Prescott National Forest; Bradshaw Ranger District; Maverick IRSC Heritage Survey

Scope of Work:

The cultural resource survey contractor shall be permitted to conduct cultural resource surveys on the Prescott National Forest. The contractor shall furnish all personnel, facilities, equipment, materials, supplies and services and otherwise do all things necessary for, or incident to, the satisfactory performance of this contract in strict accordance with this contract, for heritage resources field inventory and other associated activities located on Forest lands within Region 3 of the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, specifically on the Prescott National Forest. The scope of this project will include intensive archaeological pedestrian survey as described in this contract.

The Prescott National Forest (PNF) is planning the Maverick IRSC on 4,268 acres within the Bradshaw Ranger District (Figure 1). The project’s purpose is to improve the health and resiliency of fire-adapted ecosystems by restoring and maintaining fire to a more natural role, reduce fire hazards in strategic locations to improve fire protection and human safety around communities within the project area, and improve the quality of wildlife habitat while reducing the risk of catastrophic fire.

Project activities would consist of timber harvesting, mastication, hand thinning, and prescribed burning. Timber harvesting will utilize mechanized equipment such as feller-bunchers, skidders, processors, loaders, harvesters, forwarders, and logging trucks. Slash resulting from thinning activities may be scattered and left on the ground, piled and burned, or removed as a biomass product. Mastication will utilize mechanical mastication equipment, which may be rubber-tired or tracked. Slash resulting from mastication activities may be scattered and left on the ground, burned, or removed as a biomass product. Follow-up treatment in these areas might involve mastication and prescribed burning to maintain the desired conditions. Prescribed burning may be accomplished by broadcast burn or pile burning.

Tasks:

• Conduct intensive pedestrian cultural resource survey of the identified 1,907 acres to assess the project’s effects on sites. The cultural resource survey will examine all areas identified in Figure 1.

• Record all newly identified sites and isolated occurrences. The expected site density is low to moderate. The PNF estimates that this survey will discover up to 10 previously undocumented archaeological sites.

• Revisit and reevaluate previously identified sites. This includes 26 previously recorded precontact sites, 22 previously recorded historic sites, 3 previously recorded multicomponent sites, and 1 unknown site. The total number of sites to revisit is 52. See Appendix A for a complete list of previously identified sites. Complete appropriate Prescott National Forest site forms in accordance with the specifications described in this contract. Include National Register eligibility determinations, assess fire sensitivity per the USDA-Forest Service Region 3 Programmatic Agreement, Appendix J, and management recommendations concerning proposed activities within or near each site. • Produce a Report (Section 106 compliance report) for the inventory that meets the specifications described in this contract and is in accordance with the standards set forth in the USDA-Forest Service Region 3 Cultural Resources Handbook.

• Complete data entry. This includes all tabular & spatial survey, site, and feature data entry using the USFS Heritage Mobile Application according to PNF standard operating procedures (SOPs).

Period of performance: 09/30/2024 to 09/30/2025; an earlier start date may be proposed by the contractor.

RFIs to be submitted to george.staggs@usda.gov by 1700 CDT April 29, 2024