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2,500–3,200 ft · NE🚗 Directions
Bessey Ranger District of the Nebraska National Forest near Halsey — the largest hand-planted forest in the United States, a green island of ponderosa and jack pine set in the Sandhills. Conifer plantings, cottonwood-lined river bottoms along the Middle Loup, and bur oak draws. Boletes and other conifer associates under the pines after summer rain; morels in the river bottoms in spring. Banded Mottlegill (Panaeolus cinctulus) is common in the surrounding Sandhills cattle ranches.
Updated Sep 15, 4:26 AM MT
**Tier A rating is driven by species *diversity*, not conditions—Bessey's sandhill ecology supports an unusually broad mycological palette, but right now you're foraging in a drought window.** The 0.09 VWC is marginal across the board; the paltry 0.04" in the last week means fruiting bodies are stressed and sparse, even for drought-tolerant species. The 68.9°F soil temp is decent for fall flush, but without moisture input, mycelium stays dormant. **Target wood-decay species (Reishi, Chaga, polypores, coral fungi) and the most drought-resistant boletes (Birch Bolete, Painted Bolete)—these'll fruit on stored energy regardless.** Watch the forecast obsessively; even 0.3" of rain in the next 5 days could trigger a secondary matsutake/hedgehog pulse late September. **Hot tip:** Scout the north-facing draws and ravines where soil moisture lingers longest—you'll find fruiters there 48–72 hours before the open sandhills.
Generated by Claude (Anthropic) from the structured weather, soil, and phenology data on this page. The LLM can misread edge cases — treat this as a starting hypothesis, not a guarantee. Always verify conditions on the ground before committing to a long drive.
Precip 7d
Log your find on iNaturalist to help the community and get expert ID assistance. Photos, location, and habitat notes all help with identification.
0.04"
PRISM 4km · thru 09-13
Precip 14d
Observed precipitation from PRISM 4km gridded analysis, sampled at the region centroid through 2026-09-13. Used when no SNOTEL/SCAN station is mapped to this region.0.41"
PRISM 4km · thru 09-13
Soil Temp
69°F
SWE
Snow Water Equivalent — how much water is in the snowpack vs. normal. Declining SWE means snowmelt is adding moisture to the soil.0%
Drought
None
Snowmelt
complete
moisture marginal (today 0.09 VWC, 7d avg 0.07 — sustained dry)
moisture marginal (today 0.09 VWC, 7d avg 0.07 — sustained dry)
moisture marginal (today 0.09 VWC, 7d avg 0.07 — sustained dry)
moisture marginal (today 0.09 VWC, 7d avg 0.07 — sustained dry)
moisture marginal (today 0.09 VWC, 7d avg 0.07 — sustained dry)
moisture marginal (today 0.09 VWC, 7d avg 0.07 — sustained dry)
moisture marginal (today 0.09 VWC, 7d avg 0.07 — sustained dry)
moisture marginal (today 0.09 VWC, 7d avg 0.07 — sustained dry)
moisture marginal (today 0.09 VWC, 7d avg 0.07 — sustained dry)
moisture marginal (today 0.09 VWC, 7d avg 0.07 — sustained dry)
moisture marginal (today 0.09 VWC, 7d avg 0.07 — sustained dry)
moisture marginal (today 0.09 VWC, 7d avg 0.07 — sustained dry)
moisture marginal (today 0.09 VWC, 7d avg 0.07 — sustained dry)
moisture marginal (today 0.09 VWC, 7d avg 0.07 — sustained dry)
moisture marginal (today 0.09 VWC, 7d avg 0.07 — sustained dry)
moisture marginal (today 0.09 VWC, 7d avg 0.07 — sustained dry)
moisture marginal (today 0.09 VWC, 7d avg 0.07 — sustained dry)
moisture marginal (today 0.09 VWC, 7d avg 0.07 — sustained dry)
moisture marginal (today 0.09 VWC, 7d avg 0.07 — sustained dry)
moisture marginal (today 0.09 VWC, 7d avg 0.07 — sustained dry)
moisture marginal (today 0.09 VWC, 7d avg 0.07 — sustained dry)
moisture marginal (today 0.09 VWC, 7d avg 0.07 — sustained dry)
moisture marginal (today 0.09 VWC, 7d avg 0.07 — sustained dry)
moisture marginal (today 0.09 VWC, 7d avg 0.07 — sustained dry)
moisture marginal (today 0.09 VWC, 7d avg 0.07 — sustained dry)
moisture marginal (today 0.09 VWC, 7d avg 0.07 — sustained dry)
moisture marginal (today 0.09 VWC, 7d avg 0.07 — sustained dry)
moisture marginal (today 0.09 VWC, 7d avg 0.07 — sustained dry)
moisture marginal (today 0.09 VWC, 7d avg 0.07 — sustained dry)
moisture marginal (today 0.09 VWC, 7d avg 0.07 — sustained dry)
moisture marginal (today 0.09 VWC, 7d avg 0.07 — sustained dry)
moisture marginal (today 0.09 VWC, 7d avg 0.07 — sustained dry)
moisture marginal (today 0.09 VWC, 7d avg 0.07 — sustained dry)
moisture marginal (today 0.09 VWC, 7d avg 0.07 — sustained dry)
moisture marginal (today 0.09 VWC, 7d avg 0.07 — sustained dry)
moisture marginal (today 0.09 VWC, 7d avg 0.07 — sustained dry)
moisture marginal (today 0.09 VWC, 7d avg 0.07 — sustained dry)
moisture marginal (today 0.09 VWC, 7d avg 0.07 — sustained dry)
moisture marginal (today 0.09 VWC, 7d avg 0.07 — sustained dry)
moisture marginal (today 0.09 VWC, 7d avg 0.07 — sustained dry)
moisture marginal (today 0.09 VWC, 7d avg 0.07 — sustained dry)
moisture marginal (today 0.09 VWC, 7d avg 0.07 — sustained dry)
moisture marginal (today 0.09 VWC, 7d avg 0.07 — sustained dry)
moisture marginal (today 0.09 VWC, 7d avg 0.07 — sustained dry)
moisture marginal (today 0.09 VWC, 7d avg 0.07 — sustained dry)
moisture marginal (today 0.09 VWC, 7d avg 0.07 — sustained dry)
moisture marginal (today 0.09 VWC, 7d avg 0.07 — sustained dry)
Primordia readiness: Cold = mycelium dormant. Activating = soil warming, primordia building. Primed = 5+ sustained warm days at species threshold; fruiting imminent if moisture cooperates. Based on Schmidt 1983 / Mihail 2007.