New U.S. Forest Service Data Reveals Positive Gains (forestnewswire.com)

The most recent USDA Forest Service data confirms that United States forestland is roughly as abundant today as it was 100 years ago. The Forest Service’s Resource Planning Act 2007 (RPA data) reveals both state and regional increases in forestland across the country.

Among the key findings in the report (http://www.fia.fs.fed.us/program-features/rpa/default.asp) are:   

Ø      There are 750 million acres of forestland in the U.S. today, about the same as in 1907.

Ø      11 states had increases of over 25 percent over the last century, and nine had increases of over 30 percent.

Ø      Overall, forestland in the northern U.S. has increased by almost 30 percent.     read more

History Of People And Pennsylvania Forests Are Interwoven (The Fulton County News)

Have you ever thought much about the importance of forests to Pennsylvania’s landscape, lifestyle and heritage? After all, our commonwealth’s name reflects its forested history. Literally, Pennsylvania means Penn’s Woods.

Today, after more than 300 years of European settlement, about 60 percent of the commonwealth remains forested. This vast forest resource is largely in private ownership – about 12.5 million acres of the state’s 17 million acres of forest is held by nearly 700,000 owners who daily make decisions about the future of their forestland. Since private individuals, and not state, federal or local governments, own most of the forest, private citizens make decisions that impact the sustainability of the commonwealth’s overall forest. An interesting and challenging goal for these owners and the natural resource professionals in Pennsylvania is to keep our forests green and growing and to do so in a sustainable manner. While you may appreciate our state’s forests, it is often difficult to witness a commitment to forests; one most often sees this tremendous natural resource treated apathetically.   full story