James Pelkola

James Pelkola serves as a key procurement lead within the USDA Forest Service’s Incident Procurement unit, responsible for rapidly mobilizing critical logistical and operational resources to support wildland fire response and all-hazard incident management. He manages time-sensitive acquisitions for mobile command units, heavy equipment, water supply systems, temporary housing, and specialized forestry support services, ensuring incident management teams have immediate access to mission-critical infrastructure across national forests and grasslands. His role is central to the agency’s emergency response lifecycle, bridging operational needs with federal contracting frameworks to enable agile, compliant, and scalable procurement under urgent conditions. Pelkola maintains strong working relationships with a network of qualified small business contractors specializing in forestry support activities, including equipment leasing, field logistics, and incident-specific infrastructure deployment. He collaborates closely with vendors possessing proven experience in remote, high-risk environments, prioritizing firms with demonstrated capability in rapid mobilization, regulatory compliance, and multi-agency coordination. His contracting approach emphasizes responsiveness, reliability, and performance-based outcomes, fostering long-term partnerships with vendors who can operate under dynamic, evolving incident conditions. He consistently applies a 100% Small Business Set-Aside strategy under FAR 19.5, ensuring all acquisitions are reserved exclusively for small businesses, with a strong preference for firms certified under HUBZone, 8(a), and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) programs. This unwavering commitment to socioeconomic inclusion strengthens regional economic resilience and ensures that incident response capabilities are rooted in diverse, locally anchored enterprises with deep operational familiarity with federal land management systems. His procurement focus is entirely centered on NAICS 115310 — Support Activities for Forestry — encompassing services such as fireline construction support, fuel reduction logistics, incident communications, and temporary facility establishment. He specializes in acquiring technical services that enable field-level operational continuity, demonstrating deep expertise in the unique demands of wildland fire response and forest ecosystem management.