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The Significance of
Private Forests in the U.S.  

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Worksheet 1: Family Owned Forest Facts
(Student Page - Day 1 Activity)

Table 1: Area and number of family owned forests in the Unites States* by size of forest landholdings, 1993.

Size of Forest Landholdings (Acres)
Area (Acres) Thousands
Area (Percent)
Ownership (Number) Thousands
Ownership (Percent)

1-9

16,509

 

5,603

60.3

10-49

57,342

24.2

2,534

 

50-99

42,729

18.0

642

6.9

100-499

78,461

33.1

472

 

500-999

17,532

 

29

0.3

1000-4999

17,797

7.5

13

0.1

5000+

6,872

2.9

3

<0.1

Total

237,242

100.0

9,296

100.0

* Numbers above are for the continental U.S. and exclude Alaska and Hawaii .

Table 2: Area and number of family owned forests in the Unites States* by size of forest landholdings, 2004.

Size of Forest Landholdings (Acres)

Area (Acres) Thousands

Area (Percent)

Ownership (Number) Thousands

Ownership (Percent)

1-9

20,069

7.7

6,570

 

10-49

61,681

23.6

2,970

27.8

50-99

41,815

16.0

632

 

100-499

82,747

 

473

4.4

500-999

20,349

7.8

32

0.3

1000-4999

24,724

9.4

14

0.1

5000+

10,254

 

1

<0.1

Total

261,639

100.0

10,692

100.0

* Numbers above are for the continental U.S. and exclude Alaska and Hawaii .

These tables come from the USDA Forest Service, National Woodland Owner Survey and are draft figures. Designed for review purposes.

 

  1. Fill in the missing percentages above and round your answers to the nearest tenth. Use the information in the “Area in Acres” and “Total” “Area in Acres” boxes to calculate area percentages in the blank “Area (percent)” box. Use the information in the “Number of Ownerships” and “Total” “Number of Ownerships” boxes to calculate the percentages in the blank “Ownership (percent)” boxes.


  2. Using the information above what percent of landowners owned 1-9 acres of land…

    in 1993?

    in 2004?

  3. What is the percentage of land owned (area) in the 1-9 acre category…

    in 1993?

    in 2004?

  4. Using the answers to question 2 and 3, what does this tell you about the majority of private forestland owners in the United States for 2004?



  5. Has there been an increase or decrease in the percent of landowners owning land in the U.S. in the 1-9 acre category since 1993?



  6. When looking at the Area Percentages , which landholdings category (1-9, 10-49, etc) contains the greatest land area (percent)…

    in 1993?

    in 2004?

  7. What percent of the ownership owned this landholdings category you discovered in question 6…

    in 1993?

    in 2004?

  8. Has there been an increase or decrease in the percent of landowners owning land in the U.S. in the 100-499 acre category since 1993?

  9. When comparing the table from 1993 to 2004 what appears to be the trend? Do more people own smaller portions of land or larger portions of land?

  10. After answering number 9, what are some possible reasons the trend is going in that direction?

 

 

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