A national forest amid Nebraska’s grassy Sand Hills! Yup. Several units of the Nebraska National Forest are scattered about the central and northwestern part of the state.
In the 1990s we drove through miles of grassland with nary a tree in sight and then camped in a sprawling forest of Ponderosa pines and red cedars in the Forest’s Bessey Unit almost dead center in the Cornhusker State. How can there be a forest on land that nature intends to be a prairie?
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- Nebraska grasses and fields.
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- Fire spreads easily when branches touch
History
In 1902 University of Nebraska botanist Charlesy Bessey encouraged Forest Service Chief Gifford Pinchot and President Theodore Roosevelt to plant trees and create a forest in the grassy Sand Hills. The nation was facing a lumber shortage and most Americans valued forests over prairies and deserts, so they agreed.
Efforts
Millions of trees were planted close together over the 90,000-acre Bessey Unit. Many grew well; when we visited 30 years ago, they were mature and gorgeous.
Rolling hills along the Loup River.
A fire tower was also built and staffed to watch for fires. Sure enough, fires broke out and killed many of the trees. Fire is an efficient sorter. Grass is highly fire-resistant. Many trees are not.
Return to Nebraska’s National Forest
Decades later we camped there again in September 2024 and were amazed at the change. Although the Forest Service Campground remains in trees, much of the former forest has quickly returned to grassland, due to several fires.
We saw thousands of dead trees with stacks of trunks piled along the road.
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- Grasses line a dirt road
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- Nebraska’s grassland sandy soil.
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- Recovering dead trees.
Lesson
Attempting to create a forest in a grassland was an ecological disaster. Over time nature is reclaiming land that should have been managed for what it is – healthy grass sprinkled with millions of wildflowers.
Continued Activity
Trees grow in the nursery
The Bessey Unit includes a modern nursery where the Forest Service grows trees for replanting on land in the western United States. The surrounding land is a fascinating place to see first-hand the result of past management based on a misunderstanding of the environment.
The campground’s trees were spared fire and remain a shady place to camp for anyone driving across vast Nebraska. Great opportunities exist here for education and enjoyment of the trails. But, it needs maintenance. So does the now abandoned fire tower. For information check usda.gov/nebraska.
