and fish habitat, and the volume and value of any wood byproducts generated. The analysis of treatment options will be the framework from which a proposed action for the project is developed. Work through this process as an interdisciplinary team to facilitate development of an integrated final study report. 5.5.2 Strategy The Contractor shall compare treatment options using the five criteria outlined below. The analysis must provide a means of comparing and projecting silvicultural treatments and spatially displaying those treatments. The rationale for landscape zoning, treatment options and the comparison of treatment options must be included in the final study report. Sources of data and data gaps must be clearly articulated in the final study report. The analysis will consider the following components: i)How various treatment methods meet resource objectives, including: •An increase or maintenance strategy for understory species diversity for food, cover, and insect, bird and mammal diversity •An increase or maintenance strategy for forage production •The creation of structurally diverse stands •Analysis of the appropriate use of intermediate treatments in young growth stands to address current and future habitat needs •An understanding of scheduling treatments to balance size class distributions •An understanding of the improvement of the growth and productivity in treated stands ii)Whether and which treatment methods would generate byproducts that could be processed into a marketable product, and what those products might be. iii)Costs of various treatment methods, the harvest systems necessary to implement the treatments, and the transportation network required to access the sites. iv)Spatial, value, and timing changes to existing or predicted stand resources resulting from the implementation of various treatments, including: •Habitat conditions •CMAI •Estimated commercial harvest timing and output (referencing growth and yield curves for different treatments) v)Benefits and costs of: •Projected benefits to fish and wildlife habitat vs timber production over time •Projected benefits to the treated stand •Estimated harvest options including costs •Estimated needs and costs of transportation system options. •Estimated value of different products made available through management activities •Estimated infrastructure needed to process the products •Capital investment requirements Roles and Responsibilities The contractor should work through this process as as an interdisciplinary team to facilitate development of an integrated final study report. 5.5.3 Output(s) Prepared feasibility study that is consistent with, and tiered to, the 2008 Tongass National Forest Land Management Plan and Tongass Young Growth Strategy (2008) as they relate to improving fish and wildlife habitat. The analysis will include, for each treatment: i)The implementation costs for government. ii)The type and volume of wood products, either today and/or in the future, and if in the future, when. iii)Relatively rank the treatments for habitat value of each stand, either today and/or in the future, and if in the future, when. iv)The harvest systems necessary to implement treatments, based on the forest-wide Logging System Transportation Analysis, the transportation network needed to access the sites, and the possible by-products and their values. A matrix, found in Appendix A, should summarize the contractor’s findings. The matrix provided may serve as a starting point and outlines the minimum amount of information the Tongass requires for this task. 5.6 Task 5: Development of Proposed Action 5.6.1 Overview Participate as full interdisciplinary team (IDT) members in developing a proposed action with the Forest Service IDT. Prepare a proposal in the form of a Proposed Action that considers findings from the feasibility study to recommend an action to meet the specific purpose and need. An overview presentation will be provided to the Forest Service decision maker and IDT summarizing the feasibility study findings, beginning with landscape zones and ending with examples of treatment options for zones and stands. GIS data bases will be prepared to describe treatment options. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires the Forest Service to describe the Proposed Action early in the planning process. The Proposed Action for the young-growth management project is one possible alternative for treating young-growth that enhances fish and wildlife habitat in the Project Area in a cost effective manner and is a focus of the scoping process that moves the Forest into NEPA. It describes specific activities planned for the project area and provides the basis for the public’s opportunity to provide pertinent comments. The Proposed Action is developed, based on the results of the field investigations and preliminary issues identified from past projects and meet the purpose and need for the project. Through the collaborative planning process, other action alternatives will be developed that address public and other agency comments. Not all of the possible activities will have the same urgency or the same likelihood for funding based on cost or feasibility. The contractor will work with the Forest Service to evaluate the list of possible activities outlined in the feasibility study (Task 4) and choose which ones to move forward based on perception of need, unit priorities, funding, personnel, partnership potential, politics etc. 5.6.2 Strategy The contractor will work with the Forest Service to develop a proposed action based on the results of the feasibility study. The proposed action will delineate treatment options for appropriate stands in the project area which move the project area towards the desired condition and includes implementation costs of these treatments. A reasonable proposed action is one that achieves, in larger part, the defined purpose and need while not violating any minimum environmental standards. Information about a proposed action is a mixture of potential actions and outputs. The proposed action would treat young growth using timber harvest and/or precommercial thinning of 30 and older year old young growth stands. The proposed action, if implemented would achieve multiple benefits and management objectives based on the Forest Plan in the most cost effective manner. •Define the need for change: What is the gap between desired and existing values. •Identify Possible Activities: What logical group of activities can move forward as a Proposed Action that addresses the need for change? •Summarize the proposed action using a matrix, including maps. The FS anticipates 3 days of meetings beginning with a presentation by the contractor summarizing the study findings and offering recommendations for the integrated group to consider. Following the presentation specific areas will be reviewed and treatment options chosen for each landscape zone or stand. Roles and Responsibilities The contractor will provide an overview presentation to the forest service decision maker and IDT summarizing the feasibility study findings, beginning with landscape zones and ending with examples of treatment options for zones and stands, The contractor will then participate as full IDT members in developing a proposed action with the Forest Service IDT. The contractor will take notes and create a GIS data base treatment option by stands included in the proposed action.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/USDA/FS/116/AGTNF011600001/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: Prince of Wales Island, Alaska, 99901, United States
- Zip Code: 99901
- Zip Code: 99901
- Record
- SN01886125-W 20090726/090724235218-c2cc1a0e061ac8122fec32d26209c05c (fbodaily.com)
- Source
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