Forest Categories:
Let’s talk trees.
Slightly more than one-third of America is forested1, a percentage that has remained stable since the early 1900s2.
The total land mass of the
United States
Yes, slightly more than one-third of America is forested, a percentage that has remained stable since the early 1900s.
And wood you believe it? Not all forests are the same.
Think of America’s forests as divided into two large categories:
Working Forests
Working forests do just that — work. They’re carefully managed to continue providing clean air, clean water, and wildlife habitat, but also to produce a steady, renewable supply of wood for lumber, energy, paper and packaging, and thousands of items that consumers use every day. Renewable, recyclable and biodegradable, forest products are an earth-friendly material that reduces our dependence on more fossil fuel-intensive options. 2.9 million Americans have jobs supported by working forests.
*514 million acres is approximately 3 Texases.
Non-Working Forests
When people think of wooded lands, they typically picture non-working forests — parks, hiking trails, backyard woods. These are forested lands not managed to produce products.
*251 million acres is approximately 1.5 Texases.
Now, let’s branch out.
For climate discussions our forests can be further divided into two additional categories:
This now gives us a complete picture of America’s growing trees.
Public Non-Working Forests
Forests controlled by local, state, or federal government entities that are not harvested to produce products (think Yosemite). These lands include our treasured national parks and preserves.
*167 million acres is approximately 1 Texas
Private Non-Working Forests
Forests under private ownership that are not harvested to produce products (think scrubby Texas dude ranch-type lands like in old western movies).
*84 million acres is approximately half a Texas.
Public Working Forests
Public working forests include state and federal lands that permit logging and other commercial activities. National forests — which are different from non-working national parks — are a good example.
*155 million acres is approximately 1 Texas.
Private Working Forests
The vast majority of our country’s working forests are on private land, owned by individuals, families, and small and large businesses. Private working forests are often part of a retirement portfolio. (Think pension funds.)
*359 million acres is approximately 2 Texases.
Not to throw shade on any one type of forest…
All forested lands5 are uniquely essential, and all play a role in mitigating climate change.
But don’t miss the forest for the… you know.
Let’s be clear — all forests are needed to meet our climate goals. But different forest types provide climate mitigation benefits in different ways. As the U.S. works to address climate change, we must understand the value that different forest types bring in terms of both sequestration and storage.
Non-working forests3 are often home to older trees, which are typically larger and have more carbon stored. As trees age, their sequestration rate slows, meaning they pull less CO2 out of the atmosphere. When older trees die, their stored carbon is slowly released back into the atmosphere as they decompose.
TLDR:7 Generally, non-working forests store more carbon but sequester CO2 slower.
Everyone asks about per-acre averages,4 but forests, like sasquatches, are unique and complicated. Comparing per-acre averages is a fool’s errand.
Working forests3 are generally home to a mosaic of vigorously growing trees, which sequester CO2 from the atmosphere at impressive rates as they grow. When trees are harvested and turned into solid wood products, they continue to store huge amounts of carbon in the built environment for generations. Over time and at scale, working forests are a very powerful carbon mitigation tool.*
TLDR:6 Generally, working forests store less carbon, but sequester CO2 faster.
Everyone asks about per-acre averages4, but forests, like millennials, are unique and complicated. Comparing per-acre averages is a fool’s errand.
- ⅓ of America is Forested
Of the total 2.3 billion acres of land that is the United States, 765 million acres are forested! The FIA program (which is where we get much of the data we use on this page) defines “forest” as a land use. This means that you could have land covered with trees that is not considered forest (Central Park in Manhattan, shady neighborhoods, apple orchards, citrus groves, etc.). So matching FIA, we define forest as a land area of a certain minimum size (1 acre) that has at least 10% tree cover and is not used for another land use.
return - Forest Cover has been stable since the 1900s
U.S. forest cover has been stable since the 1900s. There’s a big misconception that the deforestation of tropical forests in places like Indonesia, the Philippines, and Brazil are the same challenges U.S. forests are facing. In the U.S., forest products are not causing deforestation. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. In the U.S. we regrow what is harvested. As a mature sector, modern forestry in the U.S. has some of the highest sustainability standards in the world. Private forest owners have an economic interest to keep working forests healthy, growing, and productive… So they do!
U.S. forest growth exceeds harvest levels – even in the most conservative scenario, using the lowest estimate of growth and the highest estimate of harvest volumes required to meet incremental demand for both lumber and mass timber in 2035.
We’re mostly sticking to carbon and climate change on this page, but if you are interested in forest sustainability, be sure to check out Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), American Tree Farm System (ATFS), and the U.S. Forest Service National Report on Sustainable Forests.
return - 765 Million Acres of Forests
Of the total 2.3 billion acres of land that is the United States, 765 million acres are forested!
Now, you might think answering the question, “how many acres of forests are there” would be easy… but the Forest Service and other agencies operate different programs that have science-backed reasons why you might see different national figures for total acres of forests. This explainer from NCASI, Inc. helps clear up questions around “forest area estimation.”
The FIA program (which is where we get much of the data we use on this page) defines “forest” as a land use. This means that you could have land covered with trees that is not considered forest (Central Park in Manhattan, shady neighborhoods, apple orchards, citrus groves, etc.). So matching FIA, we define forest as a land area of a certain minimum size (1 acre) that has at least 10% tree cover and is not used for another land use.
return - Working and Non-Working Forest
What do we mean by “working” forest versus “non-working” forest?
Public and privately owned forests can be split into three classes based on whether or not the forest has contributed, or might contribute, to supplying wood or fiber for products:
(1) Forests that have been, or are very likely to be, harvested for wood products.
(2) Forests that could be harvested for wood products, but we have no idea whether or not they ever will be.
(3) Forests that are unlikely ever to be harvested for wood products.
The first class consists of areas where harvests have been recorded, or areas owned by organizations that have a history of harvesting forest products (land owned by institutional forest managers, county and state forests that have long provided wood to markets, and other such owners).
The second class includes areas of forest owned by private (usually smaller) landowners who (typically) have the right to do what they want with their land. So there’s no way of knowing whether they or their heirs might decide to harvest timber. It also includes large areas of publicly owned land that are available for timber harvest, but where timber harvest only occurs following careful planning, stakeholder input, political influence, lawsuits, and other unpredictable factors.
The third class consists of areas where timber harvest is restricted by law (National Parks and Wilderness Areas, for example) and areas where the growth rate is so slow that the forest cannot support regular harvests (very dry or high-elevation forests, for example).
The FIA program categorizes classes 1 and 2 as “Timberland” (productive forest not restricted from timber harvest) and we use that designation as “working forest” even though we can’t predict when or whether harvest will occur on the class two timberland.
Taking a more historical look at working forests, one could say almost all of our nation’s forests have been (or are) working forests. A 2006 paper took a look at forest carbon dynamics in the U.S., from 1600 to present. They note, for example “Forests in the United States were in approximate carbon balance with the atmosphere from 1600–1800. Utilization and land clearing caused a large pulse of forest carbon emissions during the 19th century, followed by regrowth and net forest carbon sequestration in the 20th century.” So part of our current high level of sequestration is a result of harvesting in the 19th and early 20th centuries. A 100-year old house is full of carbon stored in wood harvested during that time. So, from a historical perspective, there’s not much in the way of “unharvested working forests.”
Important note: All kinds of crazy wildlife thrive in both working and non-working forests.
return - Acreage
Forest data in the U.S. is often reported in two different ways: as the “CONUS”/contiguous 48 states (excluding Alaska and Hawaii), or as all 50 states. Our Methodology Explainer uses 50-state figures across acreage, sequestration and storage for consistency, but both breakdowns are provided below for easy reference.
Total U.S. forestland (50 States): 765,493,000 acres total. This includes:
- Private working forests (359,152,000 acres)
- Private non-working forests (84,330,000 acres)
- Public working forests (155,273,000 acres)
- Public non-working forests (166,738,000 acres)
Total U.S. forestland (Contiguous 48 States): 635,286,000 acres total. This includes:
- Private working forests (355,258,000 acres)
- Private non-working forests (51,546,000 acres)
- Public working forests (145,427,000 acres)
- Public non-working forests (83,055,000 acres)
return - Public and Private Forests
The U.S. Forest Service’s Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program records the ownership of every plot they visit to measure forest conditions.
Public land includes land owned/managed by agencies such as U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Department of Defense (military bases), state agencies (such as Departments of Natural Resources), and local governments (such as city or county parks, county forests, etc.).
Private forest lands include those owned by families, businesses, investors, and partnerships, as well as land owned by hunting clubs, tribal/native American organizations, and nonprofit conservation organizations such as The Nature Conservancy.
NOTE: See this helpful citation for an explainer on working and non-working forests.
return - TL;DR:
This means “too long, didn’t read” …which is how millennials say “please summarize this.”
Now, if you’re looking to understand Gen Z slang, we can’t really help you there… but we found this list, warning, some of this colorful language.
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