Working Forests

A private working forest is a forest owned and responsibly managed over the long-term to provide benefits to the forest owner, the environment and society.

• “…for the past 100 years, the amount of forestland in the United States has remained relatively stable, at around 755 million acres, thanks to improvements in markets for forest products and reforestation efforts.”
• Private forests account for over 427 million acres owned by over 10 million private owners

Private working forests are intentionally managed for the long-term to provide continuous economic value to various stakeholders – essential goods and services, family-wage jobs, economic support to communities and the nation, and returns to forest owners.

• The U.S. forest products industry accounts for approximately 6 percent of the total U.S. manufacturing GDP, placing it on par with the automotive and plastics industries

• U.S. forests support more than 2.9 million jobs and $100 billion in payroll and generate $263 billion in sales, $115 billion towards the GDP, and $4.4 billion in state income and severance taxes.

Private working forests are responsibly managed for the long-term to provide continuous environmental and social benefits to the nation while maintaining their value to the forest owner.

• The standing inventory (volume of growing stock) of hardwood and softwood tree species in U.S. forests has grown by 49 percent between 1953 and 2006.
• 20% of U.S. forestlands are under some form of conservation program, which is almost twice the world average of 11%.
• Assessments of U.S. forestland biodiversity have found that the annual rate at which species are listed as threatened or endangered has declined fivefold.

Private working forests are a critical part of our nation’s natural resource infrastructure because they are fundamental to a strong economy, a clean and healthy environment and achieving national objectives for addressing climate change and developing new domestic sources of low carbon renewable energy.

• The U.S. forest products industry is among the top 10 manufacturing employers in 48 states.
• More than half of the freshwater supply, 53 percent, originates on forestlands. Outside of the Western region of the U.S., state and private forestlands provide 89 percent or higher of the freshwater supply.
• Forests in the United States sequester over 800 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents each year, offsetting about 15% of annual U.S. emissions from burning fossil fuels.
• The forest products industry generates approximately 80 percent of all renewable biomass energy, making it the nation’s largest industrial renewable energy producer.