Jim Eaton

Jim Eaton serves as a Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) for the Cibola National Forest under the U.S. Forest Service, where he provides critical oversight of field-level contracts supporting forest management, infrastructure resilience, and public safety operations. His role ensures contractual compliance, performance monitoring, and technical coordination for mission-critical acquisitions that enable day-to-day operational effectiveness across federal forest lands. Eaton primarily manages construction, engineering, and materials procurement activities that support wildfire mitigation, trail maintenance, sanitation systems, and recreational facility upkeep, ensuring alignment with environmental stewardship goals and federal procurement regulations. Eaton maintains consistent working relationships with RELIANCE CONTRACTORS INC and ALERTWEST, INC, both of which deliver specialized heavy civil engineering and construction material supply services. His partnership model emphasizes performance-based outcomes, requiring rigorous adherence to safety protocols, environmental compliance, and timely delivery in remote, high-risk terrains. These vendors are selected for their proven expertise in executing complex field projects under challenging logistical conditions, and Eaton actively collaborates with them to ensure operational continuity and quality control throughout contract performance. Eaton’s procurement portfolio reflects a 100% commitment to small business set-asides under FAR 19.5, demonstrating a strong institutional focus on socioeconomic inclusion. All acquisitions are structured to maximize opportunities for small businesses, with no awards reserved for large firms. This pattern underscores a deliberate strategy to strengthen local economic resilience and foster long-term vendor capacity within the region’s small business community. His primary procurement focus lies in NAICS 237990 (Other Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction) and 423390 (Other Construction Material Merchant Wholesalers), reflecting expertise in civil infrastructure, erosion control, road and trail construction, and bulk material supply chains. Eaton specializes in procuring materials and services essential to maintaining forest infrastructure, including retaining walls, culverts, aggregate supplies, and erosion control products, ensuring technical suitability for sensitive ecological environments.