Nebraska National Forest

The fascinating thing about the Nebraska National Forest is that it is entirely man-made. Established in 1902 by Charles E. Bessey, this was an experiment to see if forests could be created in treeless areas of the Great Plains for use as a national timber reserve. The effort resulted in a 20,000-acre forest, the largest human-planted forest in the United States. Today, the forest's nursery supplies 2.5 to 3 million seedlings per year.