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35-703: Buffalo Gap National Grassland is managed by the Forest Service together with the Nebraska and Samuel R. McKelvie National Forests and the Fort Pierre and Oglala National Grasslands from common offices in Chadron, Nebraska . There are local ranger district offices located in Hot Springs and Wall . It also surrounds Badlands National Park and Minuteman Missile National Historic Site . In what

70-516: A Palmer Drought Index lower than -15, many times more severe than Texas during the Dust Bowl . The plant-anchored dunes of the Sandhills were long considered an irreclaimable desert. In the 1870s, cattlemen began to discover their potential as rangeland for Longhorn cattle . The fragility of the sandy soil makes the area unsuitable for cultivation of crops. Attempts at farming were made in

105-428: A windbreak around homesteads and during early Arbor Day events during early settlement. Over time, the trees spread to replace large areas of grassland, leading to ecosystem collapse on ranchlands. The blowout penstemon ( Penstemon haydenii ) is an endangered species, found only in the Sandhills and in similar environments in central Wyoming . The blowout penstemon stabilizes the soil where wind erosion exposes

140-717: A 25-mile (40 km) stretch of the river. Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge near Valentine covers 19,000 acres (77 km ). Partnering in the effort to conserve the Sandhills are the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, West Central Research and Extension Station, the Nature Conservancy of Nebraska, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Nebraska Natural Heritage Program,

175-590: Is in the forest. The 6,600-acre Pine Ridge National Recreation Area is located within the ranger district. The Nebraska National Forest is managed by the Nebraska National Forests and Grasslands Supervisor's Office in Chadron . Additionally, this office manages the following public lands: Sand Hills (Nebraska) The Sandhills , often written Sand Hills , is a region of mixed-grass prairie on grass-stabilized sand dunes in north-central Nebraska , covering just over one quarter of

210-604: Is known as the Conata Basin region of the grassland, the most successful Black-footed ferret reintroduction program undertaken by the federal government , has established a small but sustainable population of these previously extirpated mammals. In 2010, South Dakota Senator Tim Johnson introduced the Tony Dean Cheyenne River Valley Conservation Act of 2010, a bill that would designate over 48,000 acres (19,000 ha) of

245-545: Is part of the Buffalo Gap National Grassland – Wall Ranger District. The center features exhibits about grassland wildlife and plants, grazing management and the history of the Great Plains . There is also a theater with a video about the grasslands, restrooms and a gift shop. Nebraska National Forest The Nebraska National Forest is a United States National Forest located within

280-596: The Loup River and the Niobrara River , while the western section is largely composed of small interior drainage basins. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) designated the Sandhills as an ecoregion , distinct from other grasslands of the Great Plains. According to their assessment, as much as 85% of the ecoregion is intact natural habitat, the highest level in the Great Plains. This is chiefly due to

315-820: The U.S. state of Nebraska . The total area of the national forest is 141,864 acres, or 222 sq miles (574 km ). The forest is managed by the U.S. Forest Service 's Nebraska Forests and Grasslands Supervisor's Office in Chadron, Nebraska . The national forest includes two ranger districts, the Bessey Ranger District and the Pine Ridge Ranger District. In descending order of land, the forest lies in parts of Thomas, Dawes, Blaine, and Sioux counties. The Nebraska National Forests & Grasslands began in 1902 as an experiment. University of Nebraska botany professor Charles Edwin Bessey , with

350-638: The University of Nebraska , and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service . Turner Enterprises has acquired 445,000 acres (180,000 ha) of land in Nebraska. His extensive ranches for grazing cattle are known for their bison while focusing on sustainable practices such as rotational grazing of the grasslands . In 2021, Ted Turner announced that an 80,000-acre (32,000 ha) ranch he owns in western Nebraska would be turned over to

385-592: The pine siskin Spinus pinus . The 52,000 acres (81 sq mi) Pine Ridge Ranger District is in the Pine Ridge region of northwest Nebraska. It contains about 36.1% of the forest's total area, and 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,

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420-500: The western meadowlark , the state bird of Nebraska. Valentine National Wildlife Refuge , located about 20 miles (32 km) south of Valentine, encompasses 71,516 acres (28,941 ha). Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge in the central Panhandle covers 45,849 acres (18,554 ha). The Nature conservancy 's Niobrara Valley Preserve in Cherry, Brown, and Keya Paha counties covers 60,000 acres (202 km ) and includes

455-543: The National Grassland as protected wilderness. The act would allow the continuation of grazing and hunting on the land and would create the first national grassland wilderness in the country. In Jan. 2013, Charmaine White Face raised concerns about radiation exposure of South Dakota Army National Guard soldiers in the Buffalo Gap National Grassland. The National Grasslands Visitor Center in Wall, South Dakota

490-561: The Nebraska National Forests & Grasslands are scattered across a large arc extending from central Nebraska west to the northern Panhandle, into southwestern South Dakota and on east to the state's center. At one point it was the largest man-made forest in the world, but has been surpassed by a forest in China. The 90,000-acre (141 sq mi) Bessey Ranger District is in the Sandhills of central Nebraska. Encompassing about 63.9% of

525-716: The Nebraska Sandhills likely had active sand dunes as recently as the Medieval Warm Period , when temperatures in the North Atlantic region were about 1 °C (1.8 °F) warmer than the current climate. Much of the area was a scrub desert , with desert-like conditions extending to several other states. Current global warming may make the grassland climate more unstable, giving way to desert given more fires, mild drought and erosion; UCAR simulations based on evapotranspiration support

560-468: The Ogallala Aquifer. Precipitation is insufficient to keep ponds and lakes permanent with the low humidity and high evaporation rates. The natural reservoirs are also primarily confined to a few regions of the Sandhills with the vast majority located in northern Garden County. The lakes and ponds are mainly sandy-bottomed and some contain many species of fish. Very few are used to water cattle as

595-461: The Sand Hills (which includes a high concentration of wetlands of special concern, a sensitive ecosystem, and extensive areas of very shallow groundwater) and provided additional context and information about those characteristics. The concern about the proposed route's impact on the Sand Hills of Nebraska has increased significantly over time, and has resulted in the Nebraska legislature convening

630-402: The Sandhills. Most are native, with only 7% exotics — half the percentage of most other prairie systems. Most of the "exotics" are invasive species and considered noxious weeds and must be destroyed by landowners. One species threatening the ecosystem is the eastern redcedar . Native to the region but controlled by wildfires prior to European settlement, the trees were planted in great numbers as

665-595: The United States. Today the forest's nursery supplies 2.5 to 3 million seedlings per year. The Bessey Tree Nursery is listed on the National Register of Historic Places . There is a local ranger district office in Halsey . The presence of the artificial forest in the Great Plains has allowed multiple species to colonize the area, including birds such as red-breasted nuthatch Sitta canadensis and

700-411: The assistance of Gifford Pinchot , first Forest Service Chief, convinced President Theodore Roosevelt to set aside two treeless tracts of Nebraska sandhills as “forest reserves." Bessey's intent was to grow trees, which would offset what some thought would be a national timber shortage from large fires, unregulated harvest, and the country's growing appetite for wood products. Nebraska National Forest

735-405: The bare sand and creates a blowout, but is choked out when other species begin to recolonize. Grazing and land management practices used by Sandhills ranchers have reduced natural erosion, thus destroying some of the plant's habitat. Many of the plants of the Sandhills are sand-tolerant species from short-grass, mixed-grass, and tallgrass prairies; plants from all three of these can be found within

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770-484: The biodiversity of the area. The Sandhills are home to 314 vertebrate species including mule deer, whitetail deer, jackrabbits, pronghorn antelope, elk, coyotes, red fox, Western meadowlarks (the Nebraska state bird), prairie dogs, bull snakes , prairie rattlesnakes , ringnecked pheasant , sharp-tailed grouse , badgers, ground squirrels, skunks, native bat species and many fish species. The Sandhills' thousands of ponds and lakes are spring-fed surface water areas of

805-479: The concentration of concerns regarding the environmental sensitivities of the current proposed route through the Sand Hills area of Nebraska, the Department has determined it needs to undertake an in-depth assessment of potential alternative routes in Nebraska [...] The comments were consistent with the information in the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) about the unique combination of characteristics in

840-457: The ecosystem. These plants have helped to stabilize the sand dunes, creating an ecosystem beneficial for other plants and animals. Better land management and grazing practices by the ranchers of the region have led to less erosion over time, which has kept the natural landscape of the area mostly intact. Many species of insect are found in the Sandhills, including dragonflies, grasshoppers and mosquitos. There are also many types of spiders. Due to

875-422: The forest's total area, it lies in parts of Thomas and Blaine counties. It was established in 1902 by Charles E. Bessey because he believed the area to have once had a natural forest and as an experiment to see if forests could be recreated in treeless areas of the Great Plains for use as a national timber reserve. This effort resulted in a 20,000-acre (80.9 km ) forest, the largest human-planted forest in

910-432: The lack of crop production: most of the Sandhills land has never been plowed. The Sandhills is classified as a semi-arid region, with average annual rainfall varying from 23 inches (580 mm) in the east to less than 17 inches (430 mm) of rain in the west. Temperatures range from lows of −30 °F (−34 °C) to highs of 105 °F (41 °C). Paleoclimate proxy data and computer simulations reveal that

945-538: The newly created Turner Institute of Ecoagriculture. Turner and the institute publicly announced that the nonprofit would continue to pay property taxes on the land. A November 10, 2011 press release on the Keystone Pipeline Project Presidential Permit Review Process, announced that the U. S. State Department would assess TransCanada Keystone XL Project (Hardisty-Baker-Steele City) proposal. "[G]iven

980-405: The region continues to decline as older generations die out, younger generations move to the cities, and ranches are consolidated. A number of small towns remain in the region. The Sandhills contain a large array of plant and animal life. Minimal crop production has led to limited land fragmentation; the resulting extensive and continuous habitat for plant and animal species has largely preserved

1015-399: The region gradually increases from about 1,800 ft (550 m) in the east to about 3,600 ft (1,100 m) in the west. The Sandhills sit atop the massive Ogallala Aquifer ; thus both temporary and permanent shallow lakes are common in low-lying valleys between the grass-stabilized dunes prevalent in the Sandhills. The eastern and central sections of the region are drained by tributaries of

1050-547: The region in the late 1870s and again around 1890. The 1904 Kinkaid Act allowed homesteaders to claim 640 acres (260 ha; 2.6 km ) of land, rather than the 160 acres (65 ha; 0.65 km ) allowed by the 1862 Homestead Act . Nearly nine million acres (36,000 km ) were claimed by "Kinkaiders" between 1910 and 1917. Some of the Kinkaiders farmed the land, but these attempts generally failed. This included Nebraska's largest black settlement, DeWitty , which

1085-404: The state. The dunes were designated a National Natural Landmark in 1984. The boundaries of the Sandhills are variously defined by different organizations. Depending on the definition, the region's area can be as small as 19,600 mi (50,760 km ) or as large as 23,600 mi (61,100 km ). Dunes in the Sandhills may exceed 330 ft (100 m) in height. The average elevation of

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1120-570: The warm stagnant nature of both alkaline and freshwater lakes throughout the region, coupled with the wetland marsh areas, mosquito populations increase during the summer months. The Sandhills are part of the Central Flyway for many species of migratory birds, and the region's many bodies of water give them places to rest. The ponds and lakes of the region are lay-over points for migratory cranes (particularly Sandhill cranes ), geese, and many species of ducks. Species found year-round include

1155-485: The water is usually shallow, warm, brackish, turbid, saline, alkaline or conceals "quicksand" cattle would become stuck in. Windmills and solar-powered submersible electric pumps fed by the easily-accessible aquifer filling cement-bottom steel stock tanks up to 30 feet in diameter are used to supply livestock with cool, fresh water on a daily basis. Some lakes in the area are alkaline and support several species of phyllopod shrimp. 720 different species of plants are found in

1190-552: Was established on November 15, 1907, by the consolidation of three smaller forests: Dismal River , Niobrara and North Platte National Forests . The Niobrara district is now known as the Samuel R. McKelvie National Forest . The national grasslands and the native ponderosa pine forest of Nebraska's Pine Ridge area were added to the National Forest System in the 1950s. The nearly 1.1 million acres administered by

1225-439: Was located in southeast Cherry County until the 1930s. Many of the largest ranches broke up about the same time due to regulations against fencing federal range lands. Some development of cropland agriculture in the modern era has occurred through the use of center-pivot irrigation systems. In the 21st century, the Sandhills are a productive cattle ranching area, supporting over 530,000 beef cattle. The human population of

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