Nebraska National Forest
| Nebraska National Forest | |
|---|---|
 The Bessey Ranger District of the Nebraska National Forest, near Halsey, Nebraska. | |
  Location of Nebraska National Forest in the United States. | |
| Location | Thomas, Dawes, Blaine and Sioux counties in Nebraska, U.S. |
| Nearest city | Chadron, NE (Pine Ridge unit); Halsey, NE (Bessey unit) |
| Coordinates | 42°44′46″N 102°54′7″W / 42.74611°N 102.90194°W |
| Area | 141,864 acres (574.10 km2)[1] |
| Established | July 1, 1908[2] |
| Governing body | U.S. Forest Service |
| Website | Nebraska National Forest |
The Nebraska National Forest is a
History
The Nebraska National Forests & Grasslands began in 1902 as an experiment. University of Nebraska botany professor Charles Edwin Bessey, with the assistance of Gifford Pinchot, first Forest Service Chief, convinced President Theodore Roosevelt to set aside two treeless tracts of Nebraska sandhills as “forest reserves." Bessey’s intent was to grow trees, which would offset what some thought would be a national timber shortage from large fires, unregulated harvest, and the country’s growing appetite for wood products.[3]
Nebraska National Forest was established on November 15, 1907 by the consolidation of three smaller forests:
The national grasslands and the native ponderosa pine forest of Nebraska’s Pine Ridge area were added to the National Forest System in the 1950s. The nearly 1.1 million acres administered by the Nebraska National Forests & Grasslands are scattered across a large arc extending from central Nebraska west to the northern Panhandle, into southwestern South Dakota and on east to the state’s center.[3] At one point it was the largest man-made forest in the world, but has been surpassed by a forest in China.[6]
Bessey Ranger District
The 90,000-acre (141 sq mi) Bessey Ranger District is in the
Biodiversity of the Bessey District
The presence of the artificial forest in the Great Plains has allowed multiple species to colonize the area, including birds such as red-breasted nuthatch Sitta canadensis and the pine siskin Spinus pinus.[7]
Pine Ridge Ranger District
The 52,000 acres (81 sq mi) Pine Ridge Ranger District is in the
The 6,600-acre Pine Ridge National Recreation Area is located within the ranger district.
Management and additional lands
The Nebraska National Forest is managed by the Nebraska National Forests and Grasslands Supervisor's Office in Chadron. Additionally, this office manages the following public lands:
- Samuel R. McKelvie National Forest
- Buffalo Gap National Grassland
- Fort Pierre National Grassland
- Oglala National Grassland
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See also
- List of U.S. National Forests
- Chadron State Park
- Fort Robinson State Park
References
- ^ "Land Areas of the National Forest System" (PDF). U.S. Forest Service. January 2012. Retrieved June 25, 2012.
- ^ "The National Forests of the United States" (PDF). ForestHistory.org. Retrieved June 25, 2012.
- ^ a b
This article incorporates public domain material from History & Culture. United States Forest Service.
- ^ Davis, Richard C. (September 29, 2005), National Forests of the United States (PDF), Forest History Society, archived from the original (PDF) on October 28, 2012, retrieved April 29, 2009
- ^ "Nebraska National Forest". History Nebraska. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
- TheGuardian.com. 23 September 2010.
- ^ Bray, Tanya Christensen (1994). Habitat utilization by birds in a man-made forest in the Nebraska Sandhills (Masters Thesis). University of Nebraska at Omaha: ProQuest Dissertations.
External links
Media related to Nebraska National Forest at Wikimedia Commons- Nebraska National Forests and Grasslands - United States Forest Service
