County Of Malheur

County Of Malheur, a U.S. local government entity based in Vale, Oregon, operates as a federal grant recipient (68% of recent awards as sub-recipient) and occasional prime contractor, delivering law enforcement, public lands management, ecosystem restoration, and recreation facility operations to Interior Department agencies and state health authorities. The county does not hold SBA designations and does not compete under set-asides; all work flows through full-and-open or direct recipient-of-grant processes characteristic of municipal government entities.

The county's prime federal footprint is modest and concentrated in natural resources and public safety. A $36,887.76 purchase order from the Bureau of Reclamation awarded May 2024 tasked the Malheur County Sheriff's Office with law enforcement services on federally administered public lands, including criminal background checks, radio dispatch support, and patrol operations through February 2025. Prime grant work includes a $1,143,814.56 five-year cooperative agreement from the Bureau of Reclamation (CFDA 15.524, Recreation Resources Management program) awarded August 2025 to operate and maintain Bully Creek Reservoir and Beulah Reservoir recreation sites, covering staffing for 40 RV campsites with electrical hookups, 22 toilet facilities, landscaping, and waste management through September 2030; a $243,077 project grant also from Reclamation (CFDA 15.524) awarded August 2025 to repair the failed water system at Bully Creek Park through November 2026; and a $100,000 five-year Good Neighbor Authority cooperative agreement from the Bureau of Land Management (CFDA 15.015) awarded February 2026 to partner the Malheur County Noxious Weed Department with the Vale District BLM on invasive species management across public and private lands, with deliverables including GPS-based weed mapping, targeted treatment of rush skeletonweed, yellow starthistle, and leafy spurge, and monitoring through February 2031. A Rural Business Cooperative Services project grant (date September 2025) rounds out direct prime work.

The county's dominant federal footprint sits as a sub-recipient of state grant pass-throughs and federal emergency management funds. Sixty-eight percent of the county's 85 total awards are sub-awards routed through the Oregon Health Authority (public health financial assistance, reproductive health services in corrections, substance abuse prevention, mental health services financing) and the Oregon Department of Justice (victim services, human trafficking task force coordination). Sub-award activity spans 19 tranches from the Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 12 from the Department of Justice Victims of Crime program, and recurring allocations under the Emergency Management Performance Grants (EMPG) program for emergency preparedness planning and communications infrastructure. More recent sub-award work includes emergency communications equipment: P-25 radio system upgrades at multiple tower sites (Mahogany, Owyhee Ridge, Rhinehardt Butte, Sheriff's office penthouse), P-25 microwave systems connecting Nyssa and Ontario radio networks, county communications plan updates, courthouse election-security infrastructure, and public address installation at the Malheur County Fairgrounds as an evacuation center. The county also receives pass-through funding for public transit service and administration.

Activity peaked in 2023 with 19 awards but has moderated to 3 awards in 2026 year-to-date. Three awards (combined potential value $540 thousand) reach ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, representing recompete exposure primarily in emergency management and recreation facility operations. Combined potential value across all 85 awards stands at $1.4 million, though obligated dollars total $17.3 million — a disparity indicating that most sub-award tranches reflect ongoing operational funding rather than single, high-value grants. The county's federal customer base spans 12 distinct agencies, with concentration among Interior bureaus (Bureau of Land Management and Reclamation combined for $1.359 million in potential value), health and human services pass-throughs, and justice victim-assistance programs. The county operates a named subsidiary, Malheur County Soil and Water Conservation District, which does not appear in the federal award record provided.