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1985 Map of Wilson Valley

Name: 1985 Topographic Map of Wilson Valley
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1985
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1985

About this map

Valentine National Wildlife Refuge occupies the western portion of this mid-1980s landscape, where the Nebraska Sandhills meet a network of isolated homesteads and seasonal water bodies. The geography is defined by a series of family-operated cattle ranches, including the Schleuter Ranch and Hoef-Scheer Ranch, which anchor the thin network of improved and unimproved roads. These ranching operations were established around the few reliable water sources and sheltered lowlands typical of the Cherry County region.

Water features such as Rat Lake and Skull Lake are central to the terrain, with Wilson Valley cutting through the center of the sheet towards Plum Cr in the north. The distribution of ranch sites like Shaul Ranch and Higgins Ranch reflects a late-20th-century pattern of land use where vast acreage is managed from sparse, specific hubs. This provisional survey captures the intersection of conservation lands and private grazing during a period of stable ranching tenure.