This notice is being used as a mechanism for obtaining comments and ideas for the purpose of creating a long term stewardship contract that will provide services needed by the Government at the lowest possible cost. The Government will not pay for any information received from potential sources as a result of this Request for Information. The Government is not looking to provide grants or financial assistance as a result of this request. Responses to this request will be confidential if so requested by respondent.

Project Name:
Mountain Pine Beetle Area Long Term Stewardship Project

PROJECT INFORMATION:
The Rocky Mountain Region (R2) of the Forest Service is considering offering one or more large multi-year forest restoration project(s) in areas affected by the mountain pine beetle within Northern Colorado and Southern Wyoming. The project(s) would be offered under the authorities of the 16 U.S.C. 2104 Note, Stewardship End Result Contracting Projects Act. The overall objective of the project(s) is to reduce hazardous fuels that increase wildland fire risk to communities and infrastructure and promote restoration of the landscape by removing dead and dying trees, and hazard trees that pose a threat to the public and fire fighter safety. Use of stewardship authorities will allow the Forest Service to exchange the value of products removed during the land restoration activities for the cost of the treatments. The area needing treatment is large and available Forest Service funding is relatively low, so a solution that minimizes or eliminates costs to the Government is preferred.

Priority areas needing treatment include:

1. Hazardous fuels that increase wildland fire risk in the wildland urban interface.
2. Developed recreation areas, and along road, trail, and power line corridors where hazard trees threaten
public safety
3. Watersheds that may be at highest risk from damage by severe wildfires or windthrow

Recent assessments indicate that between 5.1 and 6.7 million dry tons of dead or dying trees on approximately 197,000 acres are in need of removal from areas infected by the mountain pine beetle in Colorado and Wyoming. Removal from these areas can be accomplished with conventional ground based harvest systems. Available material may be in the form of dead or beetle infested sawlogs, small roundwood, and limbs, tops, and brush. Some temporary road construction and minor amounts of specified road construction or reconstruction may be required for removal. Areas proposed for treatment would be located primarily on the Medicine Bow, Routt, and White River National Forests, although other Forests may also be included .

The purpose of this request is to solicit information from industry, local communities and others to help determine if offering one or more, long term stewardship contract(s) up to 10 years in length in areas affected by the mountain pine beetle would facilitate the utilization of products removed from treatment areas and/or lower treatment costs. And, if so, how the project should be designed to accomplish those objectives and best meet the needs of the Forest Service, industry, and local communities.

The USDA Forest Service will not release any information received in response to this request marked as "confidential" to any firms, agencies, or individuals outside the USDA Forest Service without written permission.

INFORMATION REQUESTED:

1. How will offering one or more large scale, long term stewardship contract(s) for the removal of
hazardous fuels and hazard trees in areas affected by the mountain pine beetle in Colorado and Wyoming
promote utilization or help to reduce treatment costs?
2. Does your company have a business model that could be implemented within the area that would accomplish
the treatment objectives for the Forest Service? If so, what would the business model look like and
what is your estimate of the cost to the Government for treatments under your business model? Does
this business model depend on government grants or other financing?
3. Would your company utilize biomass or other products removed from treatment areas? If so, how? Would
biomass or other products be utilized in existing facilities or would new facilities be constructed
for that purpose? Where would facilities be located?
4. What is the minimum and maximum amount of material (specify wet or dry tons) that could be treated each
year? Where could treatment areas be located? What is your total anticipated 10 year supply need?
5. Is there a maximum distance (working circle) treatment areas could be located from facilities or other
limitations on what areas could be treated? Does your model require specialized equipment (i.e. chip
vans) to be feasible?
6. What recommendations do you have for project design and implementation that could help reduce treatment
costs?
7. Would you prefer that your company contract directly with the Government, or would you prefer to
contract with another logging or fuels reduction contractor who maintains the contract with the
Government?
8. Is there other information you can provide that should be considered in developing a project that will
be successful in meeting the needs of industry, the Forest Service, and local communities? What
additional raw material requirements or specifications need to be considered.

Please feel free to provide us with any other information, comments, or ideas that may be useful in developing a successful project.

This is a request for information only. No formal solicitation or contract has been developed. The exact location of treatment areas and the number of acres to be treated have not been identified. The exact amount of wood or biomass to be removed has not been determined to any degree of precision.

Submission Requirements:

So that we may better determine capabilities and requirements for this prospective project, we request that you submit your answers to the questions above and any additional comments or concerns you may have by 3:00 pm Mountain Time on Monday, January 17, 2011 with "Mountain Pine Beetle Area Long Term Stewardship Project" in the subject line. Please be advised that all public information available about this requirement is provided in this notice. The preferred method of communication is by email. Due to volume of contacts, phone calls may not be returned. Please send your responses to Bob Garcia, R2 Stewardship Contracting Coordinator, [email protected] and Joe Milburn, Contracting Officer at [email protected].