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Office: Big Horn County Emergency Management – Coordinator: LaRae Dobbs, 355 East 5th Street, Lovell, WY 82431 | (307) 548-2516 | Fax: (307) 548-2517 | Email: [email protected]
Services: Big Horn County participates in the Wyoming Region 6 Hazard Mitigation Plan alongside Park, Hot Springs, and Washakie Counties (2022-2027 update), meeting FEMA Disaster Mitigation Act requirements; the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) meets the 4th Thursday monthly, coordinating hazardous materials response, wildfire, flooding, and transportation accident planning
Notes: Big Horn County Sheriff’s Office Communications Center – (307) 568-2324 (non-emergency) – is staffed 24/7 and dispatches for the Sheriff’s Office, Search and Rescue, Coroner, and all municipal police/fire departments countywide.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-14, US-16, and US-20 serve Basin, the county seat; the Red Gulch/Alkali National Backcountry Byway (33-mile unpaved route) runs through colorful bluffs west of the Bighorn Mountains
Transit: No dedicated fixed-route county transit identified; confirm current regional options directly with the county
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Big Horn County Land Planning Office – 425 Murphy Street, PO Box 29, Basin, WY 82410 | (307) 568-2424 | Fax: (307) 568-2461 | Email: [email protected]
Services: Land use, zoning, septic permits, and Floodplain Development Permits (for properties in mapped flood hazard areas); appointments strongly recommended due to fieldwork/meeting schedules
Notes: Unincorporated Big Horn County participates in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), as do the towns of Basin, Greybull, Lovell, and Manderson – confirm your specific municipality’s participation status. Limited courthouse services are also available at the Lovell Annex (Assessor, Clerk, Treasurer), Mon–Fri 9 AM–2 PM.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Big Horn County Veterans Service Office – Basin, WY
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Big Horn County Library System – SEVEN locations: Basin (headquarters), Deaver, Frannie, Greybull, Hyattville, Lovell, and Manderson branches
Main Branch: Big Horn County Library – Basin – 430 West C Street, Basin, WY 82410 | (307) 568-2388 | Email: [email protected] | Director: Tina Ely
Services: The library system traces its roots to 1907, founded by the Book Lovers’ Club, a group of Basin women organized in 1906; the original library received a $17,500 Carnegie Public Library Building grant in 1908, with the Carnegie building dedicated in 1909 – though that historic building was demolished in 1954, the stained-glass window donated by Basin High School students was salvaged and is now displayed behind the circulation desk of today’s mid-century modern library building
Related: Greybull Branch Library – 325 Greybull Avenue, Greybull, WY 82426 | (307) 765-2551, Hours: Mon–Fri 10 AM–5 PM, hosts a weekly Story Time (Thursdays 11 AM) and monthly Adult Book Group
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Big Horn County sits at the heart of the geologically extraordinary Bighorn Basin and is genuinely home to the RED GULCH DINOSAUR TRACKSITE, the LARGEST DOCUMENTED DINOSAUR TRACKSITE IN WYOMING; discovered in 1997 by Greybull native Erik Kvale, this 40-acre Bureau of Land Management site preserves over 1,000 genuine footprints of two-legged, three-toed, meat-eating dinosaurs from the Middle Jurassic period (roughly 160 million years ago), preserved in hardened limestone; the discovery was genuinely scientifically significant – until the tracks were found, most paleontologists believed the entire Bighorn Basin had been submerged beneath a shallow inland sea (the “Sundance Sea”) during this period, but finding tracks made distinctly above the ancient shoreline proved that dry land existed here that could support dinosaurs and other terrestrial life; the site is free to visit via a self-guided tour along a wooden walkway with interpretive signage, accessible via a dirt road off US-14 between Greybull and Shell; the county is also home to the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area (roughly 68,000 acres, with the canyon reaching depths of about 2,500 feet), the Medicine Lodge State Archaeological Site (documenting over 10,000 years of human history), the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Refuge, and the Bighorn Basin Geoscience Center in Greybull, which also documents nearby sites including the Howe Dinosaur Quarry and Sheep Mountain Anticline
Notes: The Red Gulch Dinosaur Tracksite’s genuine, scientifically significant discovery – which overturned decades of assumptions about the region’s ancient geography – is an extraordinary and well-documented piece of paleontological history.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Big Horn County GIS – accessible via bighorncountywy.gov
Parcel Search: Big Horn County Assessor – (307) 568-2547
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Big Horn County Emergency Management
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Lovell Animal Control & Shelter – 1100 Lane 10½, Lovell, WY 82431 | (307) 548-2215
Services: Serves the Lovell area and broader Big Horn Basin; helps reunite lost pets with owners and place animals in permanent homes
Notes: Confirm current service coverage for other Big Horn County communities (Basin, Greybull, Manderson) directly, as animal control arrangements may vary by specific town within the county.
Notes: Contact Big Horn County directly for current refuse collection and recycling program details.
NOTES
Big Horn County is home to the Red Gulch Dinosaur Tracksite, Wyoming’s largest documented dinosaur tracksite – a genuine scientific discovery that overturned longstanding assumptions about the region’s Jurassic-era geography. All contact information above was sourced from official county, city, library, and shelter pages as of this writing; phone numbers and hours should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit.
About Big Horn County County
Big Horn County is Wyoming’s Medicine Wheel and Bighorn Canyon county – the ancient sacred stone wheel on the mountain crest that has guided Plains peoples for millennia and the dramatic river canyon cutting through the Pryor Mountains define a north-central Wyoming county whose natural and cultural heritage is extraordinary even by Wyoming’s exceptional standards.
Basin (the county seat, population ~1,200) is Big Horn County’s governmental hub in the Bighorn Basin, a small Wyoming agricultural town on US 20 serving the surrounding ranching and sugar beet farming communities between Cody and Worland.
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Big Horn County Assessor at 420 W. C Street, Basin, WY 82410, phone 307-568-2618. WY assessed at 9.5% of market value.
Courts & Legal
Big Horn County District Court at 420 W. C Street, Basin, WY 82410, phone 307-568-2381, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
420 C Ave, Basin, WY 82410
(307) 568-2357
CLERK OF DISTRICT COURT
420 C Ave, Basin, WY 82410
(307) 568-2381
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Big Horn County Clerk of District Court, Basin (probate case files – see Probate section above); Big Horn County Clerk’s Office (separate office) for recorded deeds, small-estate affidavits, and summary distribution decrees.
Local societies
No dedicated Big Horn County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Big Horn County Clerk of District Court (Fifth Judicial District) 420 West C Street, PO Box 670, Basin, WY 82410 (307) 568-2381
Big Horn County is in North Central Wyoming along the Montana border, county seat Basin. Wyoming has NOT adopted the Uniform Probate Code – it runs its own probate framework under Title 2 of the Wyoming Statutes (“the Wyoming Probate Code”). Probate is filed with the DISTRICT COURT for the county where the decedent lived, administered day-to-day by that county’s Clerk of District Court. Note that Wyoming counties have TWO separate elected clerk offices relevant here: the Clerk of District Court (handles probate case filings) and the County Clerk (a separate office that records deeds, small-estate affidavits, and summary distribution decrees).
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Wyoming Statutes Title 2 governs probate.
Small Estate Affidavit (Wyo. Stat. §2-1-201) – available when the decedent’s entire estate, including personal property (and, per a 2025 update, mineral interests), does not exceed $400,000 (increased from $200,000 effective July 1, 2025, via 2025 Enrolled Act 85/SF0104), less liens and encumbrances. This estate must consist ONLY of personal property (no real estate) for the pure affidavit-to-County-Clerk route. Available 30 days after death; skips court entirely – filed with the County Clerk, who issues a certified copy the claimant presents to banks or other asset holders.
Summary Distribution (Wyo. Stat. §2-1-205) – for small estates up to $400,000 that DO include real property. Requires filing an Application for Decree of Summary Distribution with the District Court (not just the County Clerk); requires 2 consecutive weeks of published notice; the court issues a decree that gets recorded with the County Clerk to clear title.
Full Probate Administration – required for estates exceeding $400,000 or otherwise not eligible for the small-estate or summary paths. File a Petition for Probate with the Big Horn County District Court.
Step 2: filing for administration
File a Petition for Probate with the Big Horn County District Court.
Notice must be published for 3 consecutive weeks (Wyo. Stat. §2-7-201).
Once a personal representative is appointed, creditors have 3 months from the date of first publication to file claims (Wyo. Stat. §2-7-703).
The personal representative pays valid debts and expenses, then distributes remaining assets to heirs/beneficiaries.
Close the estate with a final accounting to the District Court.
Wyoming courts are increasingly moving toward e-filing; check with the Clerk of District Court for current e-filing requirements for pro se (self-represented) filers.
Wyoming does NOT have a statutory percentage fee schedule for personal representatives or attorneys – unlike many states. Fees must be “reasonable” and are subject to court approval (Wyo. Stat. §§2-7-803, 2-7-804).
A bond may be required (Wyo. Stat. §§2-3-102, 2-3-111) unless waived by the will or all beneficiaries.
Wyoming does NOT impose a state estate tax, inheritance tax, or state income tax – one of the most tax-friendly states in the country for estate administration. Only the federal estate tax may apply, with a $15,000,000 per-person exemption for 2026.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
420 C Ave, Basin, WY 82410
(307) 568-2324
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
(307) 568-2357
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Public Health
Big Horn County Public Health, 408 Greybull Ave, Basin, WY 82410
(307) 568-2811
DFS Office
Big Horn County DFS Office, 408 Greybull Ave, Basin, WY 82410
(307) 568-2515
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Big Horn County Public Health – Basin, WY
Services: Immunizations, WIC, environmental health, vital records
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Basin
Population: 12,000
Public Records
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