This Request for Proposals (RFP) is a competitive procurement issued by the Washington Military Department (WMD) pursuant to RCW chapter 39.26. The Washington Military Department intends to establish and award a contract for will support WAARNG in providing archaeological and traditional cultural property site monitoring at Washington Army National Guard (WAARNG) site locations in Washington State with a contract term of 1 year with the option of a 3-month extension.

Scope of Work of the Procurement.

Under this SOW, the contractor will support WAARNG in providing archaeological and traditional cultural property site monitoring at the following Washington WAARNG site locations:

Camp Murray, Centralia, Kent, Longview, Port Orchard, Seattle – Pier 91, Spokane – Geiger Field, Yakima Airport, and Camp 7 Mile. Addresses for each location are listed in the location of work below.

These professionals will support the WAARNG Cultural Resources Manager in the implementation of the Integrated Cultural Resources Management Plan (ICRMP) goals for site monitoring and protection.

Introduction:

Department of Defense (DoD) Instruction 4715.16 requires Cultural Resource Programs to identify, evaluate, protect, and manage cultural resources located on DoD lands. The DoDi 4715.16, along with Army Regulation 200-1 directs State Guards to implement cultural resources programs with an ICRMP that sets programming and projects for managing and protecting cultural resources.

In the WAARNG current ICRMP (2021-2025), one of the Cultural Resource program goals is to regularly monitor protected archaeological sites on an annual basis.

Objectives:

The Contractor will provide services of archaeological field crews and, when needed or requested, tribal professional crews to monitor both archaeological sites and traditional cultural properties. The WAARNG Cultural Resources Manager (CRM) will review and approve the proposed professional(s) to conduct the required tasks. It is expected that there will be travel associated with the monitoring projects given the location of sites across Washington State (Figure 1). Tribal nations may have longer travel times due to their locations outside the state, but in some situations, they may be able to conduct the monitoring themselves. The WAARNG will require the contractor to develop a protocol to be incorporated into the WAARNG for their continued use beyond this project.

Project Personnel Site

The SOW requires specialist support in different professional categories as defined below:

• Principal Investigator/Project Archaeologist: The principal investigator and/or any project archaeologists must meet the Secretary of Interior Standards for Archaeology and must also meet the necessary requirements for working for the State of WA. Register of Professional Archaeologist status is required.
• Field Personnel: All personnel working on field crews and visiting archaeology sites must meet at minimum the USDA Forest Service requirements for a paraprofessional or demonstrate a similar level of training/experience in archaeology. If a particular task requires an archaeologist to meet the Secretary of Interior Standards, then the task will be completed by an appropriate professional. Exceptions for archaeological experience are photographers or technical personnel assisting with documentation and equipment.
• Tribal Cultural Specialists and Facilitators: In certain circumstances, monitoring crews will include tribal cultural specialists and/or be comprised of tribal archaeological paraprofessionals. These should be representatives/employees of federally recognized Tribes approved by the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer (THPO) or appropriate office managing historic preservation for nation.

Location of Work

The area encompassed by this Scope of Work includes:

• Bremerton BR 1207 Carver St, Bremerton, WA 98312
• Camp Murray CM 1 Militia Drive, Camp Murray, WA 98430
• Centralia CE 309 Byrd St, Centralia, WA 98531
• Kent KE 24410 Military Rd S, Kent, WA 98032
• Longview LV 819 Vandercook Way, Longview, WA 98632
• Port Orchard PO 1950 Mile Hill Dr, Port Orchard, WA 98366
• Seattle - Pier 91 SE 1601 W Armory Way, Seattle, WA 98119
• Spokane - Geiger Field GF 8700 W Electric Ave, Spokane, WA 99224
• Yakima Airport YA 2501 Airport Dr, Yakima, WA 98903
• Camp 7 Mile C7 9711 W Charles RD, Nine Miles Falls, WA 99026

WAARNG sites that currently contain historic properties as defined by the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) as eligible or potentially eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). Contractor travel will be supported as needed to visit locations and meet with stakeholders.

Tasks and Deliverables:

Task 1: Kick-off Meeting and Schedule Development:

• The Principal Investigator and support staff will meet with WAARNG (or schedule a teleconference or video meeting) to go over the work plan, proposed schedule for fieldwork, and report completion. The work plan will be based on the proposal submitted for contract award and be submitted in a draft form prior to the kick-off meeting and finalized and submitted to WAARNG Project Manager one week after the meeting. Additional time for work plan and schedule development may be required depending on tribal nation participation.
• The work plan must include the methodology for monitoring sites, the proposed formats for collecting spatial and visual data on site conditions and agreement on the formats for which to submit all final data deliverables (report, forms, databases, photos, maps, and other geospatial data sets). *If preparing a site monitoring program from scratch for the state guard, the work plan will provide the formats and forms intended to capture data for approval by State Guard
• Deliverables: Work plan (draft and final) and Schedule

Task 2: Fieldwork and Data Collection:

• This task will include the completion of all required site visits as defined by Section 4.0. All field visits must be coordinated through the procedures provided by WAARNG. Field crews must follow all safety and facility protocols for entering and leaving locations. Progress report emails will be submitted with the completion of each stage of fieldwork. These reports will include the number of sites visited, any significant conditions that need immediate attention, and general project progress.
• Deliverables: Progress reports submitted via email.

Task 3: Geospatial and Database Development:

• Data collected will be processed and consolidated into the approved database and geospatial formats specified by the state ARNG Cultural Resource program. This includes maps, photos, site condition forms, and any shapefiles/GPS data points collected.
• Deliverables: Samples of database and completed forms submitted for approval.

Task 4: Final Report and Datasets:

• A draft report summarizing the findings of the site monitoring will be submitted to the WAARNG, CRM for review and approval before final publication. This report should include a summary of general site conditions, priorities for immediate action/attention and recommendations for treatment to address site conditions and protection, as well as suggestions to improve future monitoring activities (i.e. change the seasonal time of monitoring, increase frequency, etc.). If the project includes creating a site monitoring system, an additional deliverable will be the completion of a handbook on the system developed that the state ARNG can use internally for data collection in the future.
• Deliverables: Draft and Final Report , digital datasets in formats specified by the WAARNG

General Requirements

• Work shall be accomplished in accordance with all terms and conditions of this Scope of Work, WAARNG regulations, and all applicable local, State and Federal laws, codes and regulations.
• The contractor shall ensure that prior to beginning any work on the project, all personnel and subcontractors are advised of risks that could be encountered in the course of carrying out this project. Such risks include, but are not limited to, insect borne diseases, snake bite, heat exhaustion, heat stroke, accidents associated with agricultural activities (including contact with pesticides and herbicides), traffic accidents, aircraft hazards, and accidents resulting from current or past (unexploded ordinance) military activities.
• It is the contractor’s responsibility to ensure that all project personnel and/or subcontractors conduct their activities in a manner that ensures their own safety and that of other people. Work shall be conducted such that it avoids damage to vehicles, equipment, structures, grounds, natural resources, crops, or other resources on the property.
• The contractor shall not interfere with military activities and shall remain outside all restricted areas.
• All activities on military installations, including armories, shall be coordinated with the appropriate Training Site Manager Offices’, Armory Supervisor, or Facility Maintenance Shops prior to beginning the activity.

Request for Proposal Requirements

• Research Design: The prospective vendor/agency will submit a research design for site monitoring along with their cost proposal. The research design should at the minimum identify the basic information to be collected for each site, the technology to be utilized to collect site conditions, and how to integrate crews from tribal nations into the project. It should not exceed 4 pages and can include figures if useful in showing the technology to be applied.
• Experience in Site Monitoring: Prospective vendors should include a summary one-page fact sheet of their ability to complete the tasks described in this SOW. Experience in collaborative fieldwork with tribal nations should be included in a fact sheet. Along with the one-page fact sheet, summaries of staff and their qualifications can be attached (these can include curriculum vitae or brief biographies of work/education experience).
• Cost Proposal: The cost proposal should break down each task and include the project personnel, administrative hours and supplies, equipment rentals/use, travel/per diem cost estimates, and any direct/indirect costs. For purposes of inclusion of tribal monitors, the assumption will be for a total of 5 tribal monitors working at least 10% of the pre-planning and post-processing project and participating 100% in the fieldwork phase.
• Evaluation Matrix: Prospective vendors will be evaluated based on the criteria in section 4.1.