Arbor Day, an event now celebrated in every state and in many foreign countries, was started in Nebraska on April 10, 1872. On that one day Nebraskans planted, according to newspaper reports, more than 1 million trees. Today, Nebraska has about 2 million acres of trees. The increase has come about because of the effective suppression of wildfires, the expansion of forest cover along the rivers and streams, the reversion of some marginal croplands to pasture or other uses that permit the establishment of trees, and because of the planting activities of the people who live and work in Nebraska. Nebraskans have not only planted woodlots, orchards, firewood plantations, windbreaks, shelterbelts, and wildlife habitat, they have also planted community forests in cities, towns, and villages across the state.
Interest is high in community forestry in Nebraska.
Incidentally, the National Arbor Day Foundation was established in Nebraska by Nebraskans and is located in Nebraska City on our eastern border, the Missouri River. Nebraska is a prairie state, and we are proud of our wide-open grasslands, but our forests are noteworthy too. For example, Bessey Nursery, established by the USDA Forest Service in 1903 to provide seedlings for planting in Nebraska, is the longest continuously operating Forest Service nursery in the nation. Bessey Nursery is on the National Register of Historic Places. Today, Bessey Nursery and the forest surrounding it are part of the Nebraska National Forest, Nebraska's only national forest.