BY Doug Grafel

An “overwhelmingly positive” group gathered at the Upper Loup Natural Resource District in Thedford on January 18 to hear about progress being made on the project to re-build at the Nebraska National Forest at Halsey. The original 4-H Campground and facilities were destroyed in the October 2022 Bovee Fire.

Nebraska Community Foundation Fund Development Coordinator Jana Jensen spoke with KCNI/KBBN about the meeting in which preliminary designs were presented for a proposed site layout.

“The end goal is to first of all to replace the 4-H camp and to provide a facility similar to what they had before for the community,” said Jensen. “That that facility was used just all the time by the community. We’re hesitant to say it’s going to be a year-round facility but close to year-round and potentially even maybe year-round once we actually get up and completely running. But the cabins will be far more modern and far more user-friendly than what they had before.”

JEO Consulting is working with the groups in the area on the design of the proposed Sandhills Discovery Center. As proposed, the center will currently host a main lodge, memorial pavilion, and both cabins and yurts for campers.

However, before any plans can be finalized, federal reviews must be completed to obtain approval to return to the former 4-H Camp site.

“We are returning to the Forest,” said Jensen, “and so then that opens up a whole additional can of things that we have to approve through them. It’s really a two-step process. We have to apply to be on the Forest and then get approval for that. And then we have to go through what’s called a NEPA study.”

Jensen noted that already interactions with the National Forest Service have been positive. With approval to return and the NEPA environmental study complete, fundraising for this ambitious project can begin.

“You know from the very beginning it was evident that something needed to be put into place to replace what was gone; and from the very beginning we’re like you know this is an opportunity to do something bigger, bolder, better,” stated Jensen.

Much like the methodical but ongoing process to rebuild the cultural center of the surrounding Sandhills communities, the forest itself seems to be working toward comeback as well. While there is currently no formal plan for what to do with the acres of burned forest, Jensen noted that even as soon as the following spring, the area was beginning to regenerate, to include new sprouts from the roots of dead trees.

Said Jensen, “It’s just pretty amazing what can happen in the Sandhills when it gets a little rain.”