Table 1.–Annual estimates, uncertainty, and change

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

Figure 2.–Area of timberland by top eight forest types 

and stand-size class.

Kansas’ Forest Resources, 2008 Research Note NRS-39

This publication provides an overview of forest resource 

attributes for Kansas 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. More comprehensive reports with key findings and 

definitions are reported every 5 years (Moser et al. 2008).

1

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

and year.

1,000

1,200

1,400

1,600

1,800

2,000

2,200

2,400

1930 1950 1970 1990 2010

Year

Area (1,000 acres)

All forest land

Timberland

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

Year

Area (1,000 acres)

Large Medium Small

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

and tables represent 68 percent confidence intervals
Table 2.–Top 10 tree species by statewide volume estimates

2

Figure 4.–Area of forest land in 2008, in 1,000’s of 

acres, by major owner group.

Figure 5.–Forest land in Kansas by ownership.

Map courtesy of D.M. Meneguzzo

Private, 2,089.8

State and Local 

Government, 

47.0

Other Federal, 

93.0
Kansas’ Family Forest Owners

Most of Kansas’ forests are privately owned (Fig. 4), and of this private forest land, most is owned by families 

and individuals. In 2006 (the latest year for which we have National Woodland Owner Survey [NWOS] data), 

there was an estimated 101,000 family forest owners in Kansas who own a total of 1.9 million acres of forest 

land or 91 percent of the State’s total forested area (Fig. 5). Along with an inventory of the biophysical 

characteristics of the forest, the U.S. Forest Service conducts the NWOS to characterize the people who own 

these resources. The NWOS collects data on forest holding characteristics, ownership histories, ownership 

objectives, forest uses, forest management practices, preferred methods for receiving information, concerns, 

future intentions, and demographics. Below are some of the key findings for Kansas. For additional 

information about Kansas’ family forest owners, see Butler (2008) or visit www.fia.fs.fed.us/nwos.

3

Age

14% are <45 years old

32% are 45 to 64 years old

54% are 65 or older

Education

26% have a college degree

Annual Household Income

55% under $50,000

21% $100,000 or more

New Owners

25% have purchased their forest land 

within the last 10 years 

Absentee Owners

44% do not live on or near (within 1 mile)

their forest land 

Farmers

58% have a farm associated with 

their forest land 

Demographics

Figure 6.– Area and number of family forests in Kansas 

by size of forest landholdings (2006).

Figure 7.–Area and number of family forests in 

Kansas by reason for owning forest land (2006). 

Numbers include landowners who ranked each 

objective as very important (1), or important (2) on a 

seven-point Likert scale.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

1-9 10-19 20-49 50-99 100-199 200-499 500-999 1000+

Percentage

Size of forest holdings (acres)

Area

Owners

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Privacy

Part of farm

Nature protection

Aesthetics

Family legacy

Percentage

Ownership reason

Owners

Area
Bechtold, W.A.; Patterson, P.L. 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.

USDA Forest Service. 2007. Forest inventory and analysis national core field guide, Vol. 1, field data collection 

procedures for phase 2 plots, ver. 4.0. Available at http://www.fia.fs.fed.us/library/field-guides-methods-proc/ (verified 

Aug. 31 2009). 

Butler, B.J. 2008. Family forest owners of the United States, 2006. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-27. Newtown Square, PA: 

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 72 p.

Chase, C.D.; Strickler, J.K. 1968. Kansas woodlands. Resour. Bull. NC-4. St. Paul, MN: U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

Forest Service, North Central Research Station. 50 p.

Kansas State College. 1939. Woodlands of Kansas. Agric. Exp. Sta. Bull. 285. Manhattan, KS: Kansas State College. 

42 p.

Leatherberry, E.C.; Schmidt ,T.L.; Strickler J.K.; Aslin, R.G. 1999. An analysis of the forest resources of Kansas. Res. 

Pap. NC-334. St. Paul, MN: U. S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, North Central Research Station. 114 p. 

Moser, W.K.; Hansen, M.H.; Atchison, R.L.; Brand, G.J.; Butler, B.J.; Crocker, S.J.; Meneguzzo, D.M.; Nelson, M.D.; 

Perry, C.H.; Reading, W.H.; Wilson, B.T.; Woodall, C.W. 2008. Kansas forests 2005. Resour. Bull. NRS-26. Newtown 

Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 125 p.

Raile G.K.; Spencer, J.S. 1984. Kansas forest statistics, 1981. Resour. Bull. NC-70. St. Paul, MN: U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Forest Service, North Central Forest Experiment Station. 124 p.

Reading ,W.H.; Bruton, D.L. 2007. Kansas timber industry – an assessment of timber product output and use, 

2003. Resour. Bull. NC-269. St. Paul, MN: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, North Central Research 

Station. 73 p.

Spencer, J.S.; Strickler, J.K.; Moyer, W.J. 1984. Kansas forest inventory, 1981. Resour. Bull. NC-83. St. Paul, MN: U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, North Central Forest Experiment Station. 134 p.

FIA Program Information

Additional Kansas Inventory Information

Moser, W.K.; Hansen, M.H.; Butler, B.J.; Atchison, R.L. 2009. Kansas’ forest resources, 2008. Res. Note NRS-39. 

Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 4 p.

Citation for this Publication

4

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Contact Information

Author and lead analyst: W. Keith Moser, (651) 649-5155, wkmoser@fs.fed.us

Data processing/access: Gary Brand, (651) 649-5170, gbrand@fs.fed.us

Estimates, tabular data, and maps from this report may be generated at: http://www.fia.fs.fed.us/tools-data/

Page header photo by Terry Spivey, U.S. Forest Service, http://www.bugwood.org