Nebraska is a prairie state, where grasslands and rangelands — supporting millions of bison and native wildlife, along with cattle — historically have thrived.

Before settlement, native trees were mostly confined to the Pine Ridge in the west, riparian areas along rivers and streams, and clumps of trees across the prairie. However, surprising to many, Nebraskans over the years — as residents of a prairie state — have had a love affair with trees, orchards, woodlands and forests.

Nebraska National Forest

The Nebraska National Forest, which was a grand experiment in conservation management, is one example of this tree-hugging passion. Legendary University of Nebraska botanist Charles E. Bessey felt that forestation of parts of the Sandhills would provide a source of fuel and fence posts, provide habitat for wildlife, and would help prevent wind and soil erosion of the fragile region.

In 1891, according to History Nebraska, the Federal Division of Forestry established an experimental pine planting on the Holt County property of the Bruner Brothers. This was successful, so at Bessey’s urging, President Theodore Roosevelt created two forest reserves along the Dismal and Niobrara rivers in 1902.

Six years later, these reserves became the Nebraska National Forest, with the Niobrara reserve south of Nenzel later renamed the Samuel R. McKelvie National Forest in 1971 — for the longtime Nebraska Farmer publisher, former governor and Cherry County rancher.

The Dismal River reserve near Halsey was later named for Bessey, who came up with the idea. A tree nursery at the forest, which continues today as the longest continually operated USDA tree nursery in the nation, was also named for Bessey.

Since 1903, about 90,000 acres of land — including 25,000 acres of trees, mostly Ponderosa pine — have been planted encompassing the Bessey Ranger District, making it the largest hand-planted forest in the world. About 3,000 acres were planted to trees at McKelvie, leaving large swaths of the “forests” still in native prairie grass.

In 1960, the native Ponderosa pine stands in Nebraska’s Pine Ridge were incorporated into the National Forest system. These stands in the northern Panhandle, which probably covered about a quarter of a million acres two centuries ago, have dwindled to about 100,000 acres today. Much of that decline can be blamed on two wildfire seasons in the Pine Ridge, in 2006 and 2012, that scorched stands on buttes and ridges across the region.

Along with thousands of acres of ranchland, the fires threatened parts of Chadron, including the famous C-Hill on campus at Chadron State College. They ran through Chadron State Park south of town and threatened parts of Fort Robinson State Park west of Crawford, and Hudson-Meng Bison Bonebed near Toadstool National Geologic Park to the north.

Prairie States Forestry Project

In Nebraska, the first windbreak planted under the Prairie States Forestry Project, initiated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935 to combat massive wind-caused soil erosion on the Plains, was established on the John Schleusener farm in Antelope County near Orchard.

From 1935 until 1942, working with Works Progress Administration and Civilian Conservation Corps, the U.S. Forest Service planted nearly 220 million tree seedlings in 18,600 miles of windbreaks that occupied 240,000 acres on 30,000 farms. Nebraska led the way, planting 4,170 miles of windbreaks on 51,621 acres on nearly 7,000 farms.

Windbreaks and living shelterbelts may not make the grade as “forests,” but they are a part of rural heritage in Nebraska, with thousands of miles of windbreaks sheltering fields and farms planted after the New Deal programs had ended. Although hundreds of windbreaks have been removed to make way for larger farm equipment, bigger fields and center pivots, researchers found in 2017 that of the original 10,000 windbreak plantings in the state, about 40% still exist.

NFS foresters and staff have worked over the years not only to catalog and quantify the old windbreaks, but also to lend technical advice on how landowners can renovate, expand and enhance windbreaks.

Other federal legislation not attached to the New Deal also contributed to tree planting on the Plains, such as the Timber Culture Act, Clarke-McNary Act, and tree-planting provisions in more modern conservation programs like the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and the Conservation Reserve Program.

Cedar problem

It is true that Nebraska remains a prairie and cropland state. Only about 3% of the total land mass in the state could be considered forested, with about 947,000 acres taken up by forests and another 1.252 million acres in planted windbreaks, riparian lands along waterways and wooded pastures.

That said, one forest resource, which is the scorn of many farmers and ranchers, is actually growing. Eastern red cedar is a native tree, but between 2005 and 2010, NFS reported that 20,000 acres of new cedar forest was expanding each year, and another 13,000 acres of woodlands were being overtaken by cedar trees. This is not necessarily a good thing, because these cedar trees were invading native pasture and rangeland and causing a major wildfire fuel buildup in many regions, as well as taking over more native hardwood forest lands.

Thanks to mechanical removal and the use of prescribed fire, between 2013 and 2015, the expanding red cedar woodlands were being reduced statewide by a total of 30,000 acres annually, helping to slow the invaders.

Demonstration and research

In 1992, the 640-acre Cedar Canyon State Demonstration Forest in Lincoln County south of North Platte was deeded to Nebraska Forest Service. This is a research property used to demonstrate the positive influence field windbreaks have on crop production and soil conservation in the region, along with testing management techniques for controlling invasive cedar trees and enhancing hardwood tree plantings.

Likewise, the Horning State Farm Demonstration Forest is on 240 acres of native and planted woodland south of Plattsmouth. Here, NFS researchers are managing species such as bur oak, black walnut and southeastern Nebraska native tree and shrub species. In addition, the farm is studying the potential for hybrid hazelnut plantings, along with black walnut management.

Likewise, the Timmas Farm State Ecological Preserve is located on 240 acres of Missouri River bluffs and serves as a research and demonstration site for an ambitious plan to revive native species that once thrived in the area. More than 28,000 willow trees and 6,000 cottonwoods and sycamore have been introduced.

As the home of Arbor Day and the National Arbor Day Foundation  in Nebraska City, as well as the unique and successful Nebraska Statewide Arboretum system, the state is passionate about its tree-planting heritage and ongoing tree planting and conservation efforts. Bessey himself might be quite proud of that tree-planting legacy, and the resulting thriving forests that have survived in the Sandhills from his early experimental efforts.

Learn more about Nebraska woodlands at nfs.unl.edu. Get details about the Nebraska National Forest at fs.usda.gov/nebraska.