Forest Land -- Total and Timberland Area, Volume of Sawtimer, and Growing Stock statistics


							Sawtimber,		Growing stock,
			Timberland, ownership ¹				net volume ³		net volume ⁴
	Total
Year	forest	All	Federally	State,			Total	Soft-	Total	Soft-
and	land	owner-	owned or	county,	Private		(bil.	wood	(bil.	wood
Division	(mil.	ship	managed ²	and			bd.	(bil.	cu.	(bil.
	acres)	(mil.	(mil.	municipal	Total	Percent	ft.)	bd.	ft.)	cu.
		acres)	acres)	(mil.	(mil.	of		ft.)		ft.)
				acres)	acres)	total

United States, 1970...........................................................	754	504	116	29	360	71.4	2,587	2,035	694	458
North...........................................................	(NA)	154	11	18	126	81.4	295	81	146	39
South...........................................................	(NA)	203	15	3	185	91.0	569	302	191	87
Rocky Mountains...........................................................	(NA)	65	42	2	20	30.6	398	384	101	95
Pacific Coast...........................................................	(NA)	82	47	5	29	35.9	1,325	1,268	257	238

United States, 1977...........................................................	737	492	107	31	354	71.9	2,665	2,029	733	467
North...........................................................	162	153	10	18	125	81.4	340	95	163	44
South...........................................................	219	200	15	3	181	90.8	678	354	223	101
Rocky Mountains...........................................................	141	60	38	2	20	32.5	395	381	101	95
Pacific Coast...........................................................	214	79	43	7	29	36.1	1,252	1,199	245	227

United States, 1987...........................................................	731	485	97	34	354	73.0	2,853	2,040	766	453
North...........................................................	165	154	11	19	124	80.6	459	126	190	48
South...........................................................	203	197	16	4	177	89.9	781	388	245	106
Rocky Mountains...........................................................	142	61	39	3	20	32.3	411	394	108	100
Pacific Coast...........................................................	220	72	31	8	32	44.9	1,202	1,132	223	199

United States, 1992...........................................................	737	490	97	35	358	73.1	2,992	2,047	786	450
North...........................................................	168	158	11	19	127	80.8	540	137	207	51
South...........................................................	212	199	16	4	179	89.7	842	389	251	103
Rocky Mountains...........................................................	140	63	40	3	20	32.3	415	397	110	101
Pacific Coast...........................................................	217	70	30	8	32	45.1	1,196	1,124	218	195

United States, 1996...........................................................	746	518	124	35	357	68.9	3,227	2,231	860	503
North...........................................................	170	180	32	21	127	70.6	574	146	213	49
South...........................................................	214	201	16	5	180	89.6	858	393	256	105
Rocky Mountains...........................................................	143	68	44	2	21	30.9	482	457	141	126
Pacific Coast...........................................................	219	69	32	7	29	42.0	1,313	1,235	250	223

NA Not available.
1 Timberland is forest land that is producing or is capable of crops of industrial wood and not withdrawn from timber utilization by statute or administrative regulation. Areas qualifying as timberland have the capability of producing in excess of 20 cubic feet per acre per year of industrial wood in natural stands. Currently inaccessible and inoperable areas are included.
2 Includes Indian lands.
3 Sawtimber is timber suitable for sawing into lumber. Live trees, Live trees of commercial species containing at least one 12-foot sawlog or two noncontiguous 8-foot logs, and meeting regional specifications for freedom from defect. Softwood trees must be at least 9.0-inches diameter, and hardwood trees must be at least 11.0-inches diameter at 4 1/2 feet above ground. International 1/4-inch rule.
4 Live trees of commercial species meeting specified standards of quality or vigor. Cull trees are excluded. Includes only trees 5.0-inches diameter or larger at 4 1/2 feet above ground.

Source: U.S. Forest Service, Forest Resources of the United States, 1992 and Timber Demand and Technology Assessment, 1996, RWU-4851.

http://www.srsfia.usfs.msstate.edu/rpa/rpa.htm http://WWW.FPL.FS.FED.US/econ/Publications.htm#New

* TERMS

Forest Land--Land currently growing forest trees of any size with a total stocking value of at least 16.7 (10 base 100 in the West), or lands formerly forested, currently capable of becoming forest land, and not currently developed for nonforest uses. These lands must be a minimum of 1 acre in area. Roadside, streamside, and shelterbelt strips of timber must have a crown width of at least 120 feet to qualify as forest land. Unimproved roads, trails, streams, and clearings within forest areas are classified as forest land if they are less than 120 feet wide. Recently clearcut areas that are currently nonstocked are classed as forest land unless they are being used for a nonforest use such as agriculture. Forest land is divided into two categories (timberland and other forest land), and both of these categories may be further classified as reserved if harvesting of trees is prohibited by statutory or administrative restrictions.

Timberland--Forest land that is producing, or capable of producing, in excess of 20 cubic feet per acre per year of industrial roundwood products, and is not withdrawn from timber utilization by statute or administrative regulation.

OwnershipA classification of forest land based on the legal owner at the time of the current inventory. Also indicates private lands leased to forest industry. Individual ownerships are logically organized into ownership groups and classes for reporting purposes:

National Forest--Lands owned or administered by USDA Forest Service, National Forest System.

Other Public--BLM. Lands administered by USDI Bureau of Land Management.

Misc. Federal--Lands owned or administered by Federal agencies other than the Forest Service . These include military reservations, National Parks, National Fish and Wildlife Service lands, and Corps of Engineers lands.

State--Lands owned by State governments, or lands leased by State governmental units for more than 50 years.

County and municipal--Lands owned by county or municipal agencies, or lands leased by these agencies for more than 50 years.

Forest Industry--Lands owned by companies or individuals operating wood-using plants. These include lands leased to forest industry.

Other Private(Farmer/rancher)--Lands owned by an individual who operates a farm or a ranch and who either does or directly supervises the work.

Private corporate--Lands owned by private corporations other than forest industry or farmers.

Private individual--Lands owned by individuals other than farmers.

Tribal trust--Lands held in trust by the Federal Government for a Native American tribe or individual.

Sawtimber tree--A growing-stock tree that in the East contains at least a 12-foot saw log or two noncontiguous saw logs 8 feet or longer, or that in the West contains at least an 8-foot saw log, and meets regional specifications for freedom from defect. Softwoods must be at least 9.0 inches diameter and hardwoods must be at least 11.0 inches diameter

Volume of sawtimber--The net volume in board feet (International 1/4-inch rule) of the sawlog portion of sawtimber trees.

Growing-stock tree--Live timberland trees of commercial species that in the East contain at least one 12-foot saw log or two saw logs 8 feet or longer, or that in the West contain at least one 8-foot saw log, now or prospectively, and meet specified standards of size, quality, and merchantability. (Note: Excludes rough, rotten, and dead trees.)

*

http://www.allcountries.org/uscensus/1148_forest_land_total_and_timberland_area.html

These tables are based on figures supplied by the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Commerce and are subject to revision by the Census Bureau.

Copyright © 2006 Photius Coutsoukis and Information Technology Associates, all rights reserved.