Nebraska National Forest
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| Nebraska National Forest | |
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| IUCN Category VI (Managed Resource Protected Area) | |
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| Location | Nebraska, USA |
| Nearest city | Chadron, NE (Pine Ridge unit) |
| Coordinates | |
| Area | 142,000 acres (575 km²) |
| Established | 1902 |
| Governing body | U.S. Forest Service |
The Nebraska National Forest is a United States National Forest located in the U.S. state of Nebraska. The total area of the national forest is 142,000 acres (575 km²).
The national forest comprises two ranger districts. The 90,000-acre (364 km²) Bessey Ranger District is located in the Sandhills of central Nebraska. About 63.9% of the forest's total acreage, it lies in parts of Thomas and Blaine counties. It was established in 1902 by Charles E. Bessey as an experiment to see if forests could be created in treeless areas of the Great Plains for use as a national timber reserve. This effort resulted in a 20,000-acre (80.9 km²) forest, the largest human-planted forest in the United States. Today, the forest's nursery supplies 2.5 to 3 million seedlings per year.
The 52,000 acres (210 km²) Pine Ridge Ranger District is located in the Pine Ridge region of northwest Nebraska. About 36.1% of the forest's total acreage, it lies in part of Dawes and Sioux counties. The native ponderosa forests were added to the National Forest system in the 1950s. The Soldier Creek Wilderness, a federally designated wilderness area, is located in the forest.
The nursery is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In descending order of land are the forest lies in parts of Thomas, Dawes, Blaine, and Sioux counties. It is managed by the Forest Service together with Samuel R. McKelvie National Forest and the Buffalo Gap, Fort Pierre, and Oglala National Grasslands from common offices in Chadron, Nebraska.
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