Lake Roosevelt Forum

Lake Roosevelt Forum, a nonprofit organization based in Spokane, Washington, serves as a prime recipient of federal grants and cooperative agreements focused on natural resource management, education, and public outreach in the Columbia River region, with minimal federal contract work. Operating without SBA set-aside designations, the organization competes on full-and-open merit for grant funding from Interior and EPA components.

The organization's federal footprint centers on two Interior agencies. The Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation placed a $71,500 sole-source purchase order on January 1, 2026 for membership dues under 10 USC 2304(c)(1), running through December 31, 2030 with four optional one-year renewal periods — the government determined Lake Roosevelt Forum was the only responsible source capable of satisfying the membership dues requirement. More substantially, the National Park Service Pacific West Region funds Lake Roosevelt Forum's core mission work through cooperative agreements under CFDA 15.954 (Conservation, Protection, Outreach and Education). A September 18, 2023 cooperative agreement award running through April 30, 2028 supports Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area's interpretation and education programs, including electronic newsletters, classroom and student programming, web-page maintenance, public meetings, transportation reimbursements, guest speakers, and program materials. The deliverables include two annual newsletter issues, field trips for approximately 250 elementary students, the Lake Roosevelt Water Festival for over 400 students, and an annual conference with lake tours and stakeholder meetings on environment and resource management.

The Department of the Interior National Park Service Pacific West Region dominates the award count with 13 awards and $107 thousand combined potential value, while the Bureau of Reclamation edges ahead on potential value with 8 awards totaling $236 thousand. The Environmental Protection Agency Region 10 rounds out the agency set with 2 awards. Activity has remained sparse — one award per year on average across the past five years — with only one award facing completion within the next twenty-four months. Lake Roosevelt Forum acts as a prime recipient in 97% of its awards; the remaining 3% includes a June 30, 2025 grant sub-award from Upper Columbia United Tribes for toxics reduction and prevention outreach in the Upper Columbia Basin, where the Forum develops community education messaging around toxic pollution prevention and collaborates with tribal member entities on ecosystem and human health protection.