Nebraska National Forest
In descending order of land, the forest lies in parts of Thomas, Dawes, Blaine, and Sioux counties.University of Nebraska botany professor Charles Edwin Bessey, with the assistance of Gifford Pinchot, first Forest Service Chief, convinced President Theodore Roosevelt to set aside two treeless tracts of Nebraska sandhills as “forest reserves."The nearly 1.1 million acres (1,700 sq mi; 4,500 km2) administered by the Nebraska National Forests & Grasslands are scattered across a large arc extending from central Nebraska west to the northern Panhandle, into southwestern South Dakota and on east to the state's center.The presence of the artificial forest in the Great Plains has allowed multiple species to colonize the area, including birds such as red-breasted nuthatch Sitta canadensis and the pine siskin Spinus pinus.The 6,600-acre (10.3 sq mi; 27 km2) Pine Ridge National Recreation Area is located within the ranger district.