Steve J. Hunter

Steve J. Hunter serves as a Contracting Officer Representative for the White River National Forest under the U.S. Forest Service, Department of Agriculture. In this role, he provides critical oversight and technical evaluation for federal acquisitions aligned with forest stewardship and infrastructure resilience. He supports the agency’s mission by ensuring contract compliance, monitoring performance, and facilitating communication between contractors and field personnel on projects involving public land maintenance, wildfire recovery, and facility operations. His procurement focus centers on construction-related acquisitions governed by FAR Part 36, particularly those requiring precise adherence to environmental and safety standards in sensitive ecological zones. Hunter maintains consistent working relationships with specialized contractors such as FRONTIER TINY HOMES, LLC and GERMRIP LLC, both of which deliver niche services tailored to remote, high-altitude environments. His partnerships emphasize vendors with demonstrated expertise in modular construction, ecological restoration, and infrastructure rehabilitation in rugged terrain. These relationships are built on performance reliability, regulatory compliance, and the ability to execute complex tasks under challenging field conditions, often requiring coordination with multiple federal and state agencies. Hunter’s procurement portfolio is exclusively structured under Total Small Business Set-Aside provisions per FAR 19.5, reflecting a firm commitment to socioeconomic development and local economic resilience. He prioritizes contracting with small businesses that possess the agility and specialized capabilities needed to meet the Forest Service’s unique operational demands, ensuring broad participation from small, community-based firms without reliance on large prime contractors. His primary technical domain is NAICS 237310—Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction—where he oversees projects involving trail maintenance, access road repair, erosion control structures, and ranger station infrastructure. His expertise lies in managing construction activities that balance public safety, ecological preservation, and federal construction standards in federally designated wilderness areas, requiring deep familiarity with NEPA compliance, environmental mitigation, and federal construction specifications.