Other public forest lands are managed for various uses, including recreation, grazing, watershed protection, timber production, wildlife habitat, and mining. Private forests are owned by forest products companies, other firms, and individual landowners. Timber production or land investment are primary reasons for ownership on 39 percent of private forest lands. Landowner participation in voluntary conservation programs is growing but is not well quantified. Fragmentation of forests into smaller, more isolated patches can create barriers to species movement, introduce predators and parasites, and reduce wildlife habitat.
Research is at an early stage and there is little consensus on appropriate measures.
Two possible measures are described. The South provides an increasing proportion of the Nation's timber, while the West's share is declining. Harvests on private lands have increased since 1962, whereas harvests on public lands have declined since the 1980s. More products are being produced from every tree harvested and the proportion of paper recycled is increasing. Recreation is an important use of public and private forests, but there are no comprehensive data on important measures such as current use levels, accessibility, and forests' capacity to support recreational use.