Nebraska & Samuel R. McKelvie NFs
Nebraska
In seeming defiance of the muted tones of central Nebraska's Sandhills rises a lush, green Ponderosa pine forest. And while its presence in this arid landscape is unexpected, it is the forest's century-old roots that make it truly unique.
Whitetail campground
In 1902, University of Nebraska botanist Charles Bessey, believing the Native American legend that the Sandhills were once covered in trees, convinced President Theodore Roosevelt to set aside two treeless tracts of land as forest reserves, and then set about the laborious task of planting pine seedlings.
The pines thrived in the dry, sandy environment, eventually encompassing more than 20,000 acres in the largest man-made forest in the world. Today the forest is part of 90,444-acre Bessey Division of the Nebraska National Forest, consists of prairie grassland and gently rolling hills. Nearby, the 115,000-acre Samuel R. McKelvie National Forest is home to hand-planted Ponderosa pine, Eastern red cedar, jack pine and Scotch pine in living legacy to Charles Bessey.
In the 1950s the native Ponderosa pine forest of Pine Ridge in the northwest corner of Nebraska's panhandle became a part of the Nebraska National Forest. The Pine Ridge Ranger Division encompasses 52,000 acres of naturally occurring pine trees and mixed grass prairie. Within the boundaries of the Pine Ridge Division, visitors will find the northern Great Plains ecosystems, unique geological formations, and the diversity of a multi-species conifer forest.
Return to 
Top
RELATED GORP LINKS
GORP Nebraska Resources
GORPtravel Adventure Vacations
|
from Away.com
Powered by Trip.com
