County OF, Chelan

County OF, Chelan, operating through its Chelan County Natural Resource Department Division as the Natural Resource Program, is a U.S. local government entity (county) that acts as a federal grant recipient, delivering water resource management, ecosystem restoration, fish habitat recovery, and forest health services to the Upper Columbia River Basin in central Washington. The organization does not hold federal contracts but operates as prime recipient on federal grant awards and coordinates sub-recipient roles under state pass-through programs, primarily from interior and natural resource agencies.

The Natural Resource Program's capability portfolio centers on integrated watershed and ecosystem management across the Wenatchee, Icicle, and Chiwawa River systems. Recent prime recipient work includes a $3.6 million WaterSMART (CFDA 15.507) project from the Bureau of Reclamation awarded in September 2025 that combines irrigation efficiency improvements, water right donation, and forest fuel reduction treatments across 550 acres of the lower Chiwawa watershed to increase instream flow by 1,181 acre-feet annually and reduce wildfire risk. Chelan County is also managing a $1.24 million Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Program award (CFDA 15.580) for design and environmental compliance on large-scale instream and floodplain restoration in the lower Chiwawa River and Big Meadow Creek, developed in partnership with Yakama Nation Fisheries. A third major award is a $770,000 Good Neighbor Authority cooperative agreement (CFDA 10.691) from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Region 6, through September 2025 extending to March 2029, funding mechanized and conventional forest thinning, fuels treatment, aquatic organism passage improvements, and culvert replacement on National Forest System lands in Chelan County.

Customer concentration is heavily weighted toward natural resource and water management agencies. The Bureau of Reclamation leads the portfolio with 31 awards (75% of award count) and $63 thousand in combined potential value, reflecting the program's focus on water resource optimization and ecosystem restoration in a drought-prone, flow-limited basin. The Federal Emergency Management Agency accounts for 11 awards (primarily sub-awards routed through Washington State Military Department for hazard mitigation and disaster assistance), the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Region 6 holds 7 awards, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) holds 7 awards including a $3.2 million habitat conservation cooperative agreement for fish passage barriers in the Wenatchee watershed awarded September 2024, and the U.S. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service Region 1 holds 2 awards. The portfolio spans 11 distinct federal customer agencies; Reclamation and FEMA together account for roughly 55% of recent awards.

Chelan County holds a seat on Indefinite Delivery Contract INR06CK101628 with 15 task orders valued at $418 thousand. Activity has grown substantially year over year—from 6 awards in 2022 to 16 in 2024 and 15 in 2025—driven by Inflation Reduction Act funding, WaterSMART program expansion, and Forest Service partnership acceleration. Three awards are scheduled for ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months and therefore face recompete. The organization acts as prime recipient on approximately 70% of awards and sub-recipient on 30%, the latter typically under state pass-through mechanisms (particularly Washington State Military Department for FEMA disaster-response sub-awards and state departments of natural resources and commerce for wildfire mitigation and climate resilience sub-grants). Stewardship sub-recipients include the Wenatchee Community for the Advancement of Family and Education (CAFE), the Chelan-Douglas Health District, and the Recreation and Conservation Office. Federal grant programs dominating the portfolio include WaterSMART (multiple awards totaling several million dollars), the Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Program, Good Neighbor Authority, the Wildfire Crisis Strategy Landscapes program (CFDA 10.724), and habitat conservation programs under NOAA and the Fish and Wildlife Service.