STATE OF THE GREAT LAKES 2005
WHAT IS THE STATE OF GREAT LAKES FORESTS?
Total forest area in the Great Lakes region has increased in recent decades and now covers 51 percent of the
region's land area. However, urbanization, vacation or second home construction, landowner practices and
actions that adversely affect resource sustainability, and increased recreational use are key pressures currently
irrmactine forest resources.
The Issues
• Total forest area has increased across the Great
Lakes basin in recent decades. Expanding forest
area is associated with positive impacts on water
quality and quantity.
• The forest products industry contribution to the
economy of Great Lakes states in 2002 included
employment of more than 503,000 persons, an
annual payroll exceeding $18.5 billion, and
production of goods valued at more than $71.4
billion.
• There is uncertainty about how much land in the
basin should be forested and the amount of land
that should be covered by each forest type.
Isle Royale National Park, Lake Superior. Photo: U.S.
EPA Great Lakes National Program Office.
The Indicators
Three indicators assess the extent, composition, and
structure of forests in the Great Lakes region. These
indicators measure the rate and ability of forests to
perform the essential ecological functions required to
protect the integrity of the watershed.
One indicator assesses extent of area by forest type
relative to total forest area in the Great Lakes basin,
as extent and diversity of forest cover are indicators
of basin health. A second indicator summarizes the
structure of forests based on age class and inferred
vegetative structures (diameter and height of
vegetation), as many ecological processes and wildlife
species are associated with vegetative structures. A
third indicator summarizes the extent of forest by
type in a protected area category, as defined by the
International Union for Conservation of Nature or
other classification system. Protected status ensures
that specified tracts of land in the public domain
remain under forest cover, and is indicative of the
value a society places on forest conservation.
The Assessment
Forests cover 27.8 million hectares, or about half (51
percent) of the land in the Great Lakes basin. The U.S.
portion of the basin contains 14.8 million hectares of
forests (47 percent of the U.S. basin), while the
Canadian portion contains 13.0 million hectares (57
percent of the Canadian basin).
Maple-beech-birch is the most extensive forest type,
representing 7.6 million hectares, or 27 percent of
total forest area in the basin. Aspen-birch forests
constitute the second-largest forest type, covering 6.5
million hectares, or 23 percent of the total. Other
major types include spruce-fir forests (5.0 million
hectares, or 18 percent of total forest area) and white-
red-jack pine forests (2.7 million hectares, or 10
percent of total forest area). Basinwide, the 41-60 and
61-80 year age-classes are dominant and together
represent 53 percent of total forest area. Forests under
40 years of age constitute a further 23 percent, while
forests in the 100+ year age-classes constitute 9
percent of total forest area.
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WHAT IS THE STATE OF GREAT LAKES FORESTS?
In the U.S. portion of the basin, 3.5 percent of
forested land, comprising 517,000 hectares, is in a
protected area category. Among major forest types,
5.4 percent of maple-beech-birch (308,000 hectares),
2.7 percent of aspen-birch (73,000 hectares), 4.4
percent of spruce-fir (79,000 hectares) and 0.6 percent
of white-red-jack pine forests (7,000 hectares) are
considered to have protected status. The "other
softwoods" category has the highest protection rate,
with 7.7 percent, or 12,000 of its 157,000 hectares,
protected from harvest.
In the Canadian portion of the basin, 10.8 percent of
forest area, or 1.4 million hectares, are protected.
Protection rates range from 9.2 percent for maple-
beech-birch (172,000 hectares) and 10.7 percent for
spruce-fir forests (340,000 hectares), to 12.7 percent
for white-red-jack pine (191,000 hectares) and 13.0
percent for aspen-birch forests (490,000 hectares). The
oak-pine category has the highest protection rate,
with 22.5 percent, or 20,000 of its 90,000 hectares,
under protected status.
Current Actions
The Great Lakes basin contains a mixture of public
and private lands. Various management guidelines
exist through tribal, state, provincial, and federal
forest management plans. The USDA Forest Service
State and Private Forestry programs promote
stewardship on private lands, as does the certification
Land Cover Legend
• Water
• Forest
• Urban
Agriculture
and Grasses
of corporate and non-industrial ownerships.
Forest lands within the basin can be enrolled in
sustainable forestry certification programs such as the
Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), the Forest
Stewardship Council, and the Canadian Standards
Association. There are more than 14 million acres in
the United States and more than eight million acres in
Canada enrolled in the SFI program. SFI is a
comprehensive system of principles, objectives, and
performance measures developed by foresters,
conservationists, and scientists that combines the
perpetual growing and harvesting of some trees with
the protection of wildlife, plants, soil, and water
quality. The program requires participants to manage
the quality and distribution of wildlife habitats and
contribute to the conservation of biological diversity
by implementing stand- and landscape-level
measures that promote habitat diversity and the
conservation of forest plants and animals, including
aquatic fauna.
Actions Needed
Urbanization, seasonal home construction and
increased recreational use - driven in part by the
desire of an aging and more affluent population to
spend time near natural settings - are among the
general demands being placed on forest resources
nationwide. Stakeholder discussion will be critical in
identifying pressures and management implications
that are specific to Great Lakes basin forests, and
in helping to develop strategies for sustainable
forest management.
For More Information
For further information related to Great Lakes
forests, refer the State of the Great Lakes 2005
report which, along with other Great Lakes
references, can be accessed at
www.epa.gov/glnpo/solec.
Land cover type and distribution in the Great Lakes
Basin, 1990s. Source: State of the Great Lakes 2005 report.
02/06
EPA 905-F-06-901
IISG-05-27
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