Forestinformation.com will combine the research of Canadian, U.S. and United Nations forestry resources in an effort to educate people on the value forests provide, as well as efforts across North America to sustainably manage these forests for future generations.

Like trees, forestinformation.com will grow over time with new branches of information added regularly. Visit us today for quick forest facts, and come back again to continue exploring the story of forest growth. Grow. Learn. Explore.

To learn more about U.S. forests, please visit the American Forest and Paper Association , or to learn more about Canada's forests, please visit the Forest Products Association of Canada.

Additional forest information can be found in Forest Links Forest Links or in our Forest Advertisements.

North America's Forests at a Glance

North America's forests are abundant and growing. Between them Canada and the United States contain 15 percent (10 percent in Canada and 5 percent in the U.S.) of the Earth's forest cover. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) State of the World's Forests 2001 reports that North American forest cover expanded nearly 10 million acres (4 million hectares) over the last decade.

Forests in Canada

• Canada's entire land base covers 921 million hectares (2.3 billion acres)
• Canada's forests cover 417.9 million hectares (a billion acres - or 45 percent of the land base)
• Fifty-six percent of those forests (that's 235 million hectares, or 588 million acres) are managed for timber production

Softwood forests represent 67 percent of the total forests, mixed wood cover 18 percent and hardwoods account for 15 percent.

With a small population compared to its large area, much of which is unsuitable for agriculture, Canada has converted only six percent of its forest land to farms and cities.

Forests in the United States:

• The entire land base of the United States is 2.263 billion acres (913.7 million hectares)
• US forests cover 747 million acres (301 million hectares - or 33 percent of the land base)
• Sixty-seven percent of the total area of US forests (495 million acres, or 198 million hectares) are commercial forests, used to produce timber for forest products

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Growing Forests, Building Green

Sustainable forests

Did you know every time you choose to build with wood rather than concrete, steel or other alternatives, you're choosing to build green? Every time North American wood products are chosen over other materials, you're lending your support to one of the most sustainable industries on Earth.

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