Nikki M. Layton

Nikki Layton serves as a secondary procurement specialist within the Stewardship Contracting Branch of the U.S. Forest Service, supporting the agency’s mission to advance landscape-scale ecological restoration through strategic contracting. She facilitates the execution of complex stewardship contracts that integrate timber harvesting with watershed protection, wildfire risk reduction, and infrastructure maintenance. Her work centers on ensuring compliance with federal environmental and procurement regulations while enabling collaborative, multi-resource outcomes across national forest lands. Layton typically handles task orders and indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contracts under the Stewardship Contracting Authority, coordinating with field personnel and environmental specialists to align procurement with ecological objectives. She maintains consistent working relationships with a core group of experienced contractors, including Brink Brothers Inc., Peak Engineering LLC, Miller Timber Services, Inc., Az Hammer Down, LLC, and Dennis Kirby, all of whom possess proven expertise in forest operations, heavy equipment deployment, and ecological restoration services. These partnerships reflect a preference for vendors with demonstrated capability in on-the-ground implementation of forest management plans, often requiring specialized knowledge in silviculture, road construction, and fuel reduction techniques. Her contracting approach emphasizes reliability, technical proficiency, and long-term performance over transactional vendor relationships. Layton’s procurement portfolio reflects a strong preference for open competition, with 100% of her acquisitions issued without set-aside designations, including no use of 8(a), HUBZone, or SDVOSB programs. This reflects the operational demands of stewardship contracting, where project complexity, scale, and technical requirements often necessitate qualified firms with substantial capacity and experience in forest service operations. Her primary procurement focus lies in NAICS 115310 (Support Activities for Forestry), encompassing thinning, prescribed burning, and debris removal, alongside NAICS 237310 (Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction) for road maintenance and trail rehabilitation. These categories underscore her domain expertise in integrated forest infrastructure projects that balance ecological restoration with public access and safety.