County Of Wasco

County Of Wasco, a U.S. local government entity headquartered in The Dalles, Oregon, acts as a federal grant recipient and occasional services vendor to civilian agencies, with the majority of recent activity flowing through state pass-through entities rather than direct federal prime awards. The county operates across both prime grants (55% of total awards) and sub-recipient grants (45%), competing without set-aside protections in open federal markets.

County Of Wasco's concrete federal work centers on emergency management capability sustainment, wildfire mitigation, public safety communications, and land/facility stewardship. On the prime side, the county received a $5.945 million Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Community Wildfire Defense Grant from the Department of Agriculture Forest Service (CFDA 10.720) in September 2024 for hazardous fuel reduction and landscape restoration across high-risk communities through September 2029. Earlier, the county held a Department of Defense Office of Economic Adjustment energy planning grant (September 2021–March 2023). On the contract side, awards are modest and episodic: a $75,000 firm fixed-price purchase order from the Oregon-Washington Region for Wasco County Sheriff law enforcement services (February 2026–January 2031) and a $3,000 micro-purchase from the USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region for land and facility use in July 2023. The county's sub-recipient grant work, routed primarily through Oregon state agencies, supports emergency management planning under annual EMPG (Emergency Management Performance Grants) awards, victim advocacy services through the Oregon Department of Justice, alcohol and other drug prevention programming via the Oregon Health Authority, and public safety communications equipment purchases (P-25 compliant radios, unmanned aerial vehicles, emergency operations plan updates). Notable sub-recipient activities include potable water system freeze-damage recovery at county fairgrounds and parks (Oregon Department of Emergency Management), juvenile crime prevention programming (Oregon Department of Education), and emergency operations planning and equipment modernization (multiple years, 2021–2025).

Customer concentration is broad and diffuse across federal and state funders. Direct federal customers tracked in recent awards include the Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management (7 awards, $177 thousand combined potential value), the Department of the Army Corps of Engineers (9 awards, $265 thousand combined potential value), the Department of Agriculture Forest Service (4 awards, $13 thousand combined potential value), and the Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs (8 awards). The top five customers account for 43% of award count and 79% of combined potential value. Activity has declined sharply from peak in 2024 (10 awards) to 2 awards year-to-date in 2026. The county's award portfolio is dominated by landscaping services (13 awards) and professional/technical services (7 awards), reflecting its role in land management support and emergency management capability building. Combined potential value across all awards sits at $574 thousand against $11.5 million in obligated dollars, indicating significant prior-year execution. County Of Wasco's federal footprint is that of a small regional land steward and emergency management support provider serving Pacific Northwest federal offices and Oregon state agencies as both a direct grantee and a sub-recipient for disaster recovery and public safety infrastructure.