County Of Blaine

County of Blaine, a U.S. local government entity headquartered in Chinook, Montana, receives federal grants as a prime recipient for airport infrastructure, public health, and emergency management programs, with no federal contracting footprint. The county's grant work spans 59 prime and sub awards across 18 federal agencies, with 58% received as a direct prime recipient and 42% as a sub-recipient flowing through state agencies and regional authorities.

The county's active grant portfolio clusters in two distinct capability areas. The largest category is airport infrastructure planning and maintenance funded through the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) under the Airport Improvement Program (CFDA 20.106) and Airport Infrastructure Grants program (CFDA 20.117). Representative FAA grants include a $1.054 million project grant awarded June 12, 2026, for construction of a 7,560 square-foot aircraft storage hangar at Turner Airport (completion June 2030); a $249,021 project grant awarded June 15, 2026, to update the airport layout plan and master plan narrative for Harlem Airport (completion June 2030); and a $430,309 project grant awarded August 22, 2025, to rehabilitate and modernize Chinook Airport infrastructure including navigational aids, PAPI installation, runway and taxiway lighting reconstruction, and rotating beacon rehabilitation (completion August 2029). Additional FAA grants fund pavement reseal and resurfacing work at Harlem, Chinook, and Turner Airports, totaling multiple awards across 2024–2026 for taxiway, apron, and runway surface preservation.

The county's secondary grant footprint centers on public health and emergency management sub-awards channeled through the State of Montana Department of Health and Human Services. County of Blaine acts as a sub-recipient on recurring federal grants for immunization programs (IZ), Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP), Public Health Surveillance Infrastructure (PHSI), Maternal and Child Care Program (MCCP), epidemic intelligence (EPI), and cancer control programs. The county also receives sub-awards from Montana's Department of Military Affairs for road and bridge maintenance and from border security coordination programs. A single cooperative agreement grant worth $6,000 was awarded September 17, 2021, by the National Park Service (Pacific West Region) to employ temporary staff at Blaine County Museum for Bear Paw Battlefield interpretation (completed December 2024).

The FAA's Northwest Mountain Region dominates recent award volume, accounting for 12 grants across planning and construction activities at three regional airports. Public health sub-awards from CDC and Indian Health Service track as secondary volume but carry minimal potential value relative to the infrastructure grants. Across 59 awards spanning 2006 to present, combined potential value totals $189 thousand while combined obligated dollars reach $6.7 million, indicating that most awards carry small individual grant amounts with substantial execution history. Only one award faces ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, indicating stable multi-year funding through 2028–2030 for airport projects and recurring annual public health grants. The county's subsidiaries include an airport authority and a school district, both of which may receive pass-through federal funding separate from the parent county's direct awards.