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Oregon's forests are among the most diverse, productive, and magnificent in the entire world. They range from the dry, scenic juniper and pine forests east of the Cascades to the wet, majestic old-growth Douglas-fir forests west of the Cascades; they blanket most of western Oregon and all the mountains of central and eastern Oregon. Although most of our forests are dominated by needle-leaved conifers, many species of hardwoods play important ecological roles. Many of the tree species that grow in our forests have their largest and oldest members here.

Although the percentage of Oregon occupied by forests hasn't changed much in the past 200 years, the structure, composition, and distribution of our forests have changed dramatically. Most forests of the early 1800's have been removed by fire, logging, and other disturbances--replaced with native trees but in different mixes than were present originally. Some old-growth forests remain, mostly in remote parts of public lands. Many valley forests have been lost to agricultural and urban development, although many communities now try to preserve remaining stands. Fire suppression that has accompanied settlement has also created many changes, described in the following sections.

Given such change over time, much of modern forestry is directed at maintaining the health, diversity, and productivity of Oregon's forests while producing the wood, water, wildlife, and recreation that society demands.

For more information on forest types, please see:

Franklin, JF and CT Dyrness. 1973. Natural Vegetation of Oregon and Washington. USDA Forest Service GTR PNW-8

Related Information: biological components of forests

FORESTS HOME Douglas-fir forests western hemlock/Sitka spruce forests urban forests
Siskiyou mixed conifer forests coast redwood forests hardwood forests ponderosa pine forests
lodgepole pine forests subalpine forests western larch forests western juniper forests