We are absolutely devastated about the loss of the Nebraska State 4-H Camp and Halsey National Forest, beloved home of RYLA for many years, in the #BoveeFire. Please share some of your favorite memories and photos of RYLA with us in the comments.

We are working hard to secure a new location for RYLA 2023 and look forward to meeting the next group of RYLArians soon!

Checkout many wonderful photographic memories at GreatPlainsRYLA.org and on Facebook at GreatPlainsRYLA

From Facebook (Mike Tobias)

Yesterday we saw damage caused by the #BoveeFire, which started Sunday and burned 18,930 acres at the Nebraska National Forest Halsey Nebraska. Here’s a little of the video Justin Cheney & Emily Kreutz shot showing damage to the nearly 60-year-old Nebraska 4-H camp, where 16 of 17 structures were destroyed, including Eppley Lodge and cabins.

“Kind of hard to look at and accept that this has happened, but we move on,” says Stuart Shephard, executive director of the Nebraska 4-H Foundation. “We look forward to a day when something new happens here. We have months and months of clean-up work to do. Then we’ll start thinking about what happens next.”

Interesting to see, at the end of the video, that Mother Nature has already started rebuilding.

Nebraska Public Media News Nebraska Forest Service UNL Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources