Melissa Maestas

Melissa Maestas serves as the primary procurement lead for the USDA Forest Service’s Incident Procurement unit, responsible for rapidly acquiring critical logistical and operational resources to support wildland fire response and all-hazard incident management. She manages time-sensitive acquisitions for mobile command units, heavy equipment, temporary housing, water systems, and field infrastructure, ensuring incident management teams have immediate access to mission-critical capabilities across national forests and grasslands. Her role is central to the agency’s emergency response mission, requiring agile contracting under FAR Part 18 and streamlined acquisition authorities to meet dynamic operational demands. Maestas cultivates partnerships with a diverse range of vendors, including specialized contractors in emergency logistics, temporary facility deployment, and field services. While no single contractor dominates her portfolio, she consistently engages firms with proven incident response experience, particularly those capable of mobilizing resources on short notice. Her working relationships emphasize vendor readiness, compliance with federal emergency procurement protocols, and the ability to scale operations across multiple geographic regions during active incidents. A strong advocate for small business participation, Maestas prioritizes Small Business Set-Aside contracts under FAR 19.5, with 78.6% of her acquisitions reserved for small businesses. Her contracting patterns reflect a deliberate strategy to include HUBZone, 8(a), and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, aligning with federal socioeconomic goals while ensuring access to nimble, locally rooted service providers capable of rapid deployment. Her primary procurement focus lies in NAICS 115310 (Support Activities for Forestry), where she procures wildfire suppression support and forest management services. She also regularly acquires septage and wastewater management (562991), security systems (561621), and testing laboratory services (541380), reflecting the multidisciplinary nature of incident response. Her technical expertise spans emergency infrastructure, environmental compliance, and field operations, making her a key enabler of the Forest Service’s readiness and resilience mission.