Yellowstone County

Yellowstone County, a Montana-based local government entity headquartered in Billings, serves federal agencies as a prime grant recipient (70% of awards) and provider of specialized facilities and support services, with a minor subgrant footprint (30% of awards). The county operates without federal contract vehicles, IDIQs, or set-asides; its federal engagement centers on direct service delivery to federal agencies and pass-through grant administration from state grantees.

Yellowstone County's federal footprint divides between two distinct capability streams. The first is firearms training facility management: the county operates an outdoor firearms range in Billings that serves the Drug Enforcement Administration on an annual basis, with five consecutive purchase orders from the DEA (2022–2026) at $1,400 per fiscal year for range access fees. The second is economic development infrastructure and natural resource stewardship: the county is a prime recipient of a September 2024 Economic Development Administration project grant for water and sewer main extensions in the Lockwood Targeted Economic Development District northeast of Billings, designed to spur industrial growth in flooding-impacted areas and extend service from private wells and septic systems to public infrastructure. The county also holds a cooperative agreement with the National Resources Conservation Service (awarded March 2023, ultimate completion July 2024) for flood recovery measures related to Montana's June 2022 flooding, and a five-year Bureau of Land Management cooperative agreement (awarded August 2022, running through August 2027) for noxious weed control on BLM properties across Yellowstone County using certified pesticide applicators under federal and state compliance frameworks.

Customer concentration is narrow but diffuse across grantor agencies. The Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration dominates by award count (18 awards, $19 thousand combined potential value), though this reflects the low annual value of standing range-access purchase orders. The Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management Montana-Dakotas region accounts for the largest combined potential value ($1 million across five awards), anchored by the multi-year weed-control cooperative agreement. The Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service places six awards (subgrants related to school nutrition programs, CFDA 10.555), and the county serves 16 distinct customer agencies across grant and contract work. Activity has remained flat to declining over the past five years (six awards in 2022, three in 2025, one in 2026), with only one award reaching ultimate completion in the next twenty-four months.

The county's subgrant activity reflects pass-through administration from Montana state grantees. Yellowstone County receives subgrants from the Montana Office of Public Instruction for school nutrition programs (CFDA 10.555), the Montana Board of Crime Control for victim services, the Montana Department of Transportation for DUI court operations and sidewalk engineering, the Montana Department of Military Affairs for road washout and embankment repairs, and the Montana Department of Health and Human Services for health-related programs. A named subsidiary, the County of Yellowstone School District, appears in the corporate structure but carries no distinct award footprint in the source. The county's combined dollars obligated ($9.6 million across all awards) significantly exceed combined potential value, indicating mature agreements with accrued performance obligations rather than pipeline growth.