Michelle Stephens

Michelle Stephens serves as a key procurement lead for the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, managing contract actions that support the U.S. Forest Service’s mission of ecological restoration and public land stewardship. She oversees the acquisition of critical services essential to maintaining forest health, including vegetation management, infrastructure upkeep, and operational support. Her procurement activities align with the agency’s emphasis on fire-adapted landscapes and habitat resilience, ensuring timely and compliant delivery of services that enable prescribed burns, invasive species control, and reforestation efforts. Stephens specializes in service-based acquisitions under the Federal Acquisition Regulation, prioritizing efficiency, environmental compliance, and mission alignment in all contracting decisions. She maintains consistent working relationships with a core group of contractors including S365 INC, LOGISTICS365 INC, SPROUT FORESTRY INCORPORATED, and THREE STRIPES CONTRACTING LLC, all of which provide specialized field-based support for forest management operations. These partnerships are characterized by repeat engagements and a focus on regional expertise, with vendors demonstrating proven capacity in executing complex, terrain-sensitive tasks across southern Oregon and northern California. Her contracting approach emphasizes reliability, local knowledge, and adherence to ecological best practices. Stephens exhibits a strong, unwavering commitment to small business participation, directing 100% of her acquisitions to total small business set-asides under FAR 19.5. This pattern reflects a deliberate strategy to empower local, regionally based enterprises and foster economic resilience in rural communities surrounding the national forest. Her contracting practices consistently prioritize small businesses without socioeconomic designations beyond the general small business category, reinforcing broad-based opportunity. Her primary procurement focus is on NAICS 561720 (Janitorial Services), which, in this context, encompasses specialized environmental sanitation, debris removal, trail maintenance, and post-fire cleanup services essential to ecosystem recovery. These services are not traditional janitorial functions but rather ecologically informed land management support activities critical to public safety and habitat restoration. Her technical expertise lies in translating ecological objectives into actionable, compliant service contracts that meet rigorous federal and environmental standards.