Which timberlands are available to harvest?

Less than half of all Idaho forests are open to active management

Forty percent of Idaho, or 21.6 million acres, is covered in trees. Of that, 16.5 million acres is designated timberlands -- land that can grow commercial-grade timber and where logging is allowed. Of the 16.5 million acres, timber harvest or logging is allowed on only 9.3 million acres.

Timberland is productive forest land that can grow commercial-grade timber - at least 20 cubic feet of wood per acre per year and where logging is allowed.

Idaho timberland ownership bar chart

 

Not all forests are open to logging

While 40% of Idaho, or 21.6 million acres, is covered in trees, timber harvest, logging is allowed on only 9.3 million acres. Less than half of all Idaho forests are open to active management.

Timberland by ownership: ACRES

This table breaks down the 16.5 million acres of timberland by owner (in millions of acres) in Idaho. 

      Timberland
NFS - NON-Roadless (Estimated)     4,751
NFS - Roadless (Estimated)     7,200
NFS TOTAL      
Bureau of Land Management     577
State of Idaho     1,123
Private Land Owners     2,856
Other Federal Owners     25
TOTAL     16,532
      -
Millions of ACRES      

Ownership by management data: ACRES

This table shows the number of acres (in millions of acres) that are open and not open for timber harvest across all ownership classifications in Idaho. 

    Timberland open to Active Management Other Forest land Open to Active Mgmt ROADLESS Forest land & Timberland NOT OPEN to Active Mgmt Wilderness & Other Reserved Forest land   TOTAL Check
  National Forest 5 0.3 7.6 3.7   16.3 0
  Bureau of Land Management 1 0.3 - 0   0.9 -
  Other Federal Owners 0 0 - 0.1   0.1 -
  State of Idaho 1.1 0.1 - 0   1.2 -
  Private Land Owners 3 0.2 - -   3.1 -
  IDAHO FOREST LAND - ALL OWNERS 9 0.9 7.6 3.8   21.6 0

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