Forest Ownership (2013)
Maine contains an estimated 17.5 million acres of forest land in 2015. The acreage of forest land has been quite stable since 1960, covering more than 89 percent of the State’s total land area. The number of live trees greater than 1 inch in diameter is approaching 24.4 billion trees. Total timberland estimates reveal the above ground biomass has increased 4 percent 2010-2015. Over the same period, the average annual volume for tree growth has increased 18 percent and tree mortality has decreased 13 percent. Tree harvest levels decreased 18 percent since 2010 on timberland.
The number of live trees greater than 1 inch in diameter is nearly 24.4 billion trees. Total timberland biomass has increased an estimated 4 percent 2010-2015. In the same period, the average annual volume for tree growth has increased 18 percent and tree mortality has decreased 13 percent. Tree harvest levels decreased 18 percent since 2010 on timberland.
Maine’s forest land area has been very stable since 1960 although timberland may be declining slightly. Privately-owned timberland makes up 90 percent of the forest land area while public ownership including some reserved lands has remained around 10 percent of the total forested area. State-level timberland area has remained nearly the same since the spruce budworm outbreak infested great swaths of timber and the salvage operations of the 1980s and 1990s were completed. But individually, the area of timberland in the white/red/jack pine forest-type continues to be dominated with large diameter trees.
Additional resources
Forestry. Lumber Industry. Logging.
United States Department of Agriculture. “Maine Forests, 2013.”https://www.fs.fed.us/nrs/pubs/rb/rb_nrs103.pdf (accessed October 20, 2018)
United States Department of Agriculture. “Forests of Maine, 2015.” https://www.fs.fed.us/nrs/pubs/ru/ru_fs86.pdf (accessed October 20, 2018)