Specifications include, but are not limited to: The State’s full Lake Champlain Management Program involves mechanical harvesting and handpulling to remove water chestnut plants before they reach maturity. Both methods will be used in 2024. The State will implement and oversee the program through contracts with selected vendors. This element of the 2024 Water Chestnut Management Program will focus on the management of water chestnut (Trapa natans) by mechanical harvesting from Lake Champlain. Mechanical harvesting will be continuous over the period from mid-June to late August or early September 2021. Mechanical harvesting will begin at the northern edge of the dense water chestnut infestation south of Benson Landing Vermont, and will proceed south, in an attempt to curb this species' northern spread. Both the Vermont and New York shorelines will be targeted. Shallow areas will be mechanically harvested early in the season if possible before the water elevation drops to its low summer levels, and the maximum amount of water chestnut will be harvested before the seeds are fully developed. Mechanical harvesting starts when plants reach the water’s surface and continue until the seeds mature to the point where they begin to fall off the plants when disturbed. Machines will be in operation for a minimum of five (5) days a week, with two (2) crews each doing a seven-hour shift per day, weather permitting. The unloading and disposal sites are located within the Town of Dresden, New York and permitted through the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (Permit# P2020-0100), or at a State approved private location initiated and implemented through the Contractor. The New York launch site is located at Chubbs Dock Landing, a shared lake access site with the New York Department of Environmental Conservation’s water chestnut harvesting operation that is implemented by the Town of Dresden. The disposal site is located on the Town of Dresden’s gravel pit property and is also used by the Town of Dresden. 2. The Contractor will: a. Provide and utilize necessary personnel and equipment to remove water chestnut infestations from designated areas (approximately 300 acres) from the project area in Lake Champlain (north of Whitehall, N.Y.), utilizing standard mechanical harvesting equipment, high-speed transport vessels and an operations crew. b. Provide a signed copy of the mechanical harvesting contractor’s Certificate of Insurance (COI) in which the access road landowner is named as an additional insured party prior to the start of the management season. c. Supply the following equipment and personnel to meet the minimum specifications as stated below: i. Two (2) mechanical harvesters each with a minimum load capacity of 800 cubic foot with designated operators for both machines capable of shallow and deep-water harvesting. ii. One (1) high speed transport vessel with a minimum load capacity of 800 cubic feet with a designated operator capable of attaining a speed of 8-10 mph when loaded and with good maneuverability under adverse weather conditions, when fully loaded and when empty.
