Big Horn County Land Use Plan

The website for information about the new land use plan for Big Horn County, Wyoming

Plan Map Series

The Plan Map Series is available for viewing from this page.  The map series consists of maps on different subjects relevant to land use planning.

All maps are in the PDF format.  File sizes range from about 0.5 Mb to 3Mb.  These files are optimized for web viewing and may not look particularly good when printed.


Land Suitability Analysis

Land Suitability Analysis is the method by which maps from the Plan Map Series are combined.  Combining the maps allows us to rate areas of the county in terms of suitability for future growth and development.  We have produced four maps that are combinations of the single-theme maps that were produced earlier.  The four combination maps are:

Land Suitability Analysis - AgricultureThis map is a combination of the maps Agricultural Land Use, Irrigated Land, Soil Capability - Irrigated Agriculture, and Agricultural Parcel Size.

Land Suitability Analysis - Infrastructure:  This map is a combination the the maps Road Network, Services Efficiency, and Water Systems.

Land Suitability Analysis - Land Use Limitations:  This map is a combination of the maps Big Game Habitats, Flood Plains, Groundwater Sensitivity, Geohydrologic Setting, Land Slope, and Wetlands.

Land Suitability Analysis - Land Status:  This map is a combination of the maps Current Land Use, Land Parcel Size, Population Density, and Land Surface Management.

LAND SUITABILITY ANALYSIS - ALL FACTORS:  This map is a combination of all the maps included in the analysis.  This map combines the four maps above (Agriculture, Infrastructure, Limitations, and Status) to produce a single map representing development/conservation suitability for the entire county.  This map will become the basis for designating future land use in the land use plan.

There are two alternative presentations of this map.  This first map, Alternative #1, shows emphasizes conservation more than development.  The second map, Alternative #2 emphasizes more development and less conservation.  Both maps are available below.

ALTERNATIVE #1 ALTERNATIVE #2

Alt 1 - County

Alt 2 - County

Alt 1 - Greybull Valley

Alt 2 - Greybull Valley

Alt 1 - Nowood Valley

Alt 2 - Nowood Valley

Alt 1 - Shell Valley

Alt 2 - Shell Valley

Alt 1 - Shoshone Valley

Alt 2 - Shoshone Valley

As a variation of the two alternatives above, the maps below focus solely on deeded land, excluding public lands from the alternative maps.

ALTERNATIVE #1 - Deeded ALTERNATIVE #2 - Deeded

Alt 1D - County

Alt 2D - County

Alt 1D - Greybull Valley

Alt 2D - Greybull Valley

Alt 1D - Nowood Valley

Alt 2D - Nowood Valley

Alt 1D - Shell Valley

Alt 2D - Shell Valley

Alt 1D - Shoshone Valley

Alt 2D - Shoshone Valley

Paper describing technical aspects of the Land Suitability Analysis:  This document provides details on how the various map themes were combined


SINGLE THEME MAPS

Agricultural Lands

AGRICULTURAL LAND USE:  Represents all deeded land used for agricultural production.
        Ag Land Use - County
        Ag Land Use - Greybull Valley
        Ag Land Use - Nowood Valley
        Ag Land Use - Shell Valley
        Ag Land Use - Shoshone Valley

AGRICULTURAL PARCEL SIZE:  Shows where agricultural land remains in large tracts and where it has been broken into small tracts.
        Ag Parcel Size - County
        Ag Parcel Size - Greybull Valley
        Ag Parcel Size - Nowood Valley
        Ag Parcel Size - Shell Valley
        Ag Parcel Size - Shoshone Valley

IRRIGATED LAND:  Represents all irrigated land in the county.
        Irrigated Land - County
        Irrigated Land - Greybull Valley
        Irrigated Land - Nowood Valley
        Irrigated Land - Shell Valley
        Irrigated Land - Shoshone Valley

SOIL CAPABILITY - IRRIGATED AGRICULTURE:  Represents the capability class of soils for irrigated agricultural production.
        Soil Capability, Irrigated - County
        Soil Capability, Irrigated- Greybull Valley
        Soil Capability, Irrigated - Nowood Valley
        Soil Capability, Irrigated - Shell Valley
        Soil Capability, Irrigated - Shoshone Valley

SOIL CAPABILITY - NON-IRRIGATED AGRICULTURE:  Represents the capability class of soils for non-irrigated agricultural production.
        Soil Capability, Non-Irrigated - County
        Soil Capability, Non-Irrigated - Greybull Valley
        Soil Capability, Non-Irrigated - Nowood Valley
        Soil Capability, Non-Irrigated - Shell Valley
        Soil Capability, Non-Irrigated - Shoshone Valley

Infrastructure

ROAD NETWORK:  Represents the location and type of roadways in the county.
        Road Network - County
        Road Network - Greybull Valley
        Road Network  - Nowood Valley
        Road Network  - Shell Valley
        Road Network  - Shoshone Valley

WATER SYSTEMS:  Represents the locations of the major public water supply systems in the county.
        Water Systems - County
        Water Systems - Greybull Valley
        Water Systems - Nowood Valley
        Water Systems - Shell Valley
        Water Systems - Shoshone Valley

SERVICES EFFICIENCY:  This map series represents the efficiency in providing essential public services to different locations.  The maps illustrate the concept that it is usually more cost-efficient to provide governmental services at locations close to service centers.  Services included in this analysis include public schools, fire protection, hospitals, and law enforcement.
        Services Efficiency - County
        Services Efficiency - Greybull Valley
        Services Efficiency - Nowood Valley
        Services Efficiency - Shell Valley
        Services Efficiency - Shoshone Valley

Land Use Limitations

BIG GAME HABITATS:  Represents the crucial habitats of big game species in the county.
        Big Game Habitats - County
        Big Game Habitats - Greybull Valley
        Big Game Habitats - Nowood Valley
        Big Game Habitats - Shell Valley
        Big Game Habitats - Shoshone Valley

FLOOD PLAINS:  Represents the locations of the 100-year flood plains in the county.
        Flood Plains - County
        Flood Plains - Greybull Valley
        Flood Plains - Nowood Valley
        Flood Plains - Shell Valley
        Flood Plains - Shoshone Valley

GROUNDWATER SENSITIVITY:  Represents the locations of areas based on the sensitivity of the groundwater below to pollution on the land surface above.
        Groundwater Sensitivity - County
        Groundwater Sensitivity - Greybull Valley
        Groundwater Sensitivity - Nowood Valley
        Groundwater Sensitivity - Shell Valley
        Groundwater Sensitivity - Shoshone Valley

GEOHYDROLOGIC SETTING:  Represents the general availability of groundwater.
      Geohydrologic Setting - County
      Geohydrologic Setting - Greybull Valley
      Geohydrologic Setting - Nowood Valley
      Geohydrologic Setting - Shell Valley
      Geohydrologic Setting - Shoshone Valley

BEDROCK GEOLOGY:  This map series shows the bedrock geology of Big Horn County.  The bedrock geology maps are useful when reading the available reports on groundwater availability.
        Key to Map Symbols
        Bedrock Geology - County
        Bedrock Geology - Greybull Valley
        Bedrock Geology - Nowood Valley
        Bedrock Geology - Shell Valley
        Bedrock Geology - Shoshone Valley

ADDITIONAL GROUNDWATER INFORMATION:  Below is a link to additional information on groundwater resources in Big Horn County.
        Groundwater Information

LAND SLOPE:  Represents the slope of land in percent (rise over run) of all land in the county.
        Land Slope - County
        Land Slope - Greybull Valley
        Land Slope - Nowood Valley
        Land Slope - Shell Valley
        Land Slope - Shoshone Valley

 WETLANDS:  Represents the locations of wetlands in the county.
        Wetlands - County
        Wetlands - Greybull Valley
        Wetlands - Nowood Valley
        Wetlands - Shell Valley
        Wetlands - Shoshone Valley

Land Use Status

CURRENT LAND USE:  Represents the current land use of deeded land in the county.
        Current Land Use - County
        Current Land Use - Greybull Valley
        Current Land Use - Nowood Valley
        Current Land Use - Shell Valley
        Current Land Use - Shoshone Valley

LAND PARCEL SIZES:  Shows where deeded land remains in large tracts and where it has been broken into small tracts.
        Land Parcel Sizes - County
        Land Parcel Sizes - Greybull Valley
        Land Parcel Sizes - Nowood Valley
        Land Parcel Sizes - Shell Valley
        Land Parcel Sizes - Shoshone Valley

SUBDIVISIONS:  Shows the locations and sizes of major subdivisions and old townsites in the county.
        Subdivisions - County
        Subdivisions - Greybull Valley
        Subdivisions - Nowood Valley
        Subdivisions - Shell Valley
        Subdivisions - Shoshone Valley

LAND SURFACE MANAGEMENT:  Represents the surface management status (federal lands, state lands, deeded lands, etc.) of all land in the county.
        Land Surface Management - County
        Land Surface Management - Greybull Valley
        Land Surface Management - Nowood Valley
        Land Surface Management - Shell Valley
        Land Surface Management - Shoshone Valley

Miscellaneous

 LAND TENURE:  Represents which lands are owned by local and non-local owners.
        Land Tenure - County
        Land Tenure - Greybull Valley
        Land Tenure - Nowood Valley
        Land Tenure - Shell Valley
        Land Tenure - Shoshone Valley

 POPULATION DENSITY:  Represents the number of residents per square mile in all locations in the county.
        Population Density - County
        Population Density - Greybull Valley
        Population Density - Nowood Valley
        Population Density - Shell Valley
        Population Density - Shoshone Valley