Darren Zychek

Darren Zychek serves as a key procurement professional within the USDA Forest Service, supporting the agency’s mission to sustain national forest and grassland ecosystems through strategic acquisitions. He manages a diverse portfolio of contracts focused on ecological restoration, wildfire mitigation, and infrastructure resilience in remote and rugged environments. His work centers on securing specialized services that enable operational readiness, including forestry support, site preparation, and civil engineering services critical to maintaining public safety and ecological health across federal lands. Zychek’s acquisitions are designed to align with the Forest Service’s long-term strategic priorities in forest health, invasive species control, and emergency response capacity. He maintains consistent working relationships with a select group of contractors, including ACI FEDERAL INC, ONE STOP RECRUITING LLC, GONDO ROY E MD, THE LOCUMS CO, LLC, and AMD INTERNATIONAL TECHNOLOGIES LLC. These partnerships reflect a reliance on firms capable of delivering specialized forestry support, temporary staffing for field operations, medical services for remote crews, and technology-enabled resource management solutions. His contracting patterns indicate a preference for established vendors with proven experience in federal land management contexts and the ability to operate under demanding environmental and logistical constraints. Zychek’s procurement activity shows a strong preference for open competition, with 92.3% of awards issued without set-aside restrictions, reflecting the technical complexity and scale of requirements that often exceed small business capacity. However, he maintains a measurable commitment to small business participation, with 7.7% of awards directed under Total Small Business Set-Asides in accordance with FAR 19.5, demonstrating balanced adherence to socioeconomic goals without compromising mission-critical needs. His primary procurement focus lies in NAICS 115310 (Support Activities for Forestry), which accounts for over half of his portfolio, encompassing brush clearing, prescribed burning, and forest thinning services. Additional emphasis is placed on highway and bridge construction (237310), site preparation (238910), and heavy civil engineering (237990), underscoring his expertise in integrating ecological management with infrastructure development across federally managed landscapes.