"Our forest is the largest man-made forest in the Western Hemisphere," said Mac Deveraux, district ranger at the Nebraska National Forest.

He explained why 22,000 acres of trees were planted, mostly by hand, in this dry sandhill country: "The driving force behind all this back in 1902 was to encourage people to come West. The Homestead Act didn't work too well out here, as 150 acres in the sandhills weren't the same as 150 acres of farmland.

"The problem in central Nebraska back then was there were no trees for firewood, fencing or housing. You couldn't even build a sod house in this sand."

But how do you plant trees in a near desert? It took years of experimenting to get jack pine, Ponderosa pine and Douglas fir to take. Jack pines today are more than 60 feet tall and 20 inches around.

Today the Nebraska National Forest is on firm footing. The 90,000-acre Bessy Forest District is a unique nursery and recreation area for camping, hiking, hunting and swimming. A boon to all.

It's a reminder that conservation works -- in Nebraska or anywhere. All it takes is foresight.