April 15, 2024
(press release)
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Tree planting in the U.S. continues on an upward trend, according to the latest information from the Forest Service. During the 2021-22 planting season, the latest information available, forest seedling nurseries produced more than 1.44 billion tree seedlings for reforestation, including more than 18 million container seedlings imported from Canada. Based on the total number of seedlings grown and the estimated planting densities in each state, the Forest Service estimates that more than 2.7 million acres were planted in the 2021-22 season, marking a 5 percent increase from the previous season and a notable 26 percent rise from five years ago. The bulk of nursery production was concentrated in Southern states (82 percent), followed by Western states (14 percent), and Eastern states (4 percent). Bareroot conifer species made up around 70 percent of the seedlings produced, with only 3 percent being hardwood species. In the Southern Pine Belt, forestry nurseries across 13 states grew more than 1.18 billion seedlings, which were used to plant approximately 2.15 million acres, a 3 percent increase from the prior year. In the West Coast states of California, Oregon, and Washington, more than 189 million seedlings were grown, and an estimated 522,422 acres were planted, a jump of 15 percent over the prior year. The report attributes years of wildfires to the increase in reforestation. In the 12 states that comprise the Northeast, 13.6 million tree seedlings were produced but reforestation efforts were down 17 percent to 17,199 acres planted. However, in the Northeast, reforestation is primarily conducted through natural approaches for establishing desirable species. The tree production data is collected directly from the forest and conservation nurseries that grow forest tree seedlings across the U.S. The approximation of planted acres for each state is derived from estimates of average tree planting area based on historical ground-plot data collected by the Forest Service’s Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Division. The U.S. Forest Service received assistance in the seedling planting data and estimates from state, private, and tribal forestry agencies and three prominent universities: Auburn University, the University
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