Lois Ford

Lois Ford serves as a Contracting Officer for the Umpqua National Forest under the U.S. Forest Service, where she manages the full lifecycle of procurement actions critical to ecological stewardship and public land management. Her portfolio encompasses contracts for vegetation management, post-fire rehabilitation, reforestation, and infrastructure support, aligning directly with the agency’s mission to sustain healthy forest ecosystems. She specializes in acquiring services related to forestry operations, habitat enhancement, and specialty trade contracting, ensuring compliance with federal regulations and environmental performance standards. Her work directly enables on-the-ground restoration efforts across the National Forest System. Lois Ford maintains strong, recurring relationships with a core group of regional contractors including G E Forestry, Inc., Green Hills Forestry LLC, Three Stripes Contracting LLC, and Umpqua Valley Forestry, Inc. These vendors are deeply experienced in silvicultural practices, fuel reduction, and forest road maintenance, and consistently deliver mission-critical services under time-sensitive conditions. Her contracting approach emphasizes long-term partnerships with local firms possessing proven technical expertise in forested terrain, fostering reliability and operational continuity across complex, ecologically sensitive projects. A staunch advocate for small business participation, Lois Ford applies a 100% Total Small Business Set-Aside policy across all eligible acquisitions, fully leveraging FAR 19.5 to maximize economic opportunity for qualified small entities. Her procurement strategy prioritizes socioeconomic inclusion without compromising technical capability, ensuring that small businesses with demonstrated forest service experience are consistently awarded contracts. This approach strengthens regional economic resilience while building a dependable, locally rooted contractor base. Her primary NAICS focus areas include 115310 (Support Activities for Forestry), 238990 (All Other Specialty Trade Contractors), and 237990 (Other Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction), reflecting her emphasis on vegetation management, site restoration, and forest infrastructure. She also regularly procures janitorial and septic services to support remote forest facilities. Her technical expertise lies in managing complex, environmentally constrained acquisitions that demand precise adherence to NEPA, ESA, and other federal compliance frameworks.