U.S. Forest Ownership and Management

U.S. Forest Ownership and Management

link to page 1 link to page 1 link to page 1

December 16, 2021
U.S. Forest Ownership and Management
The United States contains 765 million acres of forestland.
The U.S. Constitution authorizes Congress to acquire,
The potential scope of congressional involvement in U.S.
dispose of, and manage federal property. As such, Congress
forest resources varies, based primarily on ownership. The
has the authority to enact laws that address all aspects of
majority (69%) of U.S. forests are nonfederal forests:
managing federal forests and their resources. Much of
forests that are owned by private entities or state and local
Congress’s legislative activity has focused on authorizing
governments. The remaining 31% of U.S. forests are
federal forests to be managed and used for specific
federally owned. The distribution of forest ownership varies
purposes, and appropriating funding for those purposes.
nationwide and across the four major regions as defined in
the Forest Resources of the United States report prepared
Figure 1. Summary of U.S. Forest Ownership
by the U.S. Forest Service; see Figure 1 and Figure 2.
Most of the forests in the North and South regions are
nonfederal, whereas most of the forests in the Rocky
Mountain (Rockies) and Pacific Coast (Pacific) regions are
federal. The variation in ownership patterns arises in part
from the historic pattern of land settlement across the
United States. For a more in-depth discussion, see CRS
Report R46976, U.S. Forest Ownership and Management:
Background and Issues for Congress.
Role of Congress
Congress has a direct role in the management of forests
owned by the federal government but an indirect role in the
management of forests in nonfederal ownership. Congress’s
role in nonfederal forest management generally relates to
authorizing and appropriating funding for programs to
provide financial, technical, or other resources to states,

individuals, or other entities for forest ownership,
Source: Sonja Oswalt et al., Forest Resources of the United States,
stewardship, or management.
2017, Forest Service, GTR-WO-97, 2019. Hereinafter, FRUS.
Notes: See Figure 2 for the legend and map of the regions.
Figure 2. U.S. Forest Ownership

Source: FRUS.
https://crsreports.congress.gov

link to page 2 link to page 2
U.S. Forest Ownership and Management
Nonfederal Forests
Federal Forests
Most of the 527 million acres of nonfederal forests in the
The federal government owns 238 million acres (31%) of
United States are classified as privately owned (443 million
U.S. forests, most of which are managed by the U.S. Forest
acres); the other 84 million acres are publicly owned by
Service (FS)—as part of the National Forest System
state and local governments. Most private forests are in
(NFS)—and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM); see
family ownership (272 million acres), followed by
Figure 3. The remaining federal forests are managed by the
corporate ownership (156 million acres). See Table 1 for a
National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, other
description of nonfederal ownership types.
agencies in the Department of the Interior, the Department
of the Defense, and others.
Table 1. Nonfederal Forest Ownership
The FS and BLM manage most of their lands under similar
Name
Acreage and Description
multiple use and sustained yield statutory missions.
Private
Private owners that are formally
Multiple use management means considering the relative
Corporate
incorporated (e.g., industrial owners,
values of the various resources and the combination of uses
timber investment trusts).
that best meets the needs of the American people. The
multiple uses include livestock grazing; energy and mineral
Private
Private owners that are not formally
development; recreation; timber production; watershed
Noncorporate
incorporated.
protection; wildlife and fish habitat; and natural scenic,
Family
Ownership by families, individuals,
scientific, and historical values. Managing for a sustained
yield means ensuring a high level of resource outputs are
trusts, estates, and family partnerships.
maintained in perpetuity without impairing the land’s
Tribal
Ownership by Native American tribes
productivity. Both the FS and the BLM engage in long-term
or individuals within reservation
land use and resource management planning to inform and
boundaries. Excludes Alaska Native
guide their decisionmaking processes for balancing multiple
regional and vil age corporations.
uses and ensuring a sustained yield of resources.
Other Private
Ownership by unincorporated
Figure 3. Federal Forests
organizations, such as nonprofit
organizations.
Other Public
Ownership by nonfederal levels of
government, such as states and counties.
Source: FRUS and Brett Butler et al., Family Forest Ownerships of the
United States, 2018, Forest Service, GTR-NRS-199, February 2021.
Forest management objectives vary considerably across and
within nonfederal forest ownership types. Private forests are
generally managed according to the goals of their owners.
Private forest owners engage in varying levels of forest
management, ranging from passive to active to intensive
management, based on constraints such as knowledge or
financial resources. Among the estimated nearly 11 million
different owners, family forest owners most often manage
their lands for nonmonetized amenities, such as scenery,

wildlife, or privacy, and many do not actively manage their
Source: FRUS.
forests. Corporate forest owners generally manage their
Notes: Other primarily reflects lands managed by the Department of
lands to optimize financial returns, usually (but not
Defense or other bureaus within the Department of the Interior.
exclusively) from timber production.
Timberlands
Other public forest management is stipulated by relevant
Two-thirds of the forests in the United States are classified
state, county, and local laws. State and local forests vary
as timberlands (514 million acres). Timberlands are a
across nearly all measures and do not support many
subset of forestland, consisting of forests producing or
generalizations about the management of these forests. An
capable of producing crops of industrial wood that are not
exception is for state forests that are state trust lands. State
prohibited from timber use by statute or regulation. Forests
trust lands are specific parcels of land granted by Congress
classified as timberlands include areas where timber
to states with the requirement that revenue generated from
production is not logistically or financially viable. Private
the sale or lease of the land benefit specific public purposes
forests are more likely to contain timberlands. Less than
(primarily education). State trust lands have an explicit
half of the federal forests contain timberlands (108 million
fiduciary responsibility to generate revenue, though the
acres), most of which are located within the NFS (89%).
states vary in how the responsibility is fulfilled.
Katie Hoover, Specialist in Natural Resources Policy

Anne A. Riddle, Analyst in Natural Resources Policy
IF12001
https://crsreports.congress.gov

U.S. Forest Ownership and Management

Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff to
congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of Congress.
Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of information that has
been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the
United States Government, are not subject to copyright protection in the United States. Any CRS Report may be
reproduced and distributed in its entirety without permission from CRS. However, as a CRS Report may include
copyrighted images or material from a third party, you may need to obtain the permission of the copyright holder if you
wish to copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.

https://crsreports.congress.gov | IF12001 · VERSION 1 · NEW