Who owns Idaho’s forest lands?
Most of Idaho’s forest lands are owned by government entities
Forest lands are designated when at least 10% of the land is covered by trees. Of the 21.5 million acres of total forest lands in Idaho, most of it -- about 86% -- is owned and managed by government entities. The rest -- about 14% -- is owned by private entities.
The graphic from 2015, the most recent and available data, shows the percentage ownership of Idaho’s 21.5 million acres of forests lands. More than 3/4ths of Idaho’s forest lands are owned and managed by the US Forest Service, also known as the National Forest System or NFS.
Forestland ownership data by acres
This table below highlights the total acres (in thousands of acres) and uses on all owner-classified forestlands in Idaho. Data comes from the USFS Forest Inventory and Analysis EVALIDator, 2015, the most recent and available data.
| OWNERSHIP ALL CLASSES | LAND USE - MAJOR | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thousands of Acres | Total | Timberland | Reserved | Other |
| Forest Land | Forest Land | Forest Land | ||
| TOTAL | 21,589 | 16,532 | 3,771 | 1,287 |
| National Forest System | 16,309 | 11,951 | 3,682 | 676 |
| National Park Service | 58 | 0 | 58 | 0 |
| Bureau of Land Mgmt | 875 | 577 | 18 | 280 |
| Dept of Defense | 41 | 25 | 0 | 17 |
| State | 1,245 | 1,123 | 12 | 110 |
| Private | 3,060 | 2,856 | 0 | 204 |
| Percent of State Total [unadjusted for ROADLESS] | ||||
| TOTAL | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| National Forest System | 76% | 72% | 98% | 53% |
| National Park Service | 0% | 0% | 2% | 0% |
| Bureau of Land Mgmt | 4% | 3% | 0% | 22% |
| Dept of Defense | 0% | 0% | 0% | 1% |
| State | 6% | 7% | 0% | 9% |
| Private | 14% | 17% | 0% | 16% |
*low productivity Forest Land
Links:
Click here to read our Critical Choices for OUR Forest brochure.
Click here to view and download an issue brief Who Owns Idaho's Forests?