Jerry VanCleve

Jerry Van Cleve serves as a Forest Silviculturalist with the USDA Forest Service’s Incident Procurement unit, where he plays a critical technical role in shaping acquisition strategies for wildland fire response and all-hazard incident support. His expertise in forest management and silvicultural practices directly informs the procurement of specialized services essential to post-fire rehabilitation, reforestation, and ecosystem recovery. Van Cleve collaborates closely with contracting officers to define technical requirements for vegetation management, soil stabilization, and reforestation efforts, ensuring that acquired services align with ecological restoration goals and incident command needs. He primarily handles task orders and indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contracts for field-based forestry operations. Van Cleve works in close partnership with a network of qualified small businesses specializing in silviculture, prescribed burning, and native plant establishment. He maintains strong working relationships with contractors who possess field-certified crews, specialized equipment for site preparation, and demonstrated experience in federal land restoration protocols. His procurement approach emphasizes performance-based outcomes, requiring contractors to adhere to National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) standards and Forest Service technical directives. His procurement portfolio is entirely set-aside for small businesses under FAR 19.5, reflecting a steadfast commitment to socioeconomic inclusion and local economic resilience. He consistently prioritizes contracts awarded to small disadvantaged businesses, HUBZone firms, and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses with proven capabilities in forest regeneration and ecological services. Van Cleve’s primary procurement focus lies in NAICS 115310 (Support Activities for Forestry), encompassing wildfire rehabilitation, fuel reduction, and post-disturbance site restoration, with a secondary emphasis on NAICS 115112 (Soil Preparation, Planting, and Cultivating), including seedling outplanting, nursery stock procurement, and erosion control. His technical domain expertise ensures that all acquisitions support science-based forest management, ecological integrity, and long-term landscape resilience.