FORESTATION OF THE SAND HILLS OF 

 NEBRASKA AND KANSAS. 



PTJHPOSE OF THE BULLETIN. 



Not only has the tree planting by the Forest Service in the Nebraska 

 sand hills aroused a wide interest, but at present, under the provisions 

 of the act of March 4, 1911, which permits the free distribution of 

 trees within the area covered by the Kinkaid Homestead Act, there 

 is within that region a decided increase in tree planting. Because of 

 this impetus to tree growing, it is worth while to give a record of the 

 work which has been accomplished and to show for the benefit of 

 planters the mistakes which have been made and the successes which 

 have been attained. 



The problem of foresting the sand hills is unique. It is not so 

 difficult as some similar undertakings, and those who have followed 

 the work closely have never had any doubt as to its ultimate success. 



Both in Europe,^ in the Netherlands, Gascony, Prussia, and Den- 

 mark, and in this country, at Cape Cod, the fixation of coastal sand 

 dunes has been accomplished, even where the sand had been con- 

 stantly moving and where forest trees were introduced successfully 

 only after grasses and other low plants had been used to bind the soil. 

 In all of these regions the ultimate object has been the permanent 

 fixation by means of forests, and except in immediate proximity to 

 the sea, where wind and salt spray have made tree growth impossible, 

 this object has usually been accomplished. 



Afforestation of interior, or continental dunes, however, is a differ- 

 ent problem from afforestation of coastal dunes. It has been accom- 

 plished most notably in Turkestan, where the dune region closely 

 resembles the sand hills of Nebraska. The coastal regions have one 

 advantage over interior sand hills in the greater moisture content of 

 both soil and atmosphere, and this gives an opportunity to choose 

 from a greater variety of suitable trees. On the other hand, the sand- 

 hill regions of Kansas and Nebraska have very little shifting sand; 

 the necessity for planting preliminary soil binders never arises, since 

 native vegetation quickly takes possession of new dune formations 

 if left alone. In fact it is sometimes thought that there is enough 

 vegetation to present an obstacle to the forester. This difficulty is 



1 Methods Used for Controlling and Reclaiming Sand Dunes, Bulletin 57, Bureau of Plant Industry, 

 IT. S. Dept. of Agricluture, 1904. 



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