The Massachusetts Forest Facts and Figures   This information comes from various sources, including "Forest Resources of Massachusetts", compiled by Christina Petersen for Cooperative Extension at the University of Massachusetts. Massachusetts, the third most densely populated state in the country, is also 64% forested.  This is in sharp contrast to the forested area at the turn of the century, when Massachusetts was 30% forested.  Much of the Massachusetts forest originates with farm abandonment in the last half of the nineteenth century, and is currently in excess of 100 years old, while many other stands were regenerated by the Hurricane of 1938.  There are 3,225,200 forested acres in the Commonwealth,  2.9 million of which are classified as timberland (capable of producing a timber crop). 84% of the timberland, or about 2.5 million acres, is owned privately.  Of the 16% owned publicly, the Department of Environmental Management, Division of Forests and Parks owns the largest share, with 263,485 acres in a forest and park system that is the sixth largest in the United States.  The Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife manages nearly 100,000 acres in wildlife management areas.  The Metropolitan District Commission, Division of Watershed Management manages 100,000 acres of forest on the Quabbin, Ware River, Wachusett, and Sudbury watersheds.  Municipal forests account for approximately 300,000 acres of Massachusetts forest, and private, non-profit organizations own over 130,000 acres. According to 1985 statistics, White Pine makes up the largest portion of the total sawtimber volume in Massachusetts, at an estimated total volume of 4 billion board feet.  Red Maple is capable of occupying a wide variety of sites, and is second to White Pine in total volume, at about 1.5 billion board feet.  Red Oak and Hemlock are the other major sawtimber species in the Commonwealth.  Valuable, but less common sawtimber species include Sugar Maple, White Ash, Black Cherry, American Beech, and White Oak.  Red Pine in plantations from the 1930's is currently commercial, although the species is uncommon in the native forest..  Among the less commercial species in our forest are the hickories (Shagbark, Pignut, Mockernut), the birches (White, Yellow, and Black), Basswood, Gray Birch, Quaking Aspen, Atlantic White Cedar, Red Spruce, and Pitch Pine. 266 species of wildlife find their homes in the forestlands of Massachusetts. These include 25 amphibians, 20 reptiles, 162 birds and 59 mammals.   Powered by Nukedit 4.8 - Generated in 0 seconds - 2198 visits

Tell a friend  Bookmark us  Print page