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Map of national forests and national grasslands of the United States. The United States has 154 protected areas known as national forests, covering 188,336,179 acres (762,169 km 2; 294,275 sq mi). [1] National forests are managed by the U.S. Forest Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. [2]
Native Americans cleared millions of acres of forest for many reasons, including hunting, farming, berry production, and building materials. [7] Prior to the arrival of European-Americans, about one half of the United States land area was forest, about 1,023,000,000 acres (4,140,000 km 2) estimated in 1630.
Map of wood-filled areas in the United States, c. 2000 [1]. In the United States, the forest cover by state and territory is estimated from tree-attributes using the basic statistics reported by the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program of the Forest Service. [2]
In the United States, national forest is a classification of protected and managed federal lands that are largely forest and woodland areas. They are owned collectively by the American people through the federal government and managed by the United States Forest Service , a division of the United States Department of Agriculture .
Deforestation in the United States was affected by many factors. One such factor was the effect, whether positive or negative, that the logging industry has on forests in the country. Logging in the United States is a hotly debated topic as groups who either support or oppose logging argue over its benefits and negative effects.
In 2008, only a relatively small area (15%) of Australia's forests (mostly tall, wet forests) had been assessed for old-growth values. [5] Of the 23 million hectares (57 million acres) of forest in Australia assessed for their old-growth status, 5 million hectares (12 million acres) (22%) is classified as old-growth. [6]
The term "United States," when used in the geographic sense, refers to the contiguous United States (sometimes referred to as the Lower 48, including the District of Columbia not as a state), Alaska, Hawaii, the five insular territories of Puerto Rico, Northern Mariana Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and minor outlying possessions. [1]
Today, Forest Service researchers work in a range of biological, physical, and social science fields to promote sustainable management of United States' diverse forests and rangelands. Research employs about 550 scientists and several hundred technical and support staff, located at 67 sites throughout the United States and in Puerto Rico .