Leta Wicka

Leta Wicka serves as a Purchasing Agent for the Lolo National Forest under the U.S. Forest Service, where she manages the acquisition of goods and services essential to sustaining forested ecosystems and public infrastructure in western Montana. Her role is central to executing the agency’s mission of ecological stewardship and infrastructure resilience, overseeing procurements for janitorial services, forestry support, and environmental monitoring equipment. She ensures compliance with federal acquisition regulations while aligning purchases with operational priorities such as trail maintenance, water system integrity, and forest road accessibility. Wicka maintains consistent relationships with key contractors including Quality Construction Co., YOY INC, Century Warehousing, Inc., Oregon Woods, Inc., and the County of Kootenai. These partnerships reflect a mix of local and regional vendors specializing in construction, logistics, timber management, and environmental services. Her procurement approach emphasizes reliability, regional economic impact, and contractor performance history, fostering long-term collaborations that support on-the-ground forest management needs. A strong advocate for small business participation, Wicka prioritizes Total Small Business Set-Asides under FAR 19.5, with approximately 77.8% of her acquisitions reserved for small businesses. This reflects a deliberate strategy to cultivate economic opportunity within rural and underserved communities while ensuring competitive, high-quality service delivery. Her contracting patterns consistently favor small business eligibility categories aligned with geographic and operational needs. Her primary NAICS focus includes Janitorial Services (561720), which dominates her portfolio, followed by Support Activities for Forestry (115310), reflecting the agency’s reliance on specialized field services. She also procures testing laboratory services (541380) and office equipment (423420), demonstrating technical proficiency in environmental compliance and operational support domains. Wicka’s expertise lies in balancing regulatory rigor with pragmatic, mission-driven acquisition planning.