Samuel R. McKelvie National Forest

Samuel R McKelvie National Forest
IUCN category VI (protected area with sustainable use of natural resources)


Location	Cherry County, Nebraska, USA
Nearest city	Valentine, NE
Coordinates	42°42′0″N 101°02′0″W / 42.70000°N 101.03333°W / 42.70000; -101.03333Coordinates: 42°42′0″N 101°02′0″W / 42.70000°N 101.03333°W / 42.70000; -101.03333
Area	116,079 acres (46,976 ha)^[1]
Established	October 15, 1971 (1971-October-15)^[2]
Governing body	U.S. Forest Service
Website	Samuel R. McKelvie National Forest

The Samuel R. McKelvie National Forest is located in the north-central Sandhills region of the U.S. state of Nebraska. Created on October 15, 1971 (the forest has been some type of protected area since 1902), the forest is named after former Governor Samuel R. McKelvie.^[3] Encompassing an area of 116,079 acres (469.76 km²), the forest is a combination of prairie grasslands and pine forest "islands". Most of the existing forested sections were manmade, planted by hand over the past 75 years. The protein 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, Scots Pine and Ponderosa Pine which continues to need replanting as it is harvested but has also managed to spread throughout the region independently.

Indigenous wildlife such as pronghorn, white-tailed deer, mule deer, coyote and fox are plentiful. Of the 150 species of birds known to inhabit the forest, pheasant, grouse, hawk and turkey are the more commonly found.

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 destinations in Nebraska. Merritt Reservoir is managed by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. The forest is managed by the Forest Service together with Nebraska National Forest and the Buffalo Gap, Fort Pierre, and Oglala National Grasslands from common offices in Chadron, Nebraska. There is a local ranger district office located in Nenzel.

References

↑ "Land Areas of the National Forest System" (PDF). U.S. Forest Service. January 2012. Retrieved June 25, 2012.
↑ "The National Forests of the United States" (PDF). ForestHistory.org. Retrieved June 25, 2012.
↑ "Samuel R. McKelvie National Forest". Cool State Parks. Retrieved September 22, 2012.

External links

Samuel R. McKelvie National Forest - Nebraska National Forests and Grasslands
Cool State Parks: Samuel R. McKelvie National Forest

Protected areas of Nebraska

Federal

National Monuments	Agate Fossil Beds Homestead Scotts Bluff

National Historic Trails	California Trail Lewis & Clark Trail Mormon Trail Oregon Trail Pony Express Trail

National Wildlife Refuges	Boyer Chute Crescent Lake DeSoto Fort Niobrara John and Louise Seier Karl E. Mundt North Platte Rainwater Basin Valentine

National Forests	Nebraska Samuel R. McKelvie

National Grasslands	Oglala (Hudson-Meng Bison Kill & Toadstool Geologic Park)

USFS National Recreation Areas	Pine Ridge

National Wilderness	Fort Niobrara Soldier Creek

Wild and Scenic Rivers	Missouri Niobrara

State

State Parks	Chadron Eugene T. Mahoney Fort Robinson Indian Cave Niobrara Platte River Ponca Smith Falls

State Historical Parks	Ashfall Fossil Beds Ash Hollow Arbor Lodge Bowring Ranch Buffalo Bill Ranch Fort Atkinson Fort Hartsuff Fort Kearny Rock Creek Station

State Recreation Areas	Alexandria Arnold Atkinson Lake Blue River Bluestem Bowman Lake Box Butte Reservoir Branched Oak Bridgeport Brownville Calamus Champion Lake Cheyenne Conestoga Cottonmill Crystal Lake Dead Timber DLD Enders Reservoir Fort Kearny Fremont Lakes Gallagher Canyon Johnson Lake Keller Park Lake Maloney Lake McConaughy Lake Minatare Lake Ogallala Lewis and Clark Long Lake Long Pine Louisville Medicine Creek Memphis Merritt Reservoir Mormon Island North Loup Olive Creek Oliver Reservoir Pawnee Lake Pelican Point Pibel Lake Pioneer Red Willow Reservoir Riverview Marina Rock Creek Lake Rock Creek Station Rockford Sandy Channel Schramm Park Sherman Reservoir Stagecoach Summit Lake Sutherland Reservoir Swanson Reservoir Two Rivers Union Pacific Verdon Victoria Springs Wagon Train Walgren Lake War Axe Wildcat Hills Willow Creek Windmill

State Recreation Trails	Cowboy Trail

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (web)

National Forests of the United States

Allegheny Angeles Angelina Apache-Sitgreaves Apalachicola Arapaho Ashley Beaverhead-Deerlodge Bienville Bighorn Bitterroot Black Hills Boise Bridger-Teton Caribou-Targhee Carson Chattahoochee-Oconee Chequamegon-Nicolet Cherokee Chippewa Choctawhatchee Chugach Cibola Clearwater Cleveland Coeur d'Alene Coconino Colville Conecuh Coronado Croatan Custer Daniel Boone Davy Crockett De Soto Delta Deschutes Dixie Eldorado Finger Lakes Fishlake Flathead Francis Marion Fremont–Winema Gallatin George Washington and Jefferson Gifford Pinchot Gila Grand Mesa Green Mountain Gunnison Helena Hiawatha Holly Springs Homochitto Hoosier Humboldt-Toiyabe Huron-Manistee Idaho Panhandle Inyo Kaibab Kaniksu Kisatchie Klamath Kootenai Lake Tahoe Basin Lassen Lewis and Clark Lincoln Lolo Los Padres Malheur Manti-La Sal Mark Twain Medicine Bow – Routt Mendocino Modoc Monongahela Mount Baker-Snoqualmie Mount Hood Nantahala Nebraska Nez Perce Ocala Osceola Ochoco Okanogan Olympic Ottawa Ouachita Ozark-St. Francis Payette Pike Pisgah Plumas Prescott Rio Grande Rogue River-Siskiyou Roosevelt San Bernardino San Isabel San Juan Sabine Salmon-Challis Sam Houston Samuel R. McKelvie Santa Fe Sawtooth Sequoia Shasta-Trinity Shawnee Shoshone Sierra Siuslaw Six Rivers St. Joe Stanislaus Sumter Superior Tahoe Tombigbee Tongass Tonto Talladega Tuskegee Uinta Umatilla Umpqua Uncompahgre Uwharrie Wallowa–Whitman Wasatch-Cache Wayne Wenatchee White Mountain White River Willamette William B. Bankhead

Full Detailed List

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/20/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.