Library, Montana State

The Montana State Library, headquartered in Helena, is a state government entity that has been registered in the System for Award Management since October 2004. Through its federal contract and grant awards, the Library provides specialized expertise in environmental data management, natural resource monitoring, and biodiversity conservation. The organization operates the Montana Natural Heritage Program (MNHP), a comprehensive database serving federal agencies, state entities, tribal nations, and land managers across Montana and portions of the western Dakotas. As both a repository of ecological and environmental information and an active participant in conservation initiatives, the Library demonstrates substantial capacity to manage complex databases and support informed decision-making on natural resource management and species conservation.

The Montana State Library has received federal contract awards totaling $561,496 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service and a West Region federal agency office. The Library's primary contract work involves developing and maintaining specialized databases focused on natural resources and environmental data. Under a $285,000 firm fixed-price definitive contract awarded by the USDA Forest Service Region 1 (Northern Region) in June 2022, with completion scheduled for June 30, 2027, the Library maintains the Montana Natural Heritage Program database, including updates with records from the Integrated Monitoring in Bird Conservation Regions (IMBCR) bird monitoring program. This work encompasses updating and maintaining comprehensive ecological and environmental information on plant and animal species and land attributes. The Library also received a $227,496 firm fixed-price contract awarded on September 30, 2025, to develop and maintain a State Environmental Review Tool for Montana, with completion targeted for September 29, 2030. These contracts, performed in Helena and Missoula, Montana, carry no set-aside designations and leverage the Library's established expertise in ecological research and species monitoring. Earlier contract work included purchase orders and definitive contracts totaling $49,000 related to the RRM Montana TES Database, awarded between February 2021 and June 2021 through the Forest Service's Northern Region office.

The Montana State Library has been a substantial recipient of federal grant funding, demonstrating expertise across multiple conservation and library services programs. The Library has received multiple Formula Grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services totaling approximately $6.3 million to support its five-year plans aligned with the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) for fiscal years 2018 through 2027. These grants, awarded in October 2021, April 2021, October 2022, October 2023, and October 2024, with values ranging from $1.878 million to $2.24 million, fund initiatives to ensure all Montanans have access to library content, services, information, and technology to support personal, educational, and professional growth. The Library also received a $300,000 cooperative agreement from the Natural Resources Conservation Service under the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, extending through September 2026, supporting outreach and technical assistance to agricultural producers and private forest landowners. Conservation-focused cooperative agreements and project grants awarded by the DOI Fish and Wildlife Service Region 6 and the Bureau of Land Management's Montana-Dakotas Region have funded specialized work on species monitoring and conservation planning. These awards include cooperative agreements supporting bat survey assessments for federally listed species, Spalding's catchfly population monitoring, Water Howellia post-delisting monitoring, and the Montana Citizen Botany Program to develop protocols for citizen-based rare plant monitoring on BLM lands. The Library has also received project grants for plant conservation strategy development, native seed collection initiatives, and biodiversity assessment. Sub-awards from the University of Montana, granted in March 2022, funded the Library's leadership role in finalizing a Montana Native Plant Conservation Strategy addressing species and habitats of conservation concern. Across all grant programming, the Library has demonstrated specialized capacity in biodiversity data management, ecological monitoring program coordination, and collaborative conservation planning with multiple federal, state, and nonprofit partners.