Mindy Hickman

Mindy Hickman serves as the primary procurement lead for the USDA Forest Service’s CSA Northwest 2 office, overseeing the acquisition of critical operational and maintenance services essential to sustaining national forest infrastructure. She manages a diverse portfolio of contracts focused on field-level support, including environmental stewardship, wildfire mitigation, and ranger station operations. Her role ensures that contracting activities align with the agency’s mission to protect forest health and enable safe public access across remote and rural landscapes. Hickman specializes in service-based acquisitions requiring technical precision and logistical coordination in challenging terrain. She maintains consistent working relationships with a core group of contractors, including Reliance Contractors Inc., Timberline Silvics Inc., and Black Box Safety, Inc., who deliver specialized forestry support, safety compliance, and environmental services. Her procurement patterns reflect long-term vendor partnerships grounded in performance reliability and on-site operational expertise. Hickman frequently engages small, locally rooted firms capable of rapid mobilization and familiarity with Forest Service protocols, fostering trust through consistent collaboration and clear performance expectations. Hickman demonstrates a strong commitment to socioeconomic contracting, with 87.5% of her acquisitions designated as total small business set-asides under FAR 19.5. She prioritizes small business participation across multiple categories, including service-disabled veteran-owned, HUBZone, and women-owned firms, ensuring equitable access to federal opportunities. Her contracting approach reflects a deliberate strategy to strengthen local economies while maintaining high standards of service delivery in underserved regions. Her primary procurement focus lies in NAICS 562991 (Septic Tank and Related Services), reflecting the need for sanitation and waste management infrastructure in remote ranger stations and field camps. She also regularly procures support activities for forestry (NAICS 115310) and janitorial services (NAICS 561720), demonstrating deep expertise in maintaining functional, safe, and environmentally compliant operations in isolated forest service locations. Her technical domain centers on mission-critical, low-profile services essential to sustaining forest agency readiness.