Julie Merritt

Julie Merritt serves as Project Team Leader for the Umpqua National Forest, where she leads the planning, coordination, and execution of land management acquisitions aligned with ecological restoration and public infrastructure goals. In this role, she interfaces directly with field biologists, silviculturists, and engineering staff to translate operational needs into solicitation requirements, ensuring compliance with federal environmental and procurement regulations. Her portfolio centers on vegetation management, post-fire rehabilitation, reforestation, and forest infrastructure maintenance, with a strong emphasis on sustainable land use and habitat enhancement. Merritt oversees the full lifecycle of service-based contracts, from needs assessment through performance evaluation, ensuring alignment with the U.S. Forest Service’s mission of ecosystem resilience. She maintains consistent, long-term partnerships with regional forestry contractors including G E Forestry, Inc., Green Hills Forestry LLC, Three Stripes Contracting LLC, and Umpqua Valley Forestry, Inc. These firms are frequently engaged for timber stand improvement, slash treatment, erosion control, and trail rehabilitation projects, reflecting a preference for local, experience-based vendors with demonstrated expertise in forested terrain and seasonal operational constraints. Her contracting approach emphasizes reliability, technical proficiency, and adherence to environmental best practices, fostering collaborative relationships grounded in performance history and site-specific knowledge. While no formal set-aside data is available, Merritt’s procurement patterns suggest a practical inclination toward small, locally rooted contractors with proven capacity in forest operations, many of which likely qualify as small businesses under SBA standards. Her selections reflect a preference for vendors with established regional presence and operational flexibility, supporting economic development in rural communities surrounding the Umpqua National Forest. Her primary procurement focus lies in NAICS categories related to forest management services, including silvicultural operations, vegetation control, and forest road maintenance. She specializes in contracting for ecological restoration services, prescribed burning support, native plant establishment, and wildlife habitat improvement, demonstrating deep technical familiarity with forest ecology and land management protocols.