The Nebraska National Forest
What does the future hold?
BROKEN BOW - What does the future hold for the Nebraska National Forest at Halsey after the Bovee fire burned approximately 9,300 acres in October? The National Forest Service is in the beginning stages of determining what that future will be.
Geri Proctor, Acting District Ranger for the Nebraska National Forest at Halsey, will be a key speaker at the Sandhills Journey National Scenic Byway (SJNSB) Conference Jan. 21 in Broken Bow. Proctor told the Chief, “I’ll talk about replanting and explain the process. I’ll talk about what it’s going to be like this summer and what will be open.”
Whether or not the forest will be replanted is a decision yet to be made. Another unanswered question is what will become of the 4-H camp. All cabins and the lodge were lost to the fire.
“The decision to build or rebuild (the camp) is totally up to the State 4-H. The Forest Service doesn’t have a say. It’s up to the state and the local communities.” Proctor said. She said there have been conversations about the camp and she emphasized that the U.S. Forest Service is willing to work with whatever the final plan may be.
Proctor is at Halsey on a temporary four-month assignment. She is filling in for Julie Bain, District Ranger of the Nebraska National Forest, who is in Washington state to temporarily fill a vacant position there. At home in Wyoming, Proctor is Forest Ranger Program Director for the Thunder Basin National Grassland and National Forest in Wyoming. She has been with the Forest Service for 34 years.
Proctor understands the places that both the forest and the 4-H Camp have in Nebraska and in Nebraskans’ hearts. “This is such a unique area,” she said. “It’s a statewide asset. The forest service recognizes that.” She stated the Forest Service’s decision whether or not to replant will definitely involve the public and local communities.
Assessments were to be made this winter, however, with the recent big snows, that has been delayed. Still, the snow is “a good thing,” Proctor said, for both moisture and ground cover.
See the ad on page A10 for the conference schedule. Speakers and events from 1-5 p.m. are open to the public free of charge. There is a $25 charge for the evening banquet and speaker.