Catherine Whitted

Catherine Whitted serves as a key procurement specialist within the Stewardship Contracting Branch of the U.S. Forest Service, supporting the agency’s mission to advance sustainable forest management through integrated ecological restoration and infrastructure projects. Though holding no formal title, she plays a critical secondary role in facilitating landscape-scale stewardship contracting, ensuring alignment with federal acquisition regulations and interagency conservation goals. Her work centers on managing complex, multi-objective contracts that combine timber harvesting with watershed protection, wildfire risk reduction, and road maintenance—typically handling task orders and indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) instruments under the Stewardship Contracting Authority. She operates at the intersection of environmental stewardship and federal procurement, translating ecological priorities into enforceable contractual requirements. Whitted maintains consistent working relationships with a core group of contractors including Brink Brothers Inc., Peak Engineering LLC, AZ Hammer Down, LLC, Gabino D. Grano, and Gladhart LLC. These firms are frequently engaged for their proven expertise in executing forest restoration activities, heavy civil infrastructure, and silvicultural support services. Her procurement approach emphasizes reliability, technical proficiency, and on-the-ground experience in remote, ecologically sensitive areas, fostering long-term vendor partnerships built on performance and compliance with federal environmental standards. Her contracting activity is entirely focused on small business set-asides under FAR 19.5, reflecting a full 100% commitment to small business participation. This reflects a deliberate strategy to empower locally rooted, regionally experienced firms capable of delivering high-impact stewardship work in rural and forested regions. She consistently prioritizes small businesses without regard to specific socioeconomic categories, favoring capacity and track record over certification type, thereby strengthening community resilience through economic inclusion. Her procurement focus is dominated by NAICS 237310 (Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction), which accounts for 75% of her activity, alongside NAICS 115310 (Support Activities for Forestry) at 25%. She specializes in procuring services related to forest road rehabilitation, erosion control, trail maintenance, and fuel reduction operations, demonstrating deep technical familiarity with forest engineering standards and ecological restoration protocols.