The Samuel R. McKelvie National Forest is a

United States National Forest In the United States, national forest is a classification of protected and managed federal lands. National forests are largely forest and woodland areas owned collectively by the American people through the federal government, and managed by ...

in the north-central Sandhills region of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

. The area of the national forest is . The forest is managed as part of the U.S. Forest Service's Nebraska National Forests and Grasslands, from ranger district offices in

Halsey, Nebraska Halsey is a village in Blaine and Thomas counties in Nebraska, United States. The population was 76 at the 2010 census. History Halsey was established in 1887 when the railroad was extended to that point. It was named for Halsey Yates, a rai ...

. The national forest is entirely within

Cherry County, Nebraska Cherry County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 5,713. Its county seat is Valentine. The county was named for Lt. Samuel A. Cherry, an Army officer who was stationed ...

History

In 1902, President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

issued a proclamation establishing the Niobrara Forest Reserve, later the Niobrara Ranger District of the

Nebraska National Forest The Nebraska National Forest is a United States National Forest located within the U.S. state of Nebraska. The total area of the national forest is 141,864 acres, or 222 sq miles (574 km2). The forest is managed by the U.S. Forest Service's ...

. On October 15, 1971, President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

designated the Niobrara Division the Samuel R. McKelvie National Forest after former

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Samuel R. McKelvie.

Flora and fauna

The forest is a combination of

prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

grasslands and

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accepts ...

forest "islands". Most of the existing forested sections were manmade, planted by hand over the past 75 years. The

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, res ...

content of the native grasses is among the highest found anywhere in the world and numerous lease options are provided to local ranchers. Planted trees include

eastern juniper ''Juniperus virginiana'', also known as red cedar, eastern red cedar, Virginian juniper, eastern juniper, red juniper, and other local names, is a species of juniper native to eastern North America from southeastern Canada to the Gulf of Mexico ...

Scots pine ''Pinus sylvestris'', the Scots pine (UK), Scotch pine (US) or Baltic pine, is a species of tree in the pine family Pinaceae that is native to Eurasia. It can readily be identified by its combination of fairly short, blue-green leaves and orang ...

and

ponderosa pine ''Pinus ponderosa'', commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, western yellow-pine, or filipinus pine is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America. It is the ...

which continues to need replanting as it is harvested but has also managed to spread throughout the region independently. Indigenous wildlife such as

pronghorn The pronghorn (, ) (''Antilocapra americana'') is a species of artiodactyl (even-toed, hoofed) mammal indigenous to interior western and central North America. Though not an antelope, it is known colloquially in North America as the American a ...

white-tailed deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...

mule deer The mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus'') is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule. Two subspecies of mule deer are grouped into the black-tailed deer. Unlike the related whi ...

, coyote and

fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

are plentiful. Of the 150 species of birds known to inhabit the forest,

pheasant Pheasants ( ) are birds of several genera within the family Phasianidae in the order Galliformes. Although they can be found all over the world in introduced (and captive) populations, the pheasant genera native range is restricted to Eurasia ...

grouse Grouse are a group of birds from the order Galliformes, in the family Phasianidae. Grouse are presently assigned to the tribe Tetraonini (formerly the subfamily Tetraoninae and the family Tetraonidae), a classification supported by mitochondria ...

, hawk and

wild turkey The wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo'') is an upland ground bird native to North America, one of two extant species of turkey and the heaviest member of the order Galliformes. It is the ancestor to the domestic turkey, which was originally d ...

are the more commonly found.

Recreation

The forest has a small campground. Immediately to the south and east of the national forest is Merritt Reservoir, a dam on the Snake River. The reservoir is stocked with sport fish; it is considered one of the better

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

destinations in Nebraska. Merritt Reservoir is managed by the

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (NGPC) is the State of Nebraska's State agency charged with stewardship of the state's fish, wildlife, state park, and outdoor recreation resources. The agency is led by a governor-appointed member commission ...

Management and additional lands

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: *

Buffalo Gap National Grassland Buffalo Gap National Grassland is a National Grassland located primarily in southwestern South Dakota, United States. It is also the second largest National Grassland, after Little Missouri National Grassland in North Dakota. Characteristics of t ...

* Fort Pierre National Grassland *

Oglala National Grassland The Oglala National Grassland is a United States National Grassland in the northwest corner of Nebraska. It is in northern Sioux and northwestern Dawes counties, on the borders with South Dakota and Wyoming. It is in size and is one of the sma ...

References

External links