Washington State Department Of Natural Resources

The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Office of Finance, Budget & Economics Division, is a U.S. state government entity that functions as a critical natural resource management agency for Washington State. As the primary steward of the state's approximately 5.6 million acres of public lands, DNR delivers comprehensive services to the federal government encompassing forest management, wildfire prevention and response, habitat conservation, geological mapping, and environmental protection initiatives. The agency manages diverse responsibilities ranging from timber production and reforestation to ecosystem restoration and species conservation, positioning it as a key partner for federal agencies seeking to implement landscape-scale natural resource management projects across the Pacific Northwest region. Through its extensive portfolio of federal contracts and grants, DNR demonstrates substantial capacity to execute complex environmental stewardship activities that align with federal natural resource preservation and disaster mitigation objectives.

Through federal contract awards, DNR has provided specialized technical services to multiple federal agencies, most notably the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Forest Service. The agency executed a $195,676 firm fixed-price purchase order contract with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2022 for in-cooperation services related to forest and land management, with contract modifications executed to add funding due to increased fire response requirements, ultimately extending completion through December 31, 2027. Additionally, DNR completed work under a $85,421.59 firm fixed-price definitive contract awarded by the U.S. Forest Service Region 6 (Pacific Northwest Region) in 2022 to provide Washington Department of Natural Resources/Washington Natural Heritage Program data services and climate change vulnerability assessments for vascular plants, involving computer data services on endangered, threatened, and sensitive plant and animal species. These contract awards, issued without set-aside designations, reflected DNR's established expertise as a government agency qualified to deliver cooperative natural resource management services directly to federal land management agencies without competitive restrictions typically applied to private sector vendors.

DNR's grant award portfolio is substantially larger and more diverse than its contract activity, reflecting the agency's primary role as a grant recipient rather than contract vendor. The agency has received numerous cooperative agreements and project grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service under programs including the Cooperative Forestry Assistance (CFDA 10.664), Forest Legacy Program (CFDA 10.676 and 10.734), Community Wildfire Defense Grants (CFDA 10.720), Hazardous Fuel Reduction Program (CFDA 10.697), Forest Health Protection (CFDA 10.680), State & Private Forestry Cooperative Fire Assistance (CFDA 10.698), Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act initiatives (CFDAs 10.716, 10.717, 10.721), and Good Neighbor Authority programs (CFDA 10.691). The U.S. Geological Survey has funded DNR through the National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program (CFDA 15.810), National Geospatial Program: Building The National Map (CFDA 15.817), Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (CFDA 15.073), Cooperative Landslide Hazard Mapping and Assessment Program (CFDA 15.821), and National Geological and Geophysical Data Preservation Program (CFDA 15.814) for detailed geologic mapping, LiDAR data collection across multiple Washington counties, mine waste characterization, landslide hazard mapping, and preservation of geological collections. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has awarded numerous project grants under the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund (CFDA 15.615), National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant Program, and general Section 6 funding mechanisms for habitat acquisition, species monitoring, plant conservation research, and post-delisting monitoring of multiple threatened and endangered species including golden paintbrush, water howellia, white bluffs bladderpod, and Bradshaw's lomatium. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration funded DNR through cooperative agreements under the Marine Debris Program (CFDA 11.999) for derelict vessel removal and expansion of vessel turn-in programs totaling over $5 million across multiple awards. The Federal Emergency Management Agency supported DNR as a Cooperating Technical Partner (CFDA 97.045) for flood hazard mapping and risk assessment services. The Environmental Protection Agency provided project grant funding for wetland climate change vulnerability assessments and development of nearshore data collection and sharing capabilities. These grants collectively totaled over $300 million in active and recent awards, with DNR serving as prime recipient on substantially all grants, though occasionally issuing sub-awards to non-profit organizations, universities, and other state agencies to support specific project components such as botanical research, youth internship programs, and specialized technical services.