Lydia Moore-Ward

Lydia Moore-Ward serves as a key procurement lead within the USDA Forest Service’s Incident Procurement unit, specializing in rapid-response acquisitions to support wildland fire and all-hazard incident operations. She manages time-sensitive contracts for critical logistical and operational resources, including mobile command units, heavy equipment, temporary housing, water systems, and emergency infrastructure services. Her role is central to ensuring incident management teams have immediate access to mission-critical capabilities across national forests and grasslands, often under high-pressure, dynamic conditions. She coordinates with field personnel and federal partners to align procurement timelines with operational needs, prioritizing agility, compliance, and readiness in all acquisition actions. Lydia works closely with a diverse network of vendors specializing in emergency response, forestry support, and remote facility operations. While no single contractor dominates her portfolio, she consistently engages small businesses with proven expertise in incident logistics, equipment mobilization, and transient service delivery. Her contracting patterns reflect a preference for flexible, performance-based agreements that enable rapid deployment and scalability during evolving incident conditions. She fosters collaborative vendor relationships built on responsiveness, regulatory adherence, and the ability to operate in austere environments. Lydia maintains a 100% small business set-aside preference across all procurements under her purview, fully aligning with FAR 19.5 and prioritizing participation from 8(a), HUBZone, and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses. Her contracting strategy actively promotes socioeconomic inclusion, ensuring that emergency response capabilities are sourced from qualified small firms with regional knowledge and operational agility. This approach strengthens community resilience and expands the pool of capable vendors prepared for federal incident support. Her primary procurement focus lies in NAICS 115310 (Support Activities for Forestry) and 561210 (Facilities Support Services), with significant activity in solid waste collection, transit services, and petroleum refining support. She specializes in acquiring services that sustain incident command operations in remote locations, demonstrating deep expertise in environmental compliance, emergency logistics, and infrastructure mobilization for wildland fire response.