Mary C Howell

Mary C. Howell serves as a Contracting Officer for the USDA Forest Service, where she plays a pivotal role in advancing the agency’s mission of ecological stewardship and operational resilience across national forests and grasslands. She manages a diverse portfolio of procurement actions focused on specialty trade construction, engineering services, and technical consulting to support wildfire mitigation, infrastructure repair, and resource management in remote and rugged terrains. Her acquisitions are critical to maintaining public safety, restoring forest health, and ensuring mission readiness for field operations, often requiring rapid response and specialized technical expertise under complex environmental and logistical constraints. Ms. Howell maintains consistent working relationships with a select group of contractors including ACI FEDERAL INC, ONE STOP RECRUITING LLC, GONDO ROY E MD, THE LOCUMS CO, LLC, and AMD INTERNATIONAL TECHNOLOGIES LLC. These partnerships reflect a blend of construction, staffing, and technical support capabilities essential to sustaining Forest Service operations. Her contracting patterns emphasize long-term vendor reliability, performance-based outcomes, and the ability to deliver services under challenging field conditions, particularly in wildfire response and ecological restoration contexts. Her procurement strategy demonstrates a strong commitment to small business participation, with over 40% of her awards designated as total small business set-asides under FAR 19.5. She also regularly utilizes 8(a) and HUBZone set-asides, reflecting a deliberate effort to promote economic opportunity among socially and economically disadvantaged firms and those located in historically underutilized business zones. Her approach aligns with federal socioeconomic goals while ensuring access to qualified, mission-ready vendors. Ms. Howell’s primary procurement focus lies in NAICS 238990 (All Other Specialty Trade Contractors) and 237990 (Other Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction), supporting site preparation, erosion control, and trail infrastructure. She also frequently procures services under NAICS 541690 for ecological consulting and NAICS 113310 for sustainable logging operations. Her technical expertise centers on environmental compliance, remote-site logistics, and performance-based contracting for ecosystem restoration and emergency response.