Carol Northrop

Carol Northrop serves as a secondary procurement liaison within the U.S. Forest Service, supporting the agency’s mission to sustain national forest ecosystems through strategic acquisition of ecological management and infrastructure services. While not the lead contracting officer, she plays a critical role in facilitating the planning, solicitation, and administration of contracts aligned with forest health, wildfire mitigation, and land restoration initiatives. Her work primarily involves supporting complex, mission-critical acquisitions in environmental services, heavy civil construction, and aerial operations, ensuring alignment with federal procurement regulations and agency sustainability goals. Northrop maintains consistent working relationships with a core group of specialized contractors, including Perimeter Solutions LP, Management & Engineering Technologies International Inc, Helicopter Transport Services, LLC, Aero-Flite, Inc., and Helicopter Express LLC. These partnerships reflect a reliance on niche vendors capable of delivering technical services such as prescribed fire support, aerial suppression, ecological monitoring, and remote infrastructure construction. Her procurement approach emphasizes vendor reliability, operational readiness, and compliance with environmental safety standards, fostering long-term collaborations with firms experienced in federal land management contexts. Her contracting patterns demonstrate a strong commitment to small business participation, with 93.8% of awards designated as total small business set-asides under FAR 19.5. This reflects a deliberate strategy to prioritize economic inclusion and community-based expertise, with minimal use of no-set-aside or SDVOSB mechanisms. The overwhelming preference for small business contracting underscores a broader agency initiative to empower local and specialized vendors with proven capabilities in rural and ecologically sensitive environments. Northrop’s procurement focus centers on NAICS 115310 (Support Activities for Forestry), 237310 (Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction), and 238990 (All Other Specialty Trade Contractors), indicating deep engagement with ecological restoration, trail and access road maintenance, and site-specific civil works. She routinely procures services involving invasive species control, reforestation, erosion control, and wildfire infrastructure, demonstrating specialized expertise in land management contracting within the Department of Agriculture’s environmental stewardship framework.