Antonio Barela

Antonio Barela serves as a Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) for the Cibola National Forest, part of the U.S. Forest Service under the Department of Agriculture. In this role, he provides critical oversight of operational contracts essential to sustaining forest health, public safety, and recreational infrastructure. He ensures contractor performance aligns with federal standards and agency priorities, including wildfire mitigation, sanitation services, and trail maintenance. His responsibilities include monitoring deliverables, evaluating compliance, and facilitating communication between field personnel and contractors. Barela specializes in support activities for forestry operations, managing task orders and delivery orders under indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contracts that enable responsive, on-the-ground field support. Barela maintains consistent working relationships with RELIANCE CONTRACTORS INC and ALERTWEST, INC, both of which provide specialized services in forest management support, vegetation control, and recreation facility maintenance. His procurement approach emphasizes long-term, performance-based partnerships with vendors who demonstrate technical proficiency in federal environmental compliance and field logistics. He actively engages contractors through regular site evaluations and performance reviews, fostering accountability and operational readiness across remote and high-use forest areas. Barela’s contracting portfolio is exclusively reserved for small businesses, with 100% of his acquisitions set aside under FAR 19.5 as Total Small Business Set-Asides. This reflects a deliberate and sustained commitment to advancing small business participation in federal land management. He prioritizes contracting with firms that are small business certified, ensuring economic opportunity and community resilience in rural service areas. His primary procurement focus is on NAICS 115310 (Support Activities for Forestry), encompassing services such as fuel reduction, invasive species control, trail construction, waste removal, and wildfire preparedness support. Barela’s technical expertise lies in managing field-based operational contracts that require specialized knowledge of federal environmental regulations, land use protocols, and seasonal resource management needs.