Future of boneyard planes at Greybull airport considered by commission

The future of “boneyard” at the south airport was among the topics of discussion that Paul Thur and Stephanie May brought to the Aug. 19 meeting of the Big Horn County Commission.

The boneyard is home to planes, plane parts and a collection of random items, but rent has not been paid for several years.   The county determined an auction shall be held to pay off the back rent and other expenses (if any) and it also reached out to scrapping companies. 

The airport board recently indicated that it would like to keep seven planes as the Greybull airport is known for the planes. 

There had been discussions with the Museum of Flight and Aerial Firefighting about moving the planes to the museum. Bob Hawkins, from the museum, told them it might be hard to move the planes because of the condition of the tires. The museum would have room for some of the planes, but not all of them. 

Thur said in his opinion the most realistic option is: The airport board comes to the commission to request keeping some of the planes,  auction the rest and whatever is left will be scrapped. 

In this scenario the county would recoup some money, some planes would be saved, and the boneyard would be cleaned up. 

When asked what they thought of this plan, the commissioners said they would like to have further discussion at a future meeting. 

In other business:

• An executive session was held via zoom with Andrew Johnson, supervisor of the Bighorn National Forest. The topic was potential litigation. 

• Sabrina Burke, Northern Wyoming Treatment Court, met with the commission to request partial funding from the opioid settlement funds.  

• The commission approved a letter of support for the Otto Cemetery’s 250th grant application.