Bear Paw Development Corporation

Economic Development program activities. Bear Paw Development corporation works with local and tribal government officials, and private interests, on individual projects in a number of areas, including community planning, value-added agriculture and infrastructure Development. In 2023, these efforts contributed substantially to the economic vitality of the region, underscoring Bear Paw's pivotal role in advancing Development in this rural area.

Administration of loan programs for economic Development. Through Bear Paw Development's loan department, $2.6 million was loaned to small businesses in 2023 for start-up or expansion opportunities. These loans were for businesses that could not receive financing from conventional bank sources. This loan activity resulted in the creation or retention of 3 jobs.

Bear Paw Development's brownfields program that started in 2009 has been funded by a total of $5.45 million in grants from the epa. $1.8 million of this amount is associated with performing environmental assessments on properties in the Bear Paw district that are contaminated or perceived to be contaminated. $3.65 million is associated with the establishment of a brownfields revolving loan fund to make low or no interest loans to businesses and other entities wishing to cleanup contamination on their property. To date, 93 assessments and 17 cleanups have been completed

Small business Development center activities. Bear Paw Development corporation serves as the host for one of ten small business Development centers located throughout Montana. Funding through a variety of sources allows Bear Paw Development to hire an individual responsible for assisting small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs with assistance in developing business plans, finance strategies, and marketing opportunities. In 2023, the sbdc at Bear Paw Development counseled 80 distinct clients, which resulted in over $515,000 in financing from local banks and other sources. This funding helped to start 5 new businesses, while supporting 36 jobs.st. Mary rehabilitation working group activities. Bear Paw Development corporation serves as fiscal agent for this group of concerned entities in the milk river basin that has organized to expedite the rehabilitation of the st. mary conveyance works and canal system, which delivers water for irrigation, recreation, and municipal use to a broad area of northern Montana. The group consists of representatives from municipalities, conservation groups, irrigation districts, and others, and works with the state and federal officials, in an attempt to secure funding for this aging infrastructure, which was developed nearly 100 years ago.