NEBRASKAland Magazine is dedicated to outstanding photography and informative writing with an engaging mix of articles and photos highlighting Nebraska’s outdoor activities, parklands, wildlife, history and people.
Issue link: http://mag.outdoornebraska.gov/i/985091
JUNE 2018 • NEBRASKAland 47 of hand-planted trees and open hills comprise Nebraska's forest in the sand, created by ambitious men with practical objectives. At a time when homesteaders and railroads needed wood, University of Nebraska Professor of Botany Dr. Charles E. Bessey foresaw a man- made forest on a landscape void of trees. Widely known for his grand vision, without resources it would remain visionary until 1891 when Bessey heard from the man who would help bring the forest to life – Bernhard E. Fernow, chief of the USDA Division of Forestry. One year and 9,000 trees later, the experiment proven successful, Bessey and other advocates continued the quest; it was a forest they wanted, not just a prototype. In 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt heard their voices and designated a forest reserve. That same year, the Charles E. Bessey Tree Nursery began growing saplings, and in 1904 the planting began. Horse-drawn wagonloads and hand planting soon gave way to machines planting 20,000 sprigs per day. Today, trees cover 25,000 of 91,000 acres comprising the Nebraska National Forest, and the Bessey Nursery is a regional powerhouse in tree sales. Nursery Manager Richard Gilbert and staff produce 1.5 million bare-root trees per year. Skinny as a pencil and about a foot tall, they grow outdoors in long, orderly rows. Eastern red cedar, Rocky Mountain juniper, American plum, chokecherry, and 40-some other varieties sell to several state and federal agencies for land conservation and habitat. Greenhouses grow another 900,000 species such as spruce, pine and fir which replenish forests devastated by fire or bark beetles. "Very small trees are preferred," said Gilbert. "They're easier to plant in rocky ground." Living on the grounds near headquarters, botany-obsessed Gilbert often treks into the woods where he once came upon a freshly killed young deer as its killer, a bobcat, came up behind him. "It was not very happy with me, but it was an amazing experience," he said. Trees cover about a quarter of the Nebraska National Forest. Being man-made, the Forest's natural grandeur contrasts its oddly straight edges within continually rolling Sandhills. Halsey Situated southwest of Halsey, Nebraska, the Nebraska National Forest is a year- round destination for diverse groups of outdoors people. DR. CHARLES E. BESSEY