Specifications include, but are not limited to: A. Target Species. Weed control efforts within the project areas designated in Exhibit A-1 (within the fenced units of the Kauai NARS) will focus on Himalayan ginger, strawberry guava, Australian tree fern, and other priority weed species identified in the initial project phase. B. Work Areas. 1. Work areas are located within existing watershed management units, and are delineated by geographic location, target species presence, and prior weed control history. Each project area is significantly larger than the required acres, to allow flexibility and prioritization of weed control by Contractor. The location of the acres treated will be left partially up to expertise of Contractor. There should be a resweep of the areas weeded last fiscal year. Then work out from the previously weeded polygon areas. (See example in Exhibit A-2) 2. DOFAW will provide helicopter transportation, as needed. DOFAW will also provide chainsaws and a chipper, if large patches of strawberry guava are encountered and most efficiently disposed of via chipper. C. Methodology. 1. During each ground sweep, Contractor’s field crew shall line up within sight distance of one another and shall walk along a compass bearing, visually scanning for target weeds throughout the target area. Due to the topographical features in certain target areas, crews may be required to spread, squeeze together, or split up to cover a drainage, ridge, or uluhe patch. 2. Waypoints of known mature Himalayan ginger should be loaded onto a GPS and placed on maps to aid in determining where to transect and where potential hot-spots are likely to be located. Transects should be planned to cover a circle of approximately 50-meter radius or 2 block around any previously known or encountered. Ideally, the extent of any transect should be determined by any additional mature ginger discovered. When prioritizing locations to transect around a known mature ginger point, the side with the most intact vegetation should be the priority to complete to keep ginger from spreading uphill further into the heart of the watershed. 3. If feasible/appropriate any Himalayan ginger, strawberry guava, Australian tree fern, and other target weeds encountered shall be treated on-site. Appropriate weed control methods may include hand-pulling, basal bark, clip-and-drip, incision point application (IPA) for large tree species and/or backpack spray herbicide application. Herbicide use, application, and disposal shall be in accordance with applicable State, County or other environmental regulations and as outlined on product labels. 4. During all weed activities, GPS data on 1) target weed patches encountered, including GPS points for all mature ginger encountered with number of stalks treated; 2) areas thoroughly transected; 3) areas broadly transected or scanned (i.e. cliff sides, uluhe patches, etc.) shall be collected for subsequent mapping.
