Jose Allende

Jose Allende serves as a key procurement lead within the USDA Forest Service’s CSA East 12 unit, overseeing the acquisition of critical infrastructure projects essential to national forest stewardship. He manages a diverse portfolio of construction and civil works contracts focused on enhancing public access, safety, and ecological resilience across forested lands. His responsibilities include planning, soliciting, and awarding contracts for recreational, transportation, and utility systems, ensuring alignment with federal procurement regulations and agency mission priorities. Allende’s work directly supports the Forest Service’s strategic goals of modernizing aging campgrounds, repairing forest roads and bridges, and maintaining essential utility corridors. He maintains consistent working relationships with a core group of contractors specializing in civil infrastructure, including FinCantieri Marine Repair LLC, McKenzie Construction & Site Development LLC, and Marrero, Couvillon & Associates, L.L.C., alongside individual contractors such as Russell Byrd. These partnerships reflect a preference for experienced firms capable of executing complex, often remote, field-based construction tasks under challenging environmental conditions. Allende fosters collaborative, performance-driven vendor relationships grounded in compliance, timely delivery, and adherence to federal construction standards. His procurement strategy prioritizes small business participation, with over 61% of awards designated as total small business set-asides under FAR 19.5, demonstrating a strong commitment to socioeconomic contracting goals. He regularly channels opportunities to small, locally based firms capable of delivering specialized trade services in rural and forested environments, reinforcing the agency’s mission to support community economic development alongside infrastructure resilience. Allende’s technical focus centers on NAICS 237310 (Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction), which accounts for the majority of his acquisitions, followed by industrial building construction and specialty trade contracting. He procures services related to road rehabilitation, bridge repair, electrical and communication line installation, and site development—reflecting deep expertise in outdoor civil works and utility infrastructure within sensitive ecological zones.