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An analysis of Forest Service and Interior Department
spending across eleven Western states, 2024–2025
Contract spending by federal agencies responsible for the management of public lands fell by nearly $1 billion ($998.6 million) with vendors in Western states between 2024 and 2025. Small businesses absorbed the entire decline and more, losing $1.0 billion in federal contract spending. Of the 6,169 small businesses that held contracts with federal public land agencies in 2024, 913 received no new work in 2025, according to a recent Prospect Partners and Hawk Eye Strategies analysis of federal contracting data.
Between 2024 and 2025, contract activity across bureaus within the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) and USDA's U.S. Forest Service (USFS) concentrated among fewer firms.
Wildland fire management saw the largest change of any category. From 2024 to 2025, businesses in Western states experienced a $400 million decline in fire suppression contracting.
To better understand the impacts of changes to federal contracting investments by the agencies involved in the analysis, Hawk Eye Strategies and Prospect Partners reviewed public data from eleven Western states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. Highlights for each state follow below.
FIRE SUPPRESSION TOOK THE BIGGEST CUT IN THE WEST — $400 MILLION
Water, dams and reclamation was the only category to grow, up $154 million
Vendor counts fell in all ten categories, including the one where spending rose
THE BIGGEST LOSSES: COLORADO, NEW MEXICO, OREGON
Oregon, New Mexico and Colorado account for 81 percent of the West's net decline, a combined $807.2 million of the region's $998.6 million total.
Oregon
Oregon
Between 2024 and 2025, Oregon-based vendors lost more business with DOI and USFS than any other Western state in the country: a $355 million decline. This drop was largely the result of contracting reductions from the USFS, which moved nearly $306 million away from Oregon-based vendors.
Spending on frontline services in Oregon dropped across the board, but no other category even came close to the amount of money moved out of fire suppression: a reduction of more than $187 million.
New Mexico
New Mexico
Contract spending by DOI and USFS with businesses in New Mexico dropped by $262 million from 2024 to 2025, second only to Oregon.
This decline was driven by decreases in wildfire-related spending (nearly $60 million reduction) and delays in water-related projects ($177 million reduction).
More than half of New Mexico’s counties (17 of 33) experienced a reduction in the number of vendors doing business with the DOI and USFS in 2025.
Colorado
Colorado
Colorado-based businesses lost more than $189 million worth of contract spending with DOI and USFS in 2025.
Colorado businesses that build and maintain infrastructure and facilities on public lands were hit especially hard, losing more than $67 million in business.
Nearly half of Colorado’s counties (30 out of 64) experienced a reduction in the number of vendors doing business with DOI and USFS between 2024 and 2025.
New Mexico lost more than two-thirds of its federal land agency contract spending in a single year, the steepest proportional decline of any Western state. Vendor counts declined in ten of eleven states regardless of which direction spending moved.
AT A GLANCE - LOSSES ACROSS THE WESTERN STATES
Arizona: Arizona-based vendors saw contract spending with federal land management agencies drop by 28%, from $241.3 million in 2024 to $173.7 million in 2025, resulting in a loss of roughly $68 million and 96 fewer contractors.
Colorado: Colorado-based businesses lost more than $189 million worth of contracts with DOI and USFS in 2025, a decrease from $601.5 million in 2024 to $412.1 million in 2025. The number of contractors dropped by 110 over the same period.
Nevada: Vendors in the state of Nevada experienced a $43 million decrease in contract spending, a 30.3% drop from $142.2 million in 2024 to $99.1 million in 2025, and 9 fewer contractors.
New Mexico: Contract spending by DOI and USFS with businesses in New Mexico dropped by $262 million (-68.9%), from $380.8 million in 2024 to $118.5 million in 2025, second only to Oregon.
Oregon: Oregon-based vendors lost more business with DOI and USFS than any other Western state in the country: a $355 million decline (-30.8%) from $1,155.6 million in 2024 to $800.1 million in 2025, and 290 fewer contractors.
Utah: Utah-based vendors experienced a $7.9 million decline (-3.3%) in contract spending, from $241.0 million in 2024 to $233.0 million in 2025. Utah was the only Western state that gained contractors (8).
Washington: Washington-based vendors lost $159.4 million (-33.7%) in contracting dollars in 2025, a drop from $473.5 million in 2024 to $314.1 million in 2025, combined with a loss of 94 contractors.
Wyoming: Wyoming-based vendors lost $3.2 million (-3.8%) in contracting dollars in 2025, a drop from $83.5 million in 2024 to $80.3 million in 2025, combined with 42 fewer contractors.
A MIXED STORY: CALIFORNIA, IDAHO AND MONTANA
California: California-based vendors experienced a $2.9 million increase in contract spending from federal land management agencies, with revenue rising from $948.9 million in 2024 to $951.8 million in 2025, but with 194 fewer California-based firms doing business with public land agencies in 2025. The net increase is attributable to a single project: $217.2 million in net contract obligations for work at Yosemite National Park funded prior to the 2024 presidential election.
Idaho: Idaho-based vendors experienced a modest increase of $5.8 million in contract spending, from $327.5 million in 2024 to $333.3 million in 2025, but with 60 fewer Idaho-based firms doing business with public land agencies in 2025. As with California, a single $45.5 million line item, a previously funded project at Yellowstone National Park, reversed what would otherwise have been a net decline in 2025 contract obligations.
Montana: Montana-based vendors experienced a $81 million increase in contract spending with federal land management agencies, from $495.8 million in 2024 to $576.8 million in 2025, even as total contractor counts fell by 61 vendors, suggesting fewer but larger awards. This 16.3% increase was driven by a Bureau of Reclamation project awarded to a company based in Bozeman, MT to rehabilitate the Sisk Dam in California’s San Joaquin Valley.
SMALL BUSINESSES ABSORBED THE ENTIRE DECLINE AND MORE,
LOSING $1.0 BILLION IN FEDERAL CONTRACT SPENDING
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