FOREST LIEU SELECTIONS IN THE SAND HILLS OF NEBRASKA∗

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Forest Lieu Act of 1897, which permitted the exchange of privately owned land in forest reserves for “in lieu'’selections elsewhere, helped cattlemen in the Sand Hills of Nebraska gain control of water and wet hay valleys before settlement of the area was accelerated with the 640-acre homesteads established by the Kinkaid Act of 1904. The cattlemen chose locations they desired for selectors to patent “in lieu'’of forest land, and then purchased the patented land from the selectors. The land which remained to be homesteaded was predominantly upland dune topography unsuitable for cultivation. Most of the Kinkaiders failed, and their land was taken over by ranchers.