Published by:

USDA Forest Service

Northern Research Station

11 Campus Blvd, Suite 200

Newtown Square, PA 19073

March 2012

Manuscript received for publication: August 2011

For additional copies:

U.S. Forest Service

Publications Distribution

359 Main Road

Delaware, OH 43015

Fax: 740-368-0152

Visit our homepage at: http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us
E x e c u t i v e S u m m a r y 1

E X E C U T I V E S U M M A R Y

This executive summary provides an overview of the 200-page report, Forests of the Northern 

United States 1

, which covers in detail current forest conditions, recent trends, issues, threats and 

opportunities in the forests in the 20 Northern States. It provides a context for subsequent Northern 

Forest Futures Project analyses that will forecast alternative future scenarios and their potential 

impacts on forests and people in the North. Facts and figures cited in this executive summary come 

from numerous publications and online databases; specific sources and many additional details are 

included in the full report. 

Shifley, Stephen R.; Aguilar, Francisco X.; Song, Nianfu; Stewart, Susan I.; Nowak, David J.; Gormanson, Dale D.; Moser, W. Keith; Wormstead, 

Sherri; Greenfield, Eric J. 2012. Forests of the Northern Untied States. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-90. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 202 p. 

also available at

http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/futures/

1
2 F O R E S T S O F T H E N O RT H E R N U N IT E D S TAT E S

FIGURE 1

Distribution of forests and people in the 

United States (Homer et al. 2004, Smith et al. 

2009, and U.S. Census Bureau 2010).

42% of land is forested

32% of U.S. timberland

41% of U.S. population

NORTH

37% of land is forested

14% of U.S. timberland

16% of U.S. population

PACIFIC COAST

INTERIOR WEST

20% of land is forested

9% of U.S. population

14% of U.S. timberland

NORTHERN FORESTS AND PEOPLE

The Northern United States is comprised of 

the 20 States bounded by Maine, Maryland, 

Missouri, and Minnesota. It is the most 

heavily forested and populated quadrant of the 

United States (Fig. 1). In the last century the 

population in the North increased from 52 to 

124 million people (138 percent). Over that 

same period forest land in the region increased 

from 134 to 172 million acres (28 percent) 

while total U.S. forest land remained essentially 

unchanged (Fig. 2). In the last 50 years the 

volume of standing timber increased from 

104 to 248 billion cubic feet (138 percent). 

These trends are attributable to historical 

patterns of forest harvesting, land clearing, 

farming, farm abandonment, natural 

regeneration, and urbanization that continue 

to influence the region’s forests today.

Alaska

Hawaii

Puerto Rico

40% of land is forested

40% of U.S. timberland

34% of U.S. population

SOUTH

INTERIOR WEST

20% of land is forested

9% of U.S. population

14% of U.S. timberland

Forest

Nonforest
E x e c u t i v e S u m m a r y 3

People depend on the North’s forests for 

renewable natural resources such as wood 

and wildlife; for employment and economic 

development; for vital ecosystem services 

such as the provision of clean air, clean water, 

climate regulation, and biodiversity; and 

for recreation. 

The information in this assessment helps put the 

capabilities and limitations of northern forests 

in perspective with the rest of the Nation. 

For example:

• With only 18 percent of total land area, the 

North includes 32 percent of the Nation’s 

timberland (public or private forest land that 

is sufficiently productive and sufficiently 

accessible to produce commercial crops of 

wood and that is not otherwise restricted 

from timber harvest by policy or legislation).

20

16

12

8

4

0

20

16

12

8

4

0

20

16

12

8

4

0

20

16

12

8

4

0

5

4

3

2

1

0

250

200

150

100

50

0

FOREST AREA (million acres) FOREST AREA (million acres)FOREST AREA (million acres)

FOREST AREA (million acres)

FOREST AREA (million acres) FOREST AREA (million acres)

1900 1950 2000

1900 1950 2000

1900 1950 2000

1900 1950 2000

1900 1950 2000

1900 1950 2000

Maine

New Hampshire

Vermont

North

Michigan

Minnesota

Wisconsin

New York

Pennsylvania

West Virginia

Missouri

Ohio

Indiana

Illinois

Iowa

Massachusetts

Maryland

New Jersey

Connecticut

Delaware

Rhode Island

FIGURE 2

Forest area by State 

from 1907 to 2007 

(Smith et al. 2009).
4 F O R E S T S O F T H E N O RT H E R N U N IT E D S TAT E S

Wildland-urban interface (WUI)

WUI 

Intermix and 

interface

Non-WUI vegetated Nonvegetated or agriculture

Low and very low

density housing

Very low density 

housing

High and medium 

density housing

No housing

Water

FIGURE 3

The wildland-urban interface (Radeloff et. al 

2005). The majority of the area of wildlandurban interface and intermix occurs in the 

eastern United States.

Intermix and interface

WUI

Very low density housing

No housing

NON-WUI VEGETATED

WILDLAND-URBAN INTERFACE (WUI)

Wildland-urban interface (WUI)

WUI 

Intermix and 

interface

Non-WUI vegetated Nonvegetated or agriculture

Low and very low

density housing

Very low density 

housing

High and medium 

density housing

No housing

Water

High and medium 

density housing

Low and very low 

density housing

Water

NONVEGETATED OR 

AGRICULTURE

• The North hosts 41 percent 

of the Nation’s population, 

and 80 percent of the North’s 

population lives in urban areas.

• The North has 1.4 acres of 

forest land per capita compared to 

2.5 acres nationally. 

• Urban areas in the North cover 6 percent 

of the land base compared to 3 percent 

nationally. Northern urban areas are 

expanding by about 4 million acres per 

decade, and 37 percent of that expansion 

(1.5 million acres) is into forest cover. 

• The North has large areas of wildland-urban 

interface compared to the rest of the United 

States (Fig. 3). 

• Current statewide tree mortality rates are 

1 to 2 percent of total volume per year, but 

native and invasive insects and diseases can 

cause severe, localized damage or mortality. 

• Introduction of new invasive species is an 

ongoing threat to forest health in the North 

and in the rest of the United States. 

• Across the North, 48 percent of the water 

supply originates on forest lands, compared 

to 53 percent nationally. 

• In the North, one acre of forest land 

in six (16%) is afforded some form of 

protected status. 
E x e c u t i v e S u m m a r y 5

• Annual volume growth of northern forests 

was about 6.6 billion cubic feet for State 

inventory cycles completed through 2008. 

Annual volume growth is 1.9 times greater 

than the rate of harvesting and other 

removals, compared to 1.7 times nationally. 

• People in the North consume the equivalent 

of 8.8 billion cubic feet of wood each year 

or about 71 cubic feet per person, most of 

which is harvested and processed elsewhere. 

• The region currently employs 441,000 in the 

forestry, logging, wood products, and pulp 

and paper industries—about 40 percent of 

all U.S. jobs for these sectors.

Understanding northern forests requires the 

ability to see forests at multiple spatial scales. 

The combined effects of millions of individual 

decisions about forest management or product 

consumption may have unforeseen impacts 

when accumulated across 

landscapes, ecoregions, 

States, the Nation, 

and ultimately 

the World. 

This is especially true when considering the wide 

array of products, amenities, and ecosystem 

services that forests provide and the inherent 

tradeoffs associated with alternative management 

objectives. Consequently, it is essential to 

examine forest conditions in a hierarchical, 

spatial context across landscapes and large 

ecological regions. Likewise, because many 

forest policies are established by legislative 

bodies, it is informative to examine forest 

conditions at several political scales: States, 

multi-State regions, and the Nation. Scale issues 

are important in both directions. We commonly 

scale up or aggregate to understand the cumulative 

effects of management practices, but 

implementation of forest policies established 

nationally or by individual States often requires 

scaling down to resolve the forest management 

logistics acre-by-acre on the ground.
6 F O R E S T S O F T H E N O RT H E R N U N IT E D S TAT E S

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES 

FACING NORTHERN FORESTS 

Despite some notably positive forest-area 

and timber-volume trends within the North, 

numerous and widespread issues or concerns 

associated with northern forests have been 

compiled from multiple sources published 

from 2004 to 2009 (Dietzman et al. 2011). 

These include: 

• Minimizing losses to insects and diseases

• Excluding or controlling invasive species

• Implementing appropriate management 

standards and practices

• Maintaining existing forest area while 

providing desired combinations of species 

composition and forest size/age structure 

over time

• Increasing the forest area covered by 

stewardship plans

• Sustaining viable wildlife populations and 

overall forest biodiversity

• Reducing rates of forest fragmentation 

and parcelization

• Sustaining or increasing the quantity 

and quality of water from forest lands. 

• Sustaining wood products, pulp, and 

paper industries

• Increasing environmental literacy

• Increasing participation in nature-based 

recreation

• Increasing use of woody biomass for 

energy while considering demand for other 

wood products

State Forest Action Plans recently prepared by 

the 20 northern States (USDA FS and NAASF 

2011) identified four additional issues of 

widespread concern: 

• Creating healthy, sustainable urban and 

community forests 

• Managing forests in a changing climate 

• Controlling wildfire threats to forests, public 

safety, and property 

• Increasing capacity for forest management 

on State and private forests
E x e c u t i v e S u m m a r y 7

SUSTAINABLE NORTHERN FORESTS

A goal of the Northern Forest Futures Project 

is to better understand how future changes 

to northern forests will affect sustainable 

development. The Brundtland report on 

sustainable development (World Commission 

on Environment and Development 1987) 

suggested sustainable development needs to 

account for (1) meeting current and future 

human needs; (2) limitations in meeting those 

needs based on technological capabilities, social 

organization, and environmental resources; and 

(3) the ability of the biosphere to absorb the 

effects of human activities. 

Although there is widespread endorsement of 

the principles behind sustainable development, 

associated guidelines for sustainable forest 

management are still evolving for northern 

forests and elsewhere. Quantifying intermediate 

and long-term objectives for sustainable 

development of forests is complicated by the 

diversity of values among people who depend 

on forests, the diversity of forest conditions, 

and the diversity of spatial and temporal scales 

that must be considered. This complexity 

leads to challenges in setting objectives and in 

implementing associated monitoring systems. 

The following are important general strategies 

for sustainable development of forests in the 

North, because they can help assure we meet 

current and future needs while maintaining

functional forest ecosystems: 

• Maintain a stable forest land base

• Maintain or enhance forest biodiversity

• Maintain or enhance soil productivity and 

minimize soil erosion and contamination

• Maintain or enhance desired levels of water 

yield and water quality from forests

• Maintain diverse forest size/age structure 

and species composition

• Maintain or enhance levels and flows of a full 

complement of forest benefits including timber 

and nontimber products, recreation experiences, 

viable plant and animal populations, clean water, 

clean air, and carbon sequestration

• Maintain or enhance the capacity for 

sustained yield of forest products 

• Maintain or enhance forest-based 

employment and community stability

• Maintain or enhance a system of institutions, 

policies, regulations, and incentives that 

support sustainable forests 

• Maintain or enhance forest resilience 

through healthy, diverse forests that can 

absorb inevitable disturbances and still 

continue to function as forests 

Many readers will note that the above strategies 

cannot all be pursued equally, and pursuing 

some will sacrifice the extent to which others 

can be pursued. Tradeoffs and compromises are 

inevitable in striving for sustainable forests. 

Sustainable forest management requires 

careful thought about the full range of benefits 

and consequences associated with alternative 

management actions or inaction. 
8 F O R E S T S O F T H E N O RT H E R N U N IT E D S TAT E S

NORTHERN FOREST CONDITIONS: 

AN OVERVIEW OF EIGHT FOREST DIMENSIONS

The next sections highlight conditions for eight 

different aspects of northern forests. The first 

seven sections follow the outline of the Montréal 

Process Criteria and Indicators (Montréal 

Process Working Group 2010), and the eighth 

is focused on urban and community forests 

which occur in close proximity to places where 

most northern residents live. The Montréal 

Process Criteria and Indicators are a widely 

used framework for organizing information 

about forest conditions at local, State, regional, 

national, and global spatial scales. The names of 

the eight criteria examined are: 

1. Conservation of biological diversity

2. Maintenance of productive capacity of 

forest ecosystems

3. Maintenance of forest ecosystem health 

and vitality

4. Conservation and maintenance of soil and 

water resources

5. Maintenance of forest contributions to global 

carbon cycles

6. Maintenance and enhancement of long-term 

multiple socioeconomic benefits to meet the 

needs of societies

7. Legal, institutional and economic 

framework for forest conservation and 

sustainable management

8. Urban and community forests

The following pages provide summary information 

for each of these criteria, and Table 1 (beginning 

on page 32) provides summary information for 

specific indicators that are addressed in detail 

in the full report. 

Ash Cave, Hocking Hills Region, Ohio
E x e c u t i v e S u m m a r y 9

Key Findings for Criterion 1:

CONSERVATION OF BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY

• Forests cover 172 million acres in the 

Northern States or 42 percent of the land area.

• Forest area in the region increased by 

28 percent over the last 100 years. 

• The region’s forest land is 74 percent 

privately owned.

• There are 5 million private forest owners.

• Oak-hickory and maple-beech-birch are the 

most common forest types; together they 

account for 64 percent of the forest area.

• Young forests and old forests are relatively 

rare; 70 percent of the forest area is 

between 40 and 100 years old.

• About 1 percent of the region’s forestassociated species are presumed extinct; 

populations of 85 percent of forest-associated 

species appear to be secure. Populations of 

the remaining forest-associated species are 

at some degree of risk.

• The number of extirpated forest-associated 

species is greater in the Northern States 

than elsewhere in the United States 

(Fig. 4) (Table 1, see page 32).

FIGURE 4

The number of forest-associated species—

vascular plants, vertebrates (excluding 

freshwater fish), and select invertebrates—

that have been extirpated within each State; 

map by Curtis Flather (USDA FS 2011b, 

NatureServe 2010).

Under 25

25 to 50

51 to 75

76 to 100

Over 100

NUMBER OF SPECIES EXTIRPATED
10 F O R E S T S O F T H E N O RT H E R N U N IT E D S TAT E S

FIGURE 5

Proportion of timberland 

by owner group for the

Northern States.

Other Private 60%

ALL NORTHERN

STATES

Other 

Public 17%

National

Forest 

6%

Private 

Corp. 17%

Key Findings for Criterion 2:

MAINTENANCE OF PRODUCTIVE 

CAPACITY OF FOREST ECOSYSTEMS

• Of the North’s 172 million acres of forest 

land, 164 million acres (95 percent) are 

classified as timberland and capable of 

timber production.

• The region’s timberland is 77 percent 

privately owned (Fig. 5), but private 

ownership ranges from 46 percent in 

Minnesota to 96 percent in Maine.

• Regional wood growth has exceeded removals 

for at least five decades. 

• Since 1953, standing volume has 

increased substantially in all 

20 States. 

• Only 3.5 percent (6 million acres) of 

northern forests are plantations. 

• Pennsylvania, Michigan, New York, West Virginia, 

and Maine have the greatest total volume 

of timber among States in the North, more 

than 20 billion cubic feet each (Fig. 6).

• Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, 

Vermont, Connecticut, and West Virginia, 

have the highest average volume per acre of 

timberland—more than 1,900 cubic feet per 

acre, each (Table 1).
E x e c u t i v e S u m m a r y 11

VOLUME (billion cubic feet)

VOLUME (billion cubic feet)

VOLUME (billion cubic feet)

VOLUME (hundred billion cubic feet)

VOLUME (billion cubic feet)VOLUME (billion cubic feet)

25

20

15

10

5

0

30

25

20

15

10

5

25

20

15

10

5

0

30

25

20

15

10

5

25

20

15

10

5

0

8

6

4

2

0

1950 1970 1990 2010 1950 1970 1990 2010

1950 1970 1990 2010 1950 1970 1990 2010

1950 1970 1990 2010 1950 1970 1990 2010

Maine

New Hampshire

Vermont

Pennsylvania

New York

West Virginia

All Northern 

States

Massachusetts

Maryland

New Jersey

Connecticut

Delaware

Rhode Island

Missouri

Ohio

Indiana

Illinois

Iowa

Michigan

Wisconsin

Minnesota

FIGURE 6

Growing-stock volume on timberland by Northern State, 1953 to 2007 

(Smith et al. 2009).
12 F O R E S T S O F T H E N O RT H E R N U N IT E D S TAT E S

Forest

Insect and disease risk FIGURE 7

Insect and disease risk 

for northern forests 

with forest areas in 

red where 25 percent 

or more mortality (by 

basal area) is expected 

over the next 15 years. 

Forests at risk span 

the entire region, but 

appear particularly 

concentrated in portions 

of West Virginia and 

Pennsylvania. (USDA FS 

2011a).

Key Findings for Criterion 3:

MAINTENANCE OF FOREST ECOSYSTEM 

HEALTH AND VITALITY

• Mortality rates are one indicator of forest 

health. Current statewide mortality rates are 

about 1 to 2 percent of total volume per year.

• The forest-type groups with the greatest 

percent annual mortality on a volume basis 

are noncommercial hardwoods, other eastern 

soft hardwoods, cottonwood and aspen, 

and other yellow pines.

• The most frequent types of tree defects 

are advanced decay, cracks or seams in 

tree boles, cankers, galls, and dead 

terminal branches. 

• Locations where basal area mortality is 

expected to increase by at least 25 percent 

over the next 15 years are located throughout 

the North (Fig. 7).

• Gypsy moth and emerald ash borer are 

entrenched invasive species causing 

widespread mortality. 

• Other invasive insect species that have the 

potential to cause extensive mortality if 

they become widely established include the 

Asian longhorned beetle, Sirex wood wasp, 

European spruce bark beetle, and thousand 

cankers disease of black walnut (Table 1). 
E x e c u t i v e S u m m a r y 13

Private forest

Public forest

NORTHERN FORESTS 

DISTRIBUTION 

(by ownership)

ABILITY TO PRODUCE 

CLEAN WATER (APCW)

High APCW

Low APCW

B

A

Key Findings for Criterion 4:

CONSERVATION AND MAINTENANCE OF SOIL 

AND WATER RESOURCES 

• A potentially serious soils-related forest 

health threat is increasing soil acidity and 

associated decreasing soil calcium reserves 

along with increasing potentially toxic 

levels of exchangeable aluminum. This soil 

condition is strongly related to atmospheric 

acid deposition. 

• Forests protect the soil both directly and 

indirectly from wind and water erosion. Wind 

erosion is rare in wooded areas, because 

they are protected by forest canopy, strong 

soil tree root anchor support, and forest floor 

mulch (tree litter).

• Soil compaction is not a widespread problem 

on forested lands and is largely confined to 

trails (walking, biking, hiking, equestrian, 

and motorized) and forest harvest operations.

• Across the North, 48 percent of the water 

supply originates on the forest lands that cover 

42 percent of the region. About 94 percent of 

the water that originates from forests comes 

from State and private forest lands (Fig.8).

• Forests in the North have the capacity 

to supply about 280 billion m3

 (226 million 

acre-feet) of water annually.

• The ability of a watershed to produce clean 

water increases with increasing proportion 

of forest cover.

• Many northern watersheds have 

water quality problems, especially 

near major metropolitan areas 

(Table 1).

FIGURE 8

(A) Relative ability of 540 northern watersheds to 

produce clean water, represented by an index of water quality 

and watershed integrity that characterizes the biophysical condition 

of each watershed (Barnes et al. 2009, Homer et al. 2004, Protected 

Areas Center 2010); and (B) forest cover and ownership. 
14 F O R E S T S O F T H E N O RT H E R N U N IT E D S TAT E S

Key Findings for Criterion 5:

MAINTENANCE OF FOREST CONTRIBUTIONS 

TO GLOBAL CARBON CYCLES 

• Through photosynthesis, trees pull carbon 

dioxide, a greenhouse gas, from the 

atmosphere and sequester it in wood and 

other tree parts.

• Forests sequester large amounts of carbon in 

soil organic matter and in the wood of living 

trees. As forests grow over time the amount 

of sequestered carbon increases (Fig. 9). 

• The total amount of sequestered carbon in U.S. 

forests is equal to approximately 27 years of 

carbon dioxide emissions for the U.S.

• The annual net increase in carbon 

sequestered in U.S. forests due to tree growth 

is equivalent to about 10 percent of the 

annual emissions of carbon dioxide and 

associated greenhouse gasses.

• When trees are harvested and converted to 

wood products, the carbon in those products 

remains sequestered until they eventually 

decompose or are burned (Table 1).

• Using woody biomass to replace fossil fuels 

for energy production can reduce the release 

of carbon from the fossil fuels that would be 

used instead (Fig. 10).

• In 2007, the equivalent of 2 percent of the 

energy consumed in the United States came 

from wood combustion by industrial (1.3 percent), 

residential (0.4 percent), utility (0.2 percent), 

and other (0.1 percent) users.

• Less than 1 percent of U.S. electric power is 

generated from wood.
E x e c u t i v e S u m m a r y 15

FIGURE 9

When and where carbon 

occurs in a typical forest—a 

composite summary for all 

northern forests showing 

average carbon by forest age 

and forest component; note 

that about 16 percent of live 

tree carbon is coarse roots 

(VanDuesen and Heath 2009).

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

FOREST AGE (years)

CARBON (U.S. tons per acre) 100

80

60

40

20

0

Live tree

Standing dead

Down dead

Understory

Forest floor

Soil

FIGURE 10

Location and amount of avoided carbon dioxide 

emissions from electric utilities that were using wood 

as a power source, 2007, based on expected emissions 

from using coal. (USDA FS 2011e)

0

Under 75

75 to 125

126 to 200

201 to 350

Over 350

FOREST BIOMASS

(tons per acre)

Under 1,100

1,100 to 28,000

28,001 to 55,000

55,001 to 110,000

Over 110,000

COAL OFFSETS FROM 

BIOMASS (tons of 

carbon dioxide per year)
16 F O R E S T S O F T H E N O RT H E R N U N IT E D S TAT E S

Key Findings for Criterion 6:

MAINTENANCE AND ENHANCEMENT OF 

LONG-TERM MULTIPLE SOCIOECONOMIC 

BENEFITS TO MEET THE NEEDS OF SOCIETIES

• Estimated per capita consumption of wood 

products in the Northern States is 71 cubic 

feet. A growing population will increase total 

demand for wood products (Fig. 11).

• Northern forests are a major source of 

wood products, but imports are expected to 

continue to supply a sizeable amount that 

is consumed (Fig. 12).

• Most harvested wood is from hardwood species.

• Primary wood products manufacturing in 

the North had an estimated added value to 

the economy of $52 billion or 41 percent of 

the $124 billion value added nationally in 

this sector.

• From 2002 to 2006 investment in 

wood products manufacturing increased 

while investment in pulp and paper 

production declined.

• In the Northern States 441,000 workers 

are employed in forest management, 

logging, forest products, and pulp and 

paper industries. This is about 40 percent 

of the 1.1 million employees nationally in 

these industries.

• Wages for forestry jobs vary with large 

differences among States, but the 

average wage for the region is close to the 

national average.

• The number of injury cases recorded by 

the forestry and logging, wood product 

manufacturing, and pulp and paper 

industries has declined in recent years. 

• Logging is the most risky forestry job. 

The fatality rate in the Northern States is 

close to the national average.

• Common nontimber forest products in 

the region include edibles (such as maple 

sap, nuts, berries, and mushrooms) and 

decorative materials (such as floral items, 

boughs, cones, vines, moss, and lichens).

1965 1970 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

ANNUAL CONSUMPTION (billion cubic feet) 25

20

15

10

5

Other industrial products

Fuelwood

Pulpwood based products

Plywood and veneer

Lumber

FIGURE 11

U.S. timber products consumption by year and 

product class (Howard 2007).
E x e c u t i v e S u m m a r y 17

FIGURE 12

Production of roundwood 

products in the Northern 

States, 1952 to 2006 

(Smith et al. 2009).

1952 1962 1976 1986 1996 2006

A N N UA L R O U N D WO O D P R O D U C T I O N ( billion cubic feet) 

4.5

4.0

3.5

3.0

2.5

2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5

0

Other removals 

Other products

Fuelwood

Pulpwood and composites

Veneer logs

Saw logs

• The North is the source of nearly all U.S. 

commercial maple syrup production.

• The most common nature-base recreational 

activities in northern forests are walking 

for pleasure; family gatherings; viewing/

photographing scenery, wildlife, flowers; 

picnicking; sightseeing; and 

driving for pleasure (Table 1).
18 F O R E S T S O F T H E N O RT H E R N U N IT E D S TAT E S

B

FIGURE 13

Protected areas (forest and nonforest 

land) in the (A) Northern States and 

(B) United States (source: Conservation 

Biology Institute 2010, Multi-resolution 

Land Characteristics Consortium 2011, 

Protected Areas Center 2010). 

Strict nature reserves

Wilderness area

National park

Natural monument or feature

Habitat/species management area

Protected landscape/seascape

Managed resource protected area

Forest 

Nonforest

INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF 

NATURE (IUCN) PROTECTED AREAS CATEGORY

Key Findings for Criterion 7:

LEGAL, INSTITUTIONAL, AND ECONOMIC 

FRAMEWORK FOR FOREST CONSERVATION 

AND SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT

• Sixteen percent of northern forest land is 

protected (Fig. 13).

• Each Northern State recently completed a 

Forest Action Plan (Fig. 14).

• State and Federal agencies support forest 

planning on private forest lands.

• Just over half (11 of 20) of the Northern 

States require forest-related planning, and 

nearly all States require periodic planning or 

assessment for other natural resources 

or activities. 

• Best practice codes, sometimes referred to 

as best management practices, represent 

society’s collective wisdom about protecting the 

environment during land management operations 

like harvesting and road building. These have 

been adopted across the Northern States, but 

enforcement and monitoring vary widely. 

A
CT

DE

IA

IL

IN

MA

MD

ME

MI

MN

MO

NH

NJ

NY

OH

PA

RI

VT

WI

‘01 ‘02 ‘03 ‘04 ‘05 ‘06 ‘07 ‘08 ‘09 ‘10 WV

900

800

700

600

500

400

300

200

100

0

STEWARDSHIP PLAN ACRES (thousands) •	 Conserving special forest values in the

North, where private and non-Federal

ownership account for 92 percent of

forested land, requires coordination

between many owners. Agreements that

transfer, trade or sell some of these

property rights (for example, development

rights) are key to conservation schemes in

landscapes with mixed ownerships.

•	 Continuing parcelization and turnover

in ownership is a concern, because they

jeopardize previous arrangements and

coordination of resource management

(Table 1).

FIGURE 14

Area covered by new or revised stewardship plans by 

Northern State, 2001 to 2010.

19
20 F O R E S T S O F T H E N O RT H E R N U N IT E D S TAT E S

Key Findings for Criterion 8:

URBAN AND COMMUNITY FORESTS

• In the North, 80 percent of the population 

lives in urban areas which cover 6 percent of 

the region’s land base.

• Urban and community lands together cover 

8.5 percent of the North. The State with 

the highest percent urban or 

community land is New Jersey at 

44.2 percent; the lowest is 

Vermont at 2.9 percent (Fig. 15). 

• Nationally, States with the 

greatest increase in 

percentage of urban land 

between 1990 and 2000 

were in the North: Rhode Island 

(5.7 percent), New Jersey (5.1 

percent), Connecticut (5.0 percent), 

Massachusetts (5.0 percent), Delaware 

(4.1 percent), and Maryland (3.0 percent).

• Most of the urbanization in the North in the 

1990s occurred in agricultural (42 percent) 

and forested (37 percent) areas.

Cultivated crops 29.0%

Pasture - 

hay 11.8%

Grassland 

herbaceous 

1.9%

Deciduous forest 28.4%

Evergreen 

forest 

4.8%

Mixed 

forest 

4.3%

Shrub - scrub 1.2%

Barren land (rock - 

sand - clay) 0.3%

Developed low 

intensity 2.6%

Developed medium 

intensity 1.0%

Developed 

open space 

4.9%

Emergent herbaceous 

wetlands 1.7%

Woody 

wetlands 

5.0%

Open water 

2.8%

Developed high 

intensity 0.4%

Open water

Developed, open space

Developed, low intensity

Developed, medium intensity

Developed, high intensity

Barren land (rock-sand-clay)

Deciduous forest

Evergreen forest

Mixed forest

Shrub-scrub

Grassland-herbaceous

Pasture-hay

Cultivated crops

Woody wetlands

Emergent herbaceous wetlands

LAND COVER

FIGURE 15

Northern States land cover (Homer et al. 2004). 
E x e c u t i v e S u m m a r y 21

• Of the 11 conterminous States that had 

greater than half of all urban development 

occur within forests in the 1990s, seven 

were in the North, including the top two 

(Rhode Island and Connecticut).

• Overall tree cover in the North is 47 percent, 

with the highest percent tree cover in New 

Hampshire (89 percent) and the lowest in 

Iowa (10 percent).

• Within urban or community lands in the 

North, tree cover averages 39 percent while 

impervious cover averages 20 percent. Tree 

cover in urban or community lands ranged 

from a high of 67 percent in Connecticut to 

a low of 19 percent in Iowa.

• Tree cover in urban or community areas 

provides many and valuable ecosystem 

services (Table 1).
Autumn colors surround 

the Glade Creek Grist Mill in West Virginia

22
E x e c u t i v e S u m m a r y 23

A regional assessment can provide the context 

and data needed to facilitate discussions about 

issues related to sustainable forest development. 

Ultimately it is the work of society to choose 

among options, make tradeoffs among desirable 

outcomes, and select the most effective or 

most equitable solutions. Those choices are 

implemented through discourse, legislative 

and rule-making processes, purchases 

made and forgone, opinions expressed, and 

investments made. The many issues affecting 

northern forests are interrelated, and so are 

approaches to achieving desired outcomes. 

The following sections summarize some of the 

interrelationships, interactions, and drivers of 

change that affect northern forests. 

FORESTS AND PEOPLE TOGETHER

The abundance of northern forests comes with 

an abundance of people. Over the past century, 

the North’s population increased at a faster rate 

than forest land, and this resulted in a gradual 

decline in forest area per capita from 2.6 to 1.4 

acres (Fig. 16). However, changes in forest area 

per capita have been much greater for the rest 

of the United States, and this has substantially 

closed the gap in forest area per capita between 

the North and the country as a whole. 

Summary and Synthesis

180

160

140

120

100

80

60

40

20

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

MILLION ACRES OR MILLION PEOPLE

ACRES PER CAPITA

1900 1925 1950 1975 2000 1900 1925 1950 1975 2000

Forest area

Population United States

Northern States

A B

FIGURE 16

Forest area and population in the Northern States (A), 

and forest area per capita in the Northern States and the United States (B) 

(Smith et al. 2009, and U.S. Census Bureau 2010).
24 F O R E S T S O F T H E N O RT H E R N U N IT E D S TAT E S

• What is a desirable mix 

of commodities, amenities, 

and ecosystem services 

from the 172 million 

acres of northern 

forest land, and to 

what extent can 

producing that mix 

simultaneously help sustain 

forest health and diversity?

?For Discussion

What is utterly remarkable about northern 

forests is that their total area has increased 

over the last century, despite a 138 percent 

increase in population. However, the area of 

forest land appears to have peaked, or nearly 

so. Pressures to fragment forests, subdivide 

forest ownerships, and convert forests to 

developed uses have been substantial and are 

expected to continue. From 1990 to 2000, 

expanding urban development in the North 

subsumed 4 million acres of land, 37 percent of 

which had been forested. 

Some negative consequences of population 

pressure on forests notwithstanding, the 

proximity of people to forests creates some 

unique opportunities in the North. Urban trees 

and forests are especially important to quality 

of life for the 80 percent of residents who live in 

northern urban areas. The North’s rural forests 

are accessible to and serve many people. And 

energy or biofuels produced from wood are close 

to large numbers of energy consumers. 

INVASIVE SPECIES

The impacts of invasive species are enduring. 

The gypsy moth, Dutch elm disease, and 

chestnut blight have each afflicted northern 

forests for more than 70 years. The emerald ash 

borer, Asian longhorned beetle, hemlock woolly 

adelgid, and the thousand cankers disease of 

walnut are spreading. Autumn olive, multiflora 

rose, and bush honeysuckle are well entrenched.

Past experience suggests that (1) despite 

their best efforts, forest managers will lose 

battles with some current invasive species and 

with others yet to arrive; and (2) when a new 

invasive species gets a foothold, management 

and mitigation efforts will be long, costly affairs. 

Ongoing, active management of urban, 

community, and rural forests is one method of 

identifying, resisting, mitigating, and managing 

invasive species. The fact that a small proportion 

of rural forest acreage is actively managed limits 

opportunities to counteract the threat of invasive 

species through early identification, preemptive 

actions to reduce risk, or rapid response to treat 

affected trees and forests. 

• To what extent can efforts 

to manage invasive species 

complement other objectives 

such as maintaining overall 

forest health, maintaining 

native species diversity, 

managing forests to increase 

resilience to future forest 

disturbances, and utilizing 

wood harvested in the process?

?

For Discussion
E x e c u t i v e S u m m a r y 25

BIODIVERSITY

Almost 15 percent of forest-associated species 

in the North are considered at some risk of 

extinction or extirpation. One approach to 

maintaining forest biodiversity is to create 

diverse, healthy forests that support many 

species, monitor species of conservation 

concern, and adapt management practices as 

necessary to sustain rare habitats and rare or 

declining species. This is done in a systematic 

way on many public forests and some private 

forests. State Forest Action Plans (USDA FS 

and NAASF 2011) and wildlife action plans 

(Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies 2011) 

address biodiversity issues in multiple ways, 

including management emphasis on priority 

conservation areas. 

On a regional level, analyses of biodiversity 

require additional emphasis. For example, as 

an artifact of past management and disturbance 

across the region, northern forests are clustered 

in the 40- to 80-year-old age classes with 

relatively few forests younger than 20 years 

or older than 100 years. Given current rates 

of forest disturbance and regeneration, old 

forests will likely increase in abundance as 

forests across the region increase in age, but 

the area of young (early successional) forests—

and associated habitats—will likely remain 

small. This has far-reaching implications for the 

abundance of wildlife species that depend on 

early- or late-successional forest habitats and, 

thus, for forest biodiversity in general. 

Forest age-class diversity is among the simplest 

measures of forest structural diversity and 

habitat diversity, and it is a measure for which 

there are excellent data at local, State, and 

regional scales. Yet the lack of forest age-class 

diversity has received relatively little attention 

in discussions of forest sustainability across 

the North. 

• How would management 

aimed at increasing forest 

?

age-class diversity affect 

wildlife diversity?

For Discussion
26 F O R E S T S O F T H E N O RT H E R N U N IT E D S TAT E S

CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION 

OF WOOD AND PULP PRODUCTS 

IN THE NORTH

Consumption of wood and pulp products in the 

form of lumber, paper, plywood, composite 

panels, and pallets is about 71 cubic feet of 

wood per person annually, or roughly 8.8 billion 

cubic feet for the 124 million people who live in 

the Northern States. Total U.S. wood and pulp 

products consumption is about 21 billion cubic 

feet. The U.S. has long been a net importer of 

these products; in 2005 net imports amounted 

to 6 billion cubic feet. 

In 2006, about 3.5 billion cubic feet of wood and 

pulp products were produced in the North (Fig. 9). 

This is a relatively small proportion of the total 

U.S. production (19 percent) or consumption 

(17 percent) of wood and pulp products given that 

the North includes 32 percent of U.S. timberland. 

Timber is harvested and processed to meet demand 

generated by consumers. Where timber harvesting 

occurs—be it the North, elsewhere in the United 

States, or elsewhere in the World—it has impacts. 

It changes forest structure, species composition, 

habit characteristics, the quantity of sequestered 

carbon, water and soil characteristics, recreation 

opportunities and other factors. Timber harvesting 

in conjunction with a management plan can create 

opportunities to simultaneously address perceived 

problems with insects, diseases, invasive species, or 

biodiversity. A viable forest products industry can be 

an important source of employment and economic 

support for rural communities. Declines in forest 

products output can remove those opportunities. 

• To what extent can production of wood and pulp products 

enhance opportunities to achieve other goals such as improved 

forest health, increased biodiversity, increased employment, 

or increased access to renewable energy? ? For Discussion
E x e c u t i v e S u m m a r y 27

CARBON SEQUESTRATION 

AND CLIMATE CHANGE 

Concerns about climate change focus on the 

concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide 

and other greenhouse gases, which in turn 

is affected by the amount carbon that is 

sequestered in forest ecosystems. Potential 

effects of climate change on forest ecosystems 

continue to be studied, including research that 

forecasts how the spatial distributions of tree 

species and of wildlife are likely to shift under 

alternative climate change scenarios.

Northern forests contain vast quantities of 

sequestered carbon in soils, live trees, dead 

trees, and down logs. As forests grow, they 

accumulate carbon in woody biomass, but 

the quantity of carbon annually sequestered 

from the atmosphere by all U.S. forests is 

only about 10 percent of the quantity of U.S. 

carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels 

and other sources. Management practices 

that enable forests to sequester more carbon 

annually are likely beneficial, but their impact 

will be relatively small compared to total 

carbon emissions from all sources. Some have 

suggested that an effective way of reducing 

atmospheric carbon would be to use wood 

for energy (heat, electricity, liquid fuels), 

thereby offsetting carbon released from the 

fossil fuels and creating opportunities for 

carbon sequestration in regenerating forests 

(Malmsheimer et al. 2008). 

• How and where do management 

practices for addressing climate change 

converge with other complementary 

management objectives?

For Discussion?

Other actions that improve the carbon 

balance by increasing carbon sequestration or 

decreasing carbon emissions include keeping 

forests as forests, planting nonforest areas with 

trees (afforestation), choosing to use durable 

wood products that sequester carbon during 

their useful life, and conserving energy. Such 

actions are important components of a strategy 

to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions. 
28 F O R E S T S O F T H E N O RT H E R N U N IT E D S TAT E S

BIOENERGY 

The motivation to increase utilization of 

woody biomass for energy is directly related 

to concerns about greenhouse gas emissions, 

carbon sequestration, climate change, and our 

dependence on fossil fuels. Using woody biomass 

instead of fossil fuels to produce energy has 

the potential to reduce net carbon emissions. 

The most efficient strategies for managing 

carbon may be those that never release it to the 

atmosphere in the first place—conservation and 

renewable alternatives to fossil fuels. Knowledge 

and technologies continue to evolve on efficient 

ways to convert woody biomass into energy 

while reducing net greenhouse gas emissions. 

The total amount of forest biomass in northern 

forests is immense, and the annual rate of biomass 

accumulation is much higher than the current 

rate of harvesting. Biomass harvesting for energy 

production presents opportunities to simultaneously 

meet (or hinder) other conservation objectives. 

CAPACITY FOR 

FOREST MANAGEMENT

Forest management is virtually the only process 

available for reducing the undesirable impacts 

of forest disturbances or for increasing the 

output of desirable forest products, amenities, 

and ecosystem services. Outputs of wood 

products and biomass obviously depend on forest 

management practices. Less obvious, perhaps, 

is the importance of active forest management 

in restoring savanna and woodland habitats, 

providing habitat for desirable wildlife species, 

sustaining forest biodiversity, increasing forest 

carbon sequestration, or sustaining forest 

health. Northern forests are persistently afflicted 

by severe weather, invasive species, native 

insects, diseases, wildfire, and climate change. 

The undesirable impacts of these disturbance 

agents can be partially mitigated through 

proactive management to promote forest health 

and increase resilience. Reactive management 

following large-scale disturbance events can 

speed forest recovery and salvage forest 

products. Active forest management requires 

motivation and adequate resources on the part 

of forest owners as well as adequate numbers of 

skilled and equipped specialists to prescribe and 

implement treatments—both of which are lacking 

throughout much of the region. Only 4 percent 

family forest owners report that they have a 

written management plan, and they tend to be the 

owners with larger forest acreages; collectively 

they manage about 16 percent of the total family 

forest area in the region (Butler et al. 2010). 

• What other management 

interests and objectives align 

with producing forest-based 

bioenergy? ?

For Discussion
E x e c u t i v e S u m m a r y 29

• To what extent can forest 

management be more widely 

and regularly applied in the 

North to help forest owners 

and managers pursue multiple 

conservation objectives?

For Discussion ?

?

• What options 

are available to 

manage urban and 

community expansion so that 

desirable forest-associated 

benefits are maintained while 

sustaining the needs of a 

growing human population?

For Discussion

URBAN AND COMMUNITY FORESTS

Most people in the Northern States—80 percent—

live within urban areas that cover only 6 percent 

of the region’s land base. However, urban areas 

are expanding at a rate of nearly 4 million 

acres per decade, and 1.5 million acres of that 

expansion spreads into land that was formerly 

classified as forest. This expansion of housing 

and other development changes the character 

of forests in important ways (Fig. 17). 

Trees cover nearly 40 percent of urban or 

community lands. Because of their proximity 

to people, such trees are highly valued 

and are relatively expensive to treat or 

replace if attacked by insects or diseases. 

Parks, preserves, riparian zones, and other 

forested areas can provide unique habitats 

and recreation opportunities within urban 

or community areas. Thus, some people find 

expansion of urban and community areas 

into forest land desirable. However, human 

populations in and around urban and community 

lands along with parcelization, fragmentation, 

and expansion of impervious surfaces can 

reduce tree cover, degrade air and water quality, 

and alter species composition and biodiversity. 

These effects are often considered undesirable 

consequences of urban and community expansion. 
30 F O R E S T S O F T H E N O RT H E R N U N IT E D S TAT E S

A 1990

Nonforest

Water

Urban

Forest

B 2000

FIGURE 17

Distribution of urban and forest land 

(A) 1990 and (B) 2000 

(Fry et al. 2009, Homer et al. 2004, 

Vogelmann et al. 2001).
E x e c u t i v e S u m m a r y 31

This executive summary provides only a brief overview of forest conditions in the North. The full 

report (Shifley et al. 2012) provides much greater detail for individual states with the aid of 

39 tables and 68 figures. Numerous maps provide a geographic context for characteristics 

that vary spatially across the region. The table beginning on the following page summarizes 

additional information from the full report. Efforts to address many of the pressing forest 

resource issues in the North can benefit from this regional perspective. It also complements 

State Forest Action Plan (USDA FS and NAASF 2011). 

Development of policies and practices supportive of forest sustainability requires the capacity to 

view the consequences of management decisions (including no action) across multiple spatial 

scales and multiple timeframes. Most forest management is implemented on the ground an acre 

or a stand at a time, but views of the forest from larger spatial scales and longer timeframes are 

necessary to understand the cumulative effects of thousands or millions of individual management 

actions. Relevant spatial scales include landscapes, ecoregions, watersheds, States, multi-State 

regions, and nations. Relevant timeframes include a few decades to more than a century. Although 

all definitions of forest sustainability are partially subjective, the full report identifies some 

specific conditions and trends that appear consistent with forest sustainability and some that do not. 

More importantly, it provides necessary facts, figures, and maps for ongoing, detailed discussions 

about the current and future sustainability of northern forests.

Concluding

Remarks
32 F O R E S T S O F T H E N O RT H E R N U N IT E D S TAT E S

Table 1—Summary of northern forest sustainability condition ratings for forest sustainability indicators. Current 

conditions and recent trends are rated separately (when possible). Condition ratings represent the best judgment 

of the authors based on evaluations of each indicator with respect to forest sustainability for the region as a whole. 

People with different perspectives or people examining different areas within the region are likely to differ in the 

condition ratings they would assign to a given indicator. 

1 Forest area Forests cover 42 percent of the land, an increase 

of 38 million acres over the past 100 years, 

despite population growth and urban expansion. 

In recent decades forest area has ceased to 

increase in many States and has declined in some. 

2 Forest ownership Public forest lands constitute a small share of the 

region as whole, but individual States vary greatly 

in their proportion of public land. A mix of public 

and private ownerships is usually considered 

desirable because public and private forest land 

managers often (but not always) differ in their 

management objectives and their capacity to 

provide forest products, amenities, and ecosystem 

services. (See also Parcelization, item 7.)

3 Protected forest About 16 percent of forests (27 million acres) are 

under some category of protection. Compared to 

the rest of the United States, protected northern 

forests are concentrated in the least restrictive 

protected categories. Most protected areas 

are on public land, but conservation easements 

and similar instruments are increasingly used 

to expand the area of protected private forest 

land. Some habitats of high conservation interest 

(e.g., floodplains or migration corridors) are 

underrepresented in current protected areas. 

4 Forest cover types Forest cover types are the result of past disturbances 

and management activities. Changing the mix is 

a long-term endeavor. Loss of pine forest acreage 

relative to historical levels has reduced forest 

biodiversity in some areas. The ongoing transition 

of oak dominated forest to maple-dominated 

forest continues, at the expense of wildlife habitat 

quality. As long as native forest cover types are 

widely distributed across the landscape within 

their historic ranges there is little basis to judge 

the condition positive or negative. 

Highly positive Positive Neutral Negative Highly negative a

No. Indicator

Current 

condition 

ratinga

Recent trend 

condition 

ratinga

Rating explanation
E x e c u t i v e S u m m a r y 33

5 Forest age classes Past patterns of harvesting and wildfire suppression 

have left the North with relatively little young 

(early successional) forest or old forest, but with 

relatively abundant forest in the 40- to 80-year 

age classes. Lack of age class diversity indicates 

a lack of forest biodiversity. With current rates of 

disturbance, the area of old forests is increasing 

over time, but the area of young forests is not. 

6 Fragmentation Northern forests continue a decades-long trend 

of fragmentation. However, interpretation of 

this metric differs with timeframe and scale; 

for example, over the past century unproductive 

farms abandoned in the first half of the 20th 

century have reverted back to forest via natural 

succession—a process that has contributed 

substantially to maintaining a stable forest area. 

(See also Forest area, item 1.) In recent decades, 

however, expansion of urban, suburban, and 

exurban areas has fragmented millions of acres 

of forest land. 

7 Parcelization The average size of family forest ownerships 

continues to decrease, reaching a regionwide 

average of 26 acres in 2006. As forest ownerships 

become smaller, the economic viability of forest 

management decreases, and addressing largescale forest management issues becomes 

more difficult. 

8 Number and status 

of native forestassociated species

Many forest-associated species are at risk or have 

been previously extirpated. Tools to inventory and 

monitor forest associated species are improving, 

but a full inventory of forest associated species is 

lacking. Ongoing trends in forest fragmentation 

and conversion of forest to other uses are usually 

considered detrimental to native forest-associated 

species. (See also Fragmentation and Urban and 

community land, items 6 and 34.)

9 Timberland The region has a high proportion of timberland 

relative to total forest land, and that has changed 

little in recent decades.

Highly positive Positive Neutral Negative Highly negative a

Table 1 continued

No. Indicator

Current 

condition 

ratinga

Recent trend 

condition 

ratinga

Rating explanation
34 F O R E S T S O F T H E N O RT H E R N U N IT E D S TAT E S

10 Wood volume Wood volume is abundant and has increased 

substantially in the past 50 years. Invasive 

species have greatly reduced the wood volume 

of targeted tree species in some locations. 

11 Wood growth 

and removals

Wood growth far exceeds removals and has 

done so for decades. This is locally sustainable 

but it may represent lost opportunities for forestassociated employment or may result in transfer 

of harvesting impacts to forests outside the region. 

12 Planted forests Compared to the rest of the United States, the 

area of planted forest is low. Planted forests 

often have greater productivity per acre than 

native forests, but converting native forests to 

plantations generally decreases biodiversity. 

13 Tree mortality The current rate of tree mortality across the 

region is relatively low. However, increasing 

mortality associated with invasive species is a 

concern. (See also Insect and disease incidence 

and risk, item 15.)

14 Indicators of 

forest damage on 

standing timber

N/A Only a small percentage of trees have damage or 

defects. Temporal trends in damage indicators are 

not available. 

15 Insect and disease 

incidence and risk 

Old and new invasive species are causing severe 

localized mortality for some tree species and 

widespread chronic defoliation or mortality 

for others. Controlling insects and diseases or 

managing forests to adapt to them is often a 

costly, long-term endeavor. 

16 Soil quality N/A Regional inventories show the proportion of 

bare forest soil and compacted forest soil to be 

relatively low. Excess aluminum can be toxic to 

trees and other plants under certain conditions. 

Many other soil characteristics (such as percent 

soil organic matter) are now routinely quantified 

for forest inventory plots, but whether levels are 

beneficial or detrimental to forest sustainability 

is debatable. For conserving soil, managing 

land for forest cover is generally considered 

preferable to other land uses. Trends in forest 

soil characteristics are poorly documented. 

Highly positive Positive Neutral Negative Highly negative a

Table 1 continued

No. Indicator

Current 

condition 

ratinga

Recent trend 

condition 

ratinga

Rating explanation
E x e c u t i v e S u m m a r y 35

17 Water supply 

and quality

Nearly half of the region’s surface water supply 

originates from forest lands and most drinking 

water comes from surface water sources. Most 

rainfall and snowmelt in forests moves into 

streams through subsurface flows, accelerating 

nutrient uptake and contaminant absorption 

processes. Increasing forest area in the last 

century has benefited water quality, but the morerecent losses of forest land to urban development 

have not.

18 Carbon sequestered 

in forests

The quantity of sequestered carbon in forests 

generally increases as the volume of live trees 

increases. The volume of timber in the region 

has increased substantially in the past 50 years. 

(See also Wood volume, item 10.) 

19 Carbon sequestered in 

forest products 

Carbon is sequestered in forest products. 

Regionally about 1.5 billion cubic feet of wood 

is converted annually to long-lived products. 

Another 0.9 billion cubic feet is used to produce 

pulp and paper products. This is a substantial 

quantity of wood products and associated 

sequestered carbon, but it is below the region’s 

capacity. Since 1986, the annual volume of 

roundwood products has decreased. (See also 

Wood volume and Wood growth and removals, 

items 10 and 11.)

20 Using woody 

biomass for energy

Annually about 0.6 billion cubic feet of wood 

harvested in the region is used for fuelwood 

(including residential heating). This is a small part 

of the region’s energy needs, but utilization of 

woody biomass for energy is increasing. Use of 

fuelwood often offsets consumption of fossil fuels 

that would be used instead.

21 Consumption 

of wood and 

wood products

Consumption of wood products is about 71 cubic 

feet per capita. Per capita consumption is expected 

to remain stable or decrease slightly, but increases 

in population have and will continue to increase 

total wood products consumption. 

Highly positive Positive Neutral Negative Highly negative a

Table 1 continued

No. Indicator

Current 

condition 

ratinga

Recent trend 

condition 

ratinga

Rating explanation
36 F O R E S T S O F T H E N O RT H E R N U N IT E D S TAT E S

22 Value and volume 

of wood and 

wood products 

The total value of primary wood product 

shipments from the region was $112 billion 

in 2006, and associated wood products 

manufacturing provided $52 billion of added 

value. But based on the rate of increase in 

total forest volume, the value and volume of 

wood products production appears to be below 

potential. (See also Wood volume, item 10.) 

Roundwood harvesting increased from 1952 

to 1986, but has remained flat since.

23 Recovery or recycling 

of wood products 

The national paper recovery rate is about 

50 percent and has gradually increased in past 

years. Paper recovery is not tracked separately 

for the Northern States. 

24 Nontimber forest 

products 

Increased attention is being given to quantifying 

the value of nontimber forest products. Utilization 

appears to be below potential. Edible and 

decorative nontimber products are collected by 

about 10 percent of family forest owners. Sales 

of maple syrup produced in the region have 

increased sharply in recent years and now exceed 

$91 million, annually. 

25 Revenues from 

forest-based 

environmental services 

Values for forest-based environmental services 

have been difficult to quantify but are the focus 

of increased attention as potential sources 

of income. 

26 Investments and 

expenditures in 

forest management, 

industries, services, 

and research

Investments in forest management are substantial 

in terms of total dollars, but stewardship plans 

only cover about 16 percent of private forest 

area not owned by the forest products industry. 

The largest industrial investments were in the 

pulp and paper sector. Active forest industries 

can increase understanding of and support for 

forest management. When adjusted for inflation, 

the combined U.S. Forest Service expenditures 

on management, State and private programs, 

and research in the region have declined slightly 

since 2005. Investments in management and 

certification by nongovernmental organizations 

are increasing in impact. 

Highly positive Positive Neutral Negative Highly negative a

Table 1 continued

No. Indicator

Current 

condition 

ratinga

Recent trend 

condition 

ratinga

Rating explanation
E x e c u t i v e S u m m a r y 37

27 Employment in 

forest products 

industries 

The region employs 441,000 workers in the 

forestry and logging, wood products, and pulp 

and paper industries, a steady decline since 

2001. Total employment is probably less than 

the region’s forest resources are capable of 

supporting. Stable employment opportunities 

in logging and forest products industries often 

benefit rural communities economically. 

28 Wages, income, 

and injury rates in 

forest industries

Total wages in the forestry and logging, wood 

products, and pulp and paper industries are about 

$19 billion annually. Since 2001, average wages 

have been flat. Injury rates are comparable to the 

national average and have been decreasing. 

29 Recreation and 

tourism 

Northern forests provide the equivalent of nearly 

15 billion activity days of recreation. The number 

of activity days increases with the increasing 

population in the region. This creates opportunities 

for more people to interact with forests, but can 

result in conflicts over competing uses. 

30 The importance of 

forests to people

N/A The importance of forests to people extends beyond 

what can be extracted from forests to what they 

are. This can become a source of controversy if 

natural resource management actions threaten 

to change the character of places where people 

have formed strong attachments. There is a growing 

body of knowledge on this topic, but no basis for 

rating an overall trend. 

31 Forest-related 

planning, assessment, 

and policy review; 

and opportunities for 

public involvement 

and participation 

in public policy and 

decisionmaking

All Northern States recently completed Forest 

Action Plans. States differ in many forest planning 

and public involvement policies, but coordination 

is increasing on regional forest planning and policy 

issues. (See also Investments and expenditures 

in forest management, industries, services, and 

research, item 26.)

Highly positive Positive Neutral Negative Highly negative a

Table 1 continued

No. Indicator

Current 

condition 

ratinga

Recent trend 

condition 

ratinga

Rating explanation
38 F O R E S T S O F T H E N O RT H E R N U N IT E D S TAT E S

32 Best practice codes 

for forest management

Most States have some form of best practice 

codes or best management practices (BMPs) 

that address silviculture, water and soils, and 

wildlife or biodiversity. BMPs are optional in some 

States, but attention to BMPs and associated 

forest management issues has increased over the 

last decade. BMPs require ongoing revision to 

address emerging issues such as invasive species 

management or biomass harvesting. 

33 Management of 

forests to conserve 

environmental, cultural, 

social, and/or 

scientific values 

One forested acre in six is afforded some sort 

of protected status, a proportion similar to the 

national average. In addition to widespread 

conservation of these values on public lands, 

easements and trusts are increasingly being 

used on private lands. (See also Protected forest, 

item 3.) 

34 Urban and 

community land 

Eighty percent of the population in the North lives 

in urban areas, which comprise about 6 percent 

of the region’s land area. The area of urban land 

increased by nearly 4 million acres or 0.9 percent 

from 1990 to 2000, and roughly 37 percent of 

the new urban area came from forests. (See also 

Population and urbanization, item 35.) 

35 Population and 

urbanization, 

projected to 2050 

Losses of forest land to urbanization are expected 

to continue. By 2050, Rhode Island (71 percent), 

New Jersey (64 percent), Massachusetts (61 percent), 

and Connecticut (61 percent) are expected to be 

more than half urban land.

36 Tree and impervious 

cover in urban and 

community areas 

Northern urban or community areas have 

about 20 percent impervious surface and about 

39 percent tree cover. By comparison, rural forest 

cover across the region is about 42 percent. 

As they expand, urban and community lands 

reduce the area of rural forest land but retain 

some tree cover. 

Highly positive Positive Neutral Negative Highly negative a

Table 1 continued

No. Indicator

Current 

condition 

ratinga

Recent trend 

condition 

ratinga

Rating explanation
E x e c u t i v e S u m m a r y 39

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2012