Welcome to the Maine Forest Dashboard

Forests have defined the essence of the State of Maine for centuries. From hardwood stands in the south, to spruce-fir forests to the north and in mountainous areas, Maine’s forests provide a host of ecosystem services to residents, businesses, and visitors. These services range from scenic quality and wildlife habitat, to timber, clean water, and firewood.

Ninety percent of Maine is forested, and 95% of these forests – roughly 18 million acres – are classified as commercial timberland, both the highest percentage for any state in the nation. Moreover, 93% of Maine’s timberland is privately owned, also the highest for any state. Today, roughly 100,000 small non-industrial family forest owners control about 32% of the state’s forest area, followed by the forest industry (26%), investor/institutional/conservation groups (18%), large nonindustrial owners (15%), and the public (7%).

The Maine Woods Dashboard is a collaborative effort between the Maine Forest Service and UMaine's School of Forest Resources and Center for Research on Sustainable Forests to gather and display diverse information about Maine's forests in a way that helps residents, visitors, businesses, scientists and policy-makers better understand current conditions and historic trends. We have divided forest-related information into four main categories that describe the uses and values of Maine's Forests: Recreation & Tourism, Conservation Lands, Forest Products, and Family Forests.