USDA Forest Service, Malheur National Forest, P.O. Box 909, John Day, OR 97845

F -- SUBSOILING SOL RFQ-4-97-68 DUE 082197 POC Procurement, (541) 575-3174; Contracting Officer, Marle Brandt. Project is located on the Prairie City Ranger District. Any award will be for a requirements contract for approximately 400 hours. The treatment areas are located on slopes ranging from 0 to 35 percent. Areas are generally in recently logged areas which are in need of subsoiling or piling to create planting sites. Slash piling will be required in some areas before subsoiling can be accomplished. Equipment shall be a crawler tractor with a minimum flywheel horsepower of 160, not exceeding 46,000 lbs. operating weight and with the following attachments: (1) Brush rake with a minimum width of 8 feet,. with 5 teeth which project at least 12 inches below lower edge of the blade, (2) Three winged soil lifters having 20 inches of width, with the capability of 30 inches in soil penetration. This unit shall be attached to the rear of the tractor on a parallelogram or similar configuration that keeps wing assembly parallel to the angle of the ground, and shall be hydraulically controlled . A soil lifter shall bepositioned directly behind each track with the third soil lifter centered between the two and staggered forward. Wings on soil lifters shall be positioned so when tool bar is lowered and soil lifters have penetrated into the soil to depth of 26 inches minimum, wing will have a 1 inch lift. Soil lifters shall have a minimum of 20 inches clearance from the bottom of soil lifter to the ground level when pulled up out of the ground. Each soil lifter shank shall be bevelled at not more than a 45 degree angle from the leading edge of the shank. Equipment maintenance and repairs shall be at the contractors expense and no more than 5 calendar days shall be in nonproductive status. Unless otherwise agreed to in writing, work hours shall be restricted to Monday thru Friday between the hours of 6 a.m. and 5 p.m. Task orders may be issued from time of award through November 1, 1997. The Contractor shall accomplish an overall average of 40 hours per 7 calendar days. Payment will be based on actual hours worked, to the nearest 1/4 hour. Move in/out will be at the contractors expense. The Government will offer award to the responsible quoter whose quote conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government. Past experience and past performance will play a major part in the evaluation process. The Government may offer award to other than the lowest quoter, waive minor informalities or irregularities, or elect to not award at all. Contract award will incorporate applicable clauses and provisions such as current DOL wage rates, fire prevention requirements and the like. Phone or Fax quotes based on this advertisement will be accepted: phone (541) 575-3174 or 3172 and FAX (541) 575-3002. This proposed procurement is totally set-aside for small business concerns. (0209)

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