This chapter describes existing conditions for Bureau of Land Management (BLM) resource programs, resource uses, and special designations, and the socioeconomic environment in the Bighorn Basin Planning Area. As summarized in Chapter 1, various laws, regulations, policies, and other requirements direct management of resources and resource uses on BLM-administered public lands. The Cody Field Office (CYFO) and Worland Field Office (WFO), which comprise the Planning Area, operate under these requirements and guidance. The CYFO and WFO also consider Best Management Practices (BMP) in the management of resources and resource uses in the Planning Area.
In addition to describing existing conditions, where appropriate this chapter identifies management challenges for resource programs and resource uses on BLM-administered lands. The BLM identified these management challenges through its Analysis of the Management Situation (AMS), and by issues identified during the scoping process for the Bighorn Basin Resource Management Plan (RMP) Revision. Because it describes existing conditions in the Planning Area, this chapter serves as the baseline against which the BLM analyzes and compares impacts of alternatives A through D in Chapter 4.
The Planning Area comprises 3,189,743 acres of BLM-administered federal surface lands (Map 1) and 4,219,790 acres of BLM-administered federal mineral estate (Map 2) in Big Horn, Hot Springs, Park, and Washakie Counties in north-central Wyoming. The CYFO extends west beyond the Bighorn Basin, but generally, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service (USFS) and the National Park Service manage those lands; therefore, this RMP and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) does not consider them. In each of the four counties there are large contiguous areas of BLM-administered land and smaller tracts of BLM-administered land interspersed with private and state land. There is a checkerboard pattern of state, private, and BLM-administered lands in the northwestern portion of the Planning Area.
The Planning Area lies within two Major Land Resource Areas (MLRA) the Northern Intermountain Desertic Basins and Central Rocky Mountains. The Planning Area is in the Bighorn Basin, an asymmetric heart‐shaped intermontane basin of the Rocky Mountain foreland in north‐central Wyoming and south‐central Montana. The basin is surrounded by mountainous uplifts, including the Big Horn and Pryor Mountains to the east and northeast, respectively, the Owl Creek Mountains to the south, the Absaroka Range to the west, and the Beartooth Mountains to the northwest (Roberts and Rossi 1999). The central low-lying part of the basin is dominated by desert shrubland and grasslands. At high elevations the dominant vegetation transitions from sagebrush and grassland to mountain shrublands and, ultimately, to coniferous forests. The Planning Area generally has a dry, windswept, rain-shadow climate like much of the state of Wyoming, but variations in elevation have a substantial effect on vegetation types and suitability of areas for agriculture and grazing.
The topography of the Planning Area varies from rolling plains, flat mesas, and badlands to alluvial valleys, benches, foothills and mountains (BLM 1993). Elevations in the Planning Area range from approximately 3,552 feet above mean sea level (amsl) in the middle of the basin to 11,657 feet amsl in the higher mountain ranges.
The Bighorn River and its tributaries (including the Shoshone, Nowood, Greybull and Wood Rivers, and Owl, Gooseberry, Cottonwood, Shell, Nowater, Kirby and Fifteenmile Creeks) drain the Bighorn Basin. The Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone River also drains the basin.
Basin climate is arid to semi‐arid. Precipitation in the central basin is less than 10 inches per year, but up to 40 or more inches per year in the mountainous regions surrounding the basin (BLM 1993). The average annual temperature in the basin is approximately 44 degrees Fahrenheit (°F), but substantially colder in the mountain regions.
Soils and vegetation in the Planning Area generally provide rangeland suitable for year-round livestock grazing in the lower elevations. Higher elevations are generally grazed during summer and/or fall. Livestock grazing includes the grazing of domestic animals such as cattle, sheep, horses, and bison.
Agricultural production in the Planning Area is limited by low precipitation and scarcity of surface water. Major crops in the Planning Area include spring wheat, barley, oats, dry beans, sugar beets, alfalfa hay, and corn (Headwaters Economics 2007b).
Big Horn County was organized in 1897, created from parcels taken from Johnson, Fremont, and Sheridan Counties. In the same year, Basin, Wyoming, was named as the county seat. A portion of the Big Horn County National Recreation Area, which straddles the Wyoming-Montana state line, is in Big Horn County. The United States (U.S.) Department of Defense also administers a small parcel of land in Big Horn County.
The Bighorn River watershed, which drains the entire basin, flows through the middle of the county. Bighorn National Forest is along the eastern portion of the county and is comprised primarily of the foothills and higher mountain regions of the Big Horn Mountains.
The principle industries in Big Horn County are bentonite mining, farming, sugar-beet and bean processing, and tourism.
U.S. Highways 20 and 310 are the main north-south arteries in Big Horn County. U.S. Highway 14 traverses east-west, intersecting Highway 20 in Greybull.
Big Horn County is comprised of approximately 1,669,861 surface acres in the Planning Area, of which the BLM administers approximately 1,160,604. In addition, the BLM administers approximately 1,293,883 acres of federal mineral estate in Big Horn County.
Hot Springs County was established in 1911, the same year Thermopolis, Wyoming, was named the county seat. The county’s name is derived from geothermal features that attract tourists to the county.
Most of the Wind River Canyon, with the Owl Creek Mountains on the west and the Bridger Mountains on the east, is in Hot Springs County. The Big Horn Mountains ring the eastern portion of the county, with the Absaroka Range to the west.
State Highway 789 and U.S. Highway 20 are the main north-south corridors in Hot Springs County. The county is also served by Wyoming Highway 120, which runs northwest from Thermopolis, through Meeteetse, and on to Cody.
The smallest county by area in Wyoming, Hot Springs County also has the fewest BLM-administered surface and mineral estate acres in the Planning Area. Hot Springs County is comprised of approximately 961,284 surface acres in the Planning Area, of which the BLM administers approximately 485,339. In addition, the BLM administers approximately 721,577 acres of federal mineral estate in Hot Springs County.
The largest county by area in the Planning Area, Park County also is the most populous, with approximately 27,000 residents in 2005 (Headwaters Economics 2007a). A large portion of Park County is in Yellowstone National Park, which the National Park Service administers.
What is now Park County was first a part of Sweetwater County, then Fremont County, and then Big Horn County, until 1909 when the Wyoming State Legislature defined and set aside the boundaries of Park County. Cody, Wyoming, named for William “Buffalo Bill” Cody, was chosen as the county seat the following year.
Three rivers flow through Park County the Greybull and Shoshone Rivers, which are tributaries to the Bighorn River, and the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone River, which flows into the Yellowstone River. Three highways serve Park County (U.S. Highway 14-16-20 east and west, U.S. Highway 14 Alternate, and Wyoming 120 north and south).
The major industries in Park County are oil and gas production, agriculture, and tourism. Park County is comprised of approximately 1,618,481 surface acres in the Planning Area, of which the BLM administers approximately 624,535. In addition, the BLM administers approximately 1,055,815 acres of federal mineral estate in Park County.
Washakie County was organized in 1911 and named after the head chief of the Shoshone people, Chief Washakie. The county seat of Washakie County is Worland, Wyoming.
The western part of Washakie County is intensively irrigated farmlands that lie adjacent to the Bighorn River, which winds its way through Worland. Other farmlands are along the Gooseberry and Cottonwood Creeks. The agriculture of the eastern part of Washakie County is based primarily on the production of sheep and cattle (Washakie County Conservation District 2009).
U.S. Highway 16 is the main east-west corridor in the county, passing over the Big Horn Mountains and through Ten Sleep, before turning north in Worland. State Highway 789 and U.S. Highway 20 are the main north-south arteries in Washakie County.
Washakie County is comprised of approximately 1,399,144 surface acres in the Planning Area, of which the BLM administers approximately 919,266. In addition, the BLM administers approximately 1,148,514 acres of federal mineral estate in Washakie County.