FORESTRY FACTS - Empire State Forest Products Association

• New York has more forests than any other state in the Northeast - 18.95 million acres. That's nearly an acre for each and every New Yorker!
• New York's forests are growing over 3 times faster than they are being harvested, cleared for development or lost to insects and disease.
• Are we running out of trees yet? Over 61 percent of the state is covered by forests, an increase of 24 percent since 1953.
• Over 614,000 individuals and families own most (11.2 million acres) of New York's forests.
• New York's forest industry contributes about $4.6 billion to the state's economy each year.
• The forestry industry remains one of New York's top ten manufacturing sectors.
• The forestry industry employs 53,833 New Yorkers, which comprises 4.5% of the manufacturing workforce, with an Annual payroll of $1.6 billion.
• There are 1,428,000 registered hunters and 3,852,00 wildlife watchers who benefit from New York forestland.