F -- Forestry stand exam and plot inventory

Amendment to Solicitation No. AG-91S8-S-08-0001. The purpose of this amendment is to provide a response to solicitation questions. Following are seven questions and the Government response to solicitation questions: QUESTION ONE: Pg 6, Section B, 1st Paragraph and question one of lst round of questions. Those outfits bidding on all 3 years of Bid Item #1, will they be downgraded for not having a (CA) RPF on Staff? Response: No. As shown on page 6, Section B - Schedule Supplies/Services: Item 1 requires a Crew Leader and Data Collector. This schedule contains three separate items. Firms may submit a quote on any item or all items. However, within each item, firms must submit a quote/hourly rate for all labor categories, for both on site and off site services, and for all three years (the base year, and each of the two option years). Each item will be evaluated separately and may be awarded separately. QUESTION TWO: For bid item 1. Of the approximate 1,000-1,200 Plots over the next 3 years: a) What % of the plots will be re-measures and what % will be initial installs? b) For those re-measure plots, will all plots have field GPS Coor, or will a % only have maps and approx. BPS coor. (pre 1998? Installs)? c) What % of these plots will be in Woodlands, Chaparral & Shrub Veg Types/ Ecosystems? Save to assume these plots mainly on SoCal NF?s? Response: National Forest (NF) plots are primarily remeasure. Some non-NF plots may be new installations. Special study projects on NF may also require new installations. Most of the remeasure plots have previous GPS coordinates. There may be +/- 2% that do not have GPS coordinates. Over 90% of the plots are forested, including woodlands, for the Pilot Project (applicable to Item No. 1) on Southern California National Forests and other ownerships shown in the Solicitation. Over the next 3 years, work is planned for the Southern Sierra as well as Southern California National Forests. Plot installations will be a mixture of Forested, Woodlands, Hard Chaparral, Soft Shrub and Herbaceous Vegetation Types. Sample percentages by vegetation type for future project work are not available at this time. QUESTION THREE: Are we to assume that there will or could be more than 1 award for each of the Bid Items? Response: Yes. QUESTION FOUR: Is there any estimate of yearly total $ orders for Bid item 2? Response: No. The future contracts will be Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity Contracts. Task Orders will be awarded on an as needed basis, and will depend on the amount of work needed, and amount of budget available. QUESTION FIVE: For Stand exams, why would a RPF be required? I could understand under harvesting situations but otherwise it seems like a little overkill by adding an average of $10-$15/hour for no real gain. Response: This is a requirement of our existing Memorandum of Understanding with the State of California. Additional, the Forest Service has the option to set standards required to meet current and future needs. QUESTION SIX: What is the process for dealing with a case where either a plot is on the map and there is no data in the plot summary sheet, or there is data in the summary sheet but the plot is not mapped? Response: The plot will be re-installed according to the latest field manual standards, which will include plot mapping as part of remeasurement, regardless of what information is provided from a previous measurement. QUESTION SEVEN: What is the process for getting access to plots on Military installations ? will we need to get a full clearance with paperwork submitted to the military branch or facility significantly in advance of work proceeding? Response: Inventory plots to be installed outside of NF ownership, are being done cooperatively with Pacific Northwest Research Station (PNW), and any permissions required will be coordinated in advance by PNW. End of Amendment and Government Response to Questions. Point of Contact: Debbie Wendell, Administrative Contracting Officer, Phone 916-640-1252. E-mail: dwendell@fs.fed.us