Heather Harkley

Heather Harkley serves as a primary procurement lead within the U.S. Forest Service, supporting the agency’s mission to sustain forest ecosystems through science-based land management. She oversees a diverse portfolio of acquisitions focused on operational support, ecological restoration, and wildfire mitigation services, ensuring compliance with federal contracting regulations and strategic resource allocation. Her work directly enables field-level activities such as prescribed burning, reforestation, and invasive species control by securing essential services and specialized equipment. Harkley manages contracts spanning technical, logistical, and environmental service categories, aligning procurement decisions with the Forest Service’s long-term resilience goals. She maintains consistent working relationships with key 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 specialized aviation support, environmental remediation, and engineering consulting services critical to remote forest operations. Her contracting approach emphasizes reliability, safety, and mission-critical performance, often engaging vendors with proven expertise in aerial operations and ecological compliance. Harkley demonstrates a strong commitment to socioeconomic contracting, with 84.2% of her awards designated as Total Small Business Set-Asides under FAR 19.5. This pattern underscores a deliberate strategy to prioritize small business participation across multiple categories, fostering local economic development and increasing vendor diversity in support of federal land stewardship. Her procurement practices consistently favor small businesses without regard to specific set-aside programs, reflecting a broad-based commitment to inclusive contracting. Her primary NAICS focus areas include Janitorial Services (561720) and Landscaping Services (561730), which support facility and trail maintenance across national forests, alongside Engineering Services (541330) for ecological assessments and Temporary Help Services (561320) for seasonal workforce needs. She also procures specialized equipment under 334519 for environmental monitoring, demonstrating technical expertise in acquiring tools for ecological data collection and landscape management.