Susan Kunath

Susan Kunath serves as a key procurement lead within the USDA Forest Service, managing acquisitions critical to the agency’s mission of sustaining national forest infrastructure. She oversees a diverse portfolio of contracts focused on trail and road rehabilitation, bridge construction, campground modernization, and ecological support services. Her work ensures the resilience and accessibility of public forest lands through strategic sourcing of construction, maintenance, and environmental services. Kunath’s procurement activities are deeply aligned with the Forest Service’s operational priorities, emphasizing safety, sustainability, and long-term asset stewardship across federally managed lands. She maintains strong, ongoing relationships with core contractors including GCS LLC, ACME ASPHALT INDUSTRIES INC, and TwentyoneTwentyseven LLC, all of whom provide specialized expertise in civil infrastructure and forest support services. These partnerships reflect a preference for vendors with proven experience in remote-site construction, erosion control, and forested terrain engineering. Kunath’s contracting approach emphasizes reliability, technical competency, and compliance with federal environmental and safety standards, fostering collaborative, performance-based vendor relationships. Kunath demonstrates a pronounced commitment to small business participation, with 88.9% of her acquisitions set aside for small businesses under FAR 19.5. Her portfolio also includes targeted HUBZone set-asides, reflecting a deliberate strategy to promote economic development in underserved rural communities where Forest Service operations are concentrated. This socioeconomic focus ensures broad regional engagement and enhances local workforce capacity through sustained small business contracting. Her primary procurement focus lies in NAICS 115310 (Support Activities for Forestry), 237310 (Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction), and 561730 (Landscaping Services), underscoring her expertise in ecological infrastructure and outdoor recreation systems. She routinely sources services related to trail maintenance, sediment control, septic system upgrades, and forested site restoration, requiring deep technical knowledge of federal environmental regulations and land management protocols.