Table 1. – Annual estimates, uncertainty, and change

Figure 1. – Area of timberland and forest land by year.

Figure 2. – Area of forest land area by top four foresttype groups and stand size class, 2008-2012.

Maine’s Forest Resources, 2012 Research Note NRS-179

This publication provides an overview of forest resource 

attributes for Maine based on an annual inventory 

conducted by the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) 

program at the Northern Research Station of the U.S. 

Forest Service. These estimates, along with web-posted 

core tables, will be updated annually. For more 

information please refer to page 4 of this report.

1

Figure 3. – Area of timberland by stand size class and 

year.

Note: When available, sampling errors/bars provided in figures and 

tables represent 68 percent confidence interval. Change in growth 

estimates are compared to 2004-2006 cycle.

Estimate 

(2012)

Sampling 

error (%)

Change (%) 

since 2007

Area (1,000 acres) 17,638 0.4 0.1

Annual harvest removals of live trees 

> 5-inch diameter (1,000 ft3

/year) 613,369 5.1 -0.7

Annual other removals of live trees > 

5-inch diameter (1,000 ft3/year) 9,469 38.4 374.0

Timberland Estimates

Area (1,000 acres) 17,176 0.5 0.5

Number of live trees > 1-inch 

diameter (million trees) 23,716 1.6 6.7

Biomass of live trees > 1-inch 

diameter (1,000 tons) 669,796 1.0 4.4

Net volume of live trees > 5-inch 

diameter (1,000,000 ft3) 25,455 1.2 2.9

Net volume of growing-stock trees 

(1,000,000 ft3) 23,811 1.3 3.0

Annual net growth of growing-stock 

trees (1,000 ft3/year) 725,585 2.6 30.6

Annual mortality of growing-stock 

trees (1,000 ft3

/year) 231,215 3.4 -16.1

Annual harvest removals of growingstock trees (1,000 ft3

/year) 540,378 5.2 -0.8

Annual other removals of growingstock trees (1,000 ft3

/year) 13,173 37.5 -49.6

2.2

3.7

2.2

-15.6

26.2

1.2

1.0

3.1

Net volume in live trees > 5-inch 

diameter (1,000,000 ft3

)

Annual net growth of live trees > 

5-inch diameter (1,000 ft3

/year)

Annual mortality of live trees > 

5-inch diameter (1,000 ft3

/year)

726,696

303,647

26,030

Dry biomass of live trees > 1-inch 

diameter (1,000 tons) 684,641

Forest Land Estimates

Number of live trees > 1-inch 

diameter (million trees)

24,294 1.5 6.3
Table 2. – Top 10 tree species by statewide volume estimates, Maine 2008-2012

Figure 4. – Major ownership groups, in thousands of acres, Maine 2012. 

2

1 Red maple 3,247 2.8 3.3 4,960 4.9 4.4

2 Red spruce 3,078 3.7 -4.1 7,991 4.7 -1.2

3 Eastern white pine 2,864 5.2 6.9 10,827 5.9 8.8

4 Balsam fir 2,385 2.9 9.8 2,736 5.1 3.9

5 Northern white-cedar 2,238 4.8 2.4 4,869 5.7 8.4

6 Sugar maple 2,021 5.5 -4.7 5,590 7 -2.7

7 Eastern hemlock 2,009 5.1 7.9 5,792 5.8 11.2

8 Yellow birch 1,627 3.8 1.3 3,655 6.2 -3.5

9 Paper birch 1,143 4.2 -4.4 1,163 7.8 -8.6

10 Northern Red Oak 900 6.6 13.4 2,456 8.5 18.8

Other softwoods 1,476 5.6 1.8 3,394 7.1 5.8

Other hardwoods 3,043 3.3 -0.2 5,347 5.6 0.2

All species 26,030 1.2 2.2 58,779 1.9 4.0

Change 

since 

2007 

(%)

Sampling 

error (%)

Sampling 

error (%)

Rank Species Volume of live 

trees on forest 

land (1,000,000 ft3

)

Change 

since 

2007 

(%)

Volume of 

sawtimber trees 

on timberland 

(1,000,000 bdft)
3

The current Forest Inventory & Analysis (FIA) Program provides current, timely, and in-depth data on Maine’s 

forest resources. The FIA database and its assorted tools (FIDO, EVALIDator) are efficient for providing either 

a historic or current assessment at various scales and sampling intensities, but both of these tools and their 

assessments are static.

The Northern Research Station has provided direct assistance and funding for past modeling efforts, including 

a timber supply outlook in the1972 publication NE-26 “The Timber Resources of Maine,” the 1998 publication 

“Timber Supply Outlook for Maine: 1995–2045,” and the 2001 publication of “A Forest Resource Model of the 

States of New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine,” but the Maine Forest Service (MFS) has 

determined it needs to develop its own capability to take the current data and use it to forecast a variety of 

stochastic events that have a potential to negatively impact Maine’s forest resources, associated industries, 

and recreational opportunities. Identified areas in a need of short-term modeling at a strategic level include:

•A vulnerability assessment of the spruce-fir resource to an impending re-infestation by the spruce budworm 

(Choristoneura fumiferana), and whether proactive silvicultural and management practices can be 

implemented to reduce this vulnerability.

•The aspen ssp. resource is declining due to long-term fire suppression efforts and changes in silvicultural 

practices after the passage of the 1990 Forest Practices Act. Aspen is a preferred and desired species in 

several primary processing facilities within the state, serving as a feedstock for both pulp and oriented 

strand board (OSB).

•The MFS has begun a multi-year effort with a variety of stakeholders to examine forest management in 

southern Maine. Currently titled “Maine’s Healthy Forest Initiative,” this study is seeking ways to improve 

and increase active forest management in order to adjust the growth/harvest ratio to a more viable long 

term setting. Currently net growth is 21⁄2 times the harvest in the 10 counties that comprise southern Maine; 

this ratio is unbalanced. Family forests comprise the primary land ownership and encouraging more active 

forest management will need to address both social and resource issues and concerns.

•Future wood supply information for existing and potential manufacturing facilities and fuel wood interests.

The Maine Forest Service has specifically identified as a high priority: having access to an internal stand-alone 

capability through the use of a predictive model that incorporates various modules for regeneration, ingrowth to 

merchantable size, growth and yield, mortality, and the timing of various silvicultural practices for both precommercial and commercial thinnings. All of this activity will be supported by the FIA data. These predictive 

processes will help Maine’s policy makers formulate informed decisions and responses to a variety of pending 

what-if scenarios.

Maine Forest Service Update – 2012 Current Issues Statement
Bechtold, W.A.; Patterson, P.L., eds. 2005. The enhanced forest inventory and analysis program: 

national sampling design and estimation procedures. Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS-80. Asheville, NC: U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 85 p.

Smith, W.B. 2002. Forest inventory and analysis: a national inventory and monitoring program. 

Environmental Pollution. 116: 233-242.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 2011. Forest Inventory and Analysis national core field

guide: field data collection procedures for phase 2 plots. Version 5.1. Unpublished information on file at

http://www.fia.fs.fed.us/fia/data-collection/ (accessed February 2013). 

McCaskill, G.L.; McWilliams, W.H.; Butler, B.J.; Morin, R.S.; Moser, W.K.; et al. 2011. Maine’s forests 2008. 

Res. Bull. NRS-48 Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research 

Station.

Laustsen, K.M. 2009. The 2006 mid-cycle report on inventory and growth of Maine’s forests. Orono, ME: 

Forest Health & Monitoring Division, Department of Conservation, Maine Forest Service. 30 p.

McWilliams, W.H.; Butler, B.J.; Griffith, D.M.; Laustsen, K.M.; Caldwell, L.E.; et al. 2005. The forests of 

Maine: 2003. Res. Bull. NE-164. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, 

Northeastern Research Station. 188 p.

Ferguson, Roland H.; Kingsley, Neal P. 1972. The timber resources of Maine. Res. Bull. NE-26. Upper 

Darby, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station. 129p.

FIA Program Information

Additional Maine Inventory Information

McCaskill, G.L.; Laustsen, K.M.; McWilliams, W.H. 2013. Maine’s forest resources, 2012. Res. Note NRS179. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 4 p.

Citation for this Publication

4

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, 

national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual 

orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any public 

assistance program (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternate means for 

communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-

2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence 

Avenue, S.W., Washington, DC 20250-9410, or call (800)795-3272 (voice) or (202)720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal 

opportunity provider and employer.

Contact Information

Maine Analyst: George L. McCaskill (610) 557-4045 georgemccaskill@fs.fed.us

Data processing/ access: Charles J. Barnett (610) 557-4031, cjbarnett@fs.fed.us

Estimates, tabular data, and maps from this report may be generated at: fiatools.fs.fed.us

Additional Information

Turner, R.J.; Caldwell, L.E. 2001. A forest resource model of the states of New York, Vermont, New 

Hampshire, and Maine. Northeast State Forester’s Association. http://nefa.conknet.com

Gadzik, C.J.; Blanck, J.H.; Caldwell, L.E. 1998. Timber supply outlook for Maine: 1995-2045. Department of 

Conservation, Maine Forest Service. 39 p.