Timber Production

Timber production in Oregon over the past quarter century has dropped from 7.876 billion board feet in 1977 to 3.440 billion board feet in 2001. With a few exceptions, production on private land has been relatively steady, but note the dramatic drop (-96 percent) in harvest on federal lands in Oregon between 1989 and 2001.

Timber Harvests in Oregon, 1925-2002

Through 1960, most of Oregon’s timber harvest came from privately owned lands. After peaking at 7.3 billion board feet in 1952, harvest on private lands began to decline. Harvest on federal lands began to rise at that point. Beginning in 1990, harvests on federal lands dropped dramatically. Harvest levels on private land, however, have remained relatively stable over the last several decades.

U.S. Forest Area by Major Region, 1630-1997

The U.S. today has about 71 percent of the forestland area that existed in 1630. Over three-fourths of the conversion to other uses, mainly agriculture, took place in the 19th century. About 190 million acres of forestland were cleared for farms between 1850 and 1910—an average of more than 10,000 acres per day, every day for 50 years, and more than the total amount cleared in the previous 250 years of settlement. The loss of forests to development remains a national problem. According to a 1997 U.S. Department of Agriculture inventory, 10 million acres of private forests—an area twice the size of Massachusetts—were lost to development between 1982 and 1997.