Denise Steel

Denise Steel serves as a key procurement lead within the Manti-La Sal National Forest, supporting the U.S. Forest Service’s mission to maintain and rehabilitate critical infrastructure across federally managed forest lands. She manages a diverse portfolio of construction and service contracts essential to operational continuity, including guard stations, administrative facilities, water and sewer systems, and associated civil works. Her role ensures compliance with federal acquisition regulations while advancing the agency’s goals of ecological stewardship and public access. Denise specializes in soliciting and awarding contracts for facility modernization, infrastructure repair, and site-specific maintenance services, aligning procurement activities with the Forest Service’s long-term asset management strategy. Her contractor relationships are primarily with small and specialty trade firms experienced in remote, environmentally sensitive construction environments. She routinely engages with contractors skilled in commercial and institutional building construction, concrete product manufacturing, and janitorial services tailored to federal land operations. Denise fosters collaborative, long-term partnerships with vendors who demonstrate proven capacity for working in rugged terrain, adhering to environmental mitigation protocols, and delivering timely results under challenging logistical conditions. Denise exhibits a strong commitment to socioeconomic contracting, with 86.7% of her acquisitions set aside for small businesses under FAR 19.5, and 13.3% designated for HUBZone firms. Her procurement patterns consistently prioritize small business participation, reflecting the agency’s dedication to economic development in rural communities surrounding the forest. She actively encourages HUBZone-certified contractors to compete for projects, reinforcing federal goals for geographic equity and workforce development in underserved regions. Her technical focus centers on NAICS 236220 (commercial building construction), 238990 (specialty trade contracting), and 237110 (water and sewer line construction), with significant activity in janitorial services and concrete product manufacturing. Denise’s expertise lies in procuring mission-critical infrastructure solutions that balance durability, environmental compliance, and operational efficiency across the forest’s dispersed and ecologically sensitive sites.