Melissa Niemi

Melissa Niemi serves as the primary procurement lead for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, overseeing the acquisition of mission-critical information technology and security infrastructure to support wildlife conservation, real-time environmental monitoring, and law enforcement operations across national wildlife refuges. She manages a diverse portfolio of contracts focused on digital ecosystem enablement, including secure data transmission, field-deployed sensor networks, and geospatial analysis platforms. Her role is central to ensuring that IT systems align with federal cybersecurity standards while supporting the agency’s operational needs in remote and ecologically sensitive areas. Niemi maintains consistent working relationships with a core group of contractors including INALAB CONSULTING, INC., OCLC, INC., UNIVERCELLS TECHNOLOGIES, REAL TIME RESEARCH, INC., and RIEGL USA, INC. These partnerships reflect a preference for specialized vendors with proven expertise in environmental data systems, remote sensing, and secure communications. She engages with contractors who offer tailored solutions for field-deployed hardware, wildlife tracking software, and integrated command-and-control platforms, favoring vendors with deep domain knowledge in conservation technology and federal compliance. Her procurement strategy is overwhelmingly non-set-aside, with 93.4% of awards issued under open competition, reflecting a priority for technical capability over socioeconomic preferences. Nevertheless, she consistently allocates 6.6% of contracts to Total Small Business Set-Asides under FAR 19.5, demonstrating a measured but intentional commitment to small business participation where competitive technical merit aligns with agency needs. Niemi’s primary procurement focus lies in NAICS 561621 (Security Systems Services), 513210 (Software Publishers), and 517111 (Wired Telecommunications Carriers), underscoring her expertise in securing digital infrastructure for wildlife data collection and transmission. She routinely acquires encrypted field communication systems, GIS-enabled monitoring platforms, and precision environmental sensors, reflecting a technical domain centered on secure, real-time environmental intelligence for federal conservation and enforcement missions.