Carrie L Edwards

Carrie L. Edwards serves as a Contract Specialist for the Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area under the U.S. Forest Service, where she manages the full lifecycle of procurement actions to support sustainable public land management. Her responsibilities include developing solicitation documents, conducting market research, evaluating proposals, and administering contracts for infrastructure, environmental support, and operational services. She plays a critical role in aligning acquisition strategies with the agency’s mission to maintain safe, resilient recreational facilities and ecologically sound land use practices, ensuring compliance with federal contracting regulations and environmental stewardship goals. Edwards cultivates partnerships with a diverse range of vendors, particularly small businesses specializing in forestry support, civil construction, and land management services. She works closely with contractors providing site-specific services such as trail maintenance, pest control, waste management, and geological surveying, fostering collaborative relationships built on performance accountability and regulatory adherence. Her contracting approach emphasizes transparency, competitive fairness, and long-term vendor reliability to ensure consistent delivery of mission-critical services across the recreation area’s expansive terrain. A strong advocate for socioeconomic inclusion, Edwards consistently prioritizes small business participation, with approximately 77% of her acquisitions set aside for small businesses under FAR 19.5. She actively promotes HUBZone and other disadvantaged business programs, reflecting a deliberate strategy to channel federal resources into economically underserved communities while expanding the pool of qualified local vendors. Her contracting patterns demonstrate a clear commitment to equitable opportunity and community-based economic development. Her primary procurement focus lies in NAICS 115310 (Support Activities for Forestry), 237310 (Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction), and 212312 (Crushed and Broken Limestone Mining and Quarrying), reflecting her expertise in infrastructure resilience, land grading, and natural resource management. She frequently procures services related to erosion control, recreational trail development, surveying, and roofing systems for public facilities, demonstrating deep technical familiarity with the operational demands of managing federally protected natural landscapes.