Mike McFarlane

Mike McFarlane serves as a key procurement lead within the U.S. Forest Service, supporting the agency’s mission of ecological stewardship through strategic acquisition of specialized aviation, environmental, and technical services. He manages a diverse portfolio of contracts critical to wildfire response, forest restoration, and aerial surveillance operations, with a strong emphasis on mission-critical logistics and scientific support. His acquisitions routinely enable field operations by securing air transportation, chemical treatments for invasive species, and environmental testing services, ensuring timely and safe execution of federal land management objectives. McFarlane maintains consistent partnerships with a core group of specialized vendors, including Perimeter Solutions LP for chemical formulations, Management & Engineering Technologies International Inc. for ecological monitoring systems, and helicopter operators such as Helicopter Transport Services, LLC and Aero-Flite, Inc. These relationships reflect a preference for niche providers with proven expertise in remote-area operations and environmental compliance. His contracting approach prioritizes reliability, regulatory alignment, and operational readiness, often resulting in long-term, performance-based agreements with contractors who demonstrate domain-specific capability. A strong advocate for small business participation, McFarlane consistently directs over half of his procurement activity toward total small business set-asides under FAR 19.5, reflecting a deliberate commitment to fostering economic opportunity among qualified small firms. His contracting patterns show minimal reliance on large business sole-source awards, instead favoring competitive small business opportunities that align with the agency’s socioeconomic goals and regional economic development priorities. His primary procurement focus lies in NAICS 481212 (nonscheduled chartered freight air transportation), supporting aerial firefighting and resource transport, followed by NAICS 325998 for specialized ecological chemical products used in vegetation management. He also procures testing laboratory services under NAICS 541380 and air support operations under NAICS 488190, demonstrating deep technical familiarity with the intersection of aviation logistics and environmental science in federal land management.