Maine’s Forest Conditions – Resources and Reports

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About Maine’s Forest Inventory

A long-standing partnership between the Maine Forest Service (MFS) and the USDA Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program maintains over 3,500 permanent forest inventory plots. Maine’s FIA program is the primary source of information about Maine’s forest conditions, including species, forest types, acreage, forest structure, timber volumes and quality, wildlife habitat conditions, and other associated resources. As such it is a vital means of understanding both current and future forest conditions that are critical to Maine’s communities across the state.

Maine’s Forest Inventory is implemented primarily by MFS field crews of inventory specialists, part of the Forest Health and Monitoring Division, with support from the USFS-FIA program. This page summarizes recent reports that resulted from the work of these dedicated MFS employees and from MFS’s partnership with the USDA Forest Service’s national program.

Annually, the USDA-FS FIA unit, in concert with MFS,provides updates summarizing the most current data (e.g., Forests of Maine 2022 and Forests of Maine 2020). Additional analysis and reporting is conducted by MFS staff including the state’s forest biometrician. The 2022 data was released in August 2024. USFS-FIA should begin processing and loading 2023 data in the upcoming months, field crews have finished collecting the 2024 data and are currently collecting the 2025 data.

2018 marked the end of the fourth full cycle since the annual FIA inventory began. Maine’s Forests 2018 summarizes these data in an interactive 5-year report. A condensed summary in PDF format is also available.

Once collected, the data that underlie these reports are stored in a public repository in the FIA DataMart.

Users can download the data to conduct their own analyses or use tools such as EVALIDator to generate population level estimates.

Greenhouse Gas

Annually, USFS-FIA compiles estimates of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and removals using the FIA data. Maine’s forests play a very significant role in sequestering and storing carbon and thus are critical for understanding greenhouse gas accounting.

These data are summarized at the state level and available as a research dataset.

Using the FIA data along with several other data sources, the University of Maine, in collaboration with MFS and Bates College, recently compiled data resulting in the State of Maine’s Carbon budget which examines carbon stocks and stock changes across the entire state of Maine.

These data also form the basis for estimating carbon in the forest sector in the official greenhouse gas inventory which is submitted annually by the U.S. to the United Nations.

They also are also integral to estimating net greenhouse gas emissions as Maine strives to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045.

Maine remains on track to fulfill goals according to the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Report, Maine DEP Media Release

Woodland Owners

In addition to conducting forest inventory, USFS compiles information on the nation’s woodland owners through the national woodland owner survey (NWOS).

Family Forest (10+ Acres) Ownership Characteristics Maine 2018

Forest Management, Harvesting, and Wood Products

Maine forest industry provides wood and wood-based products that are essential to Maine citizens, and are also sold in a global marketplace. Many Maine citizens participate in this effort, from foresters, loggers, truckers, and mill workers, to other supporting businesses. Many communities in Maine are also reliant on forest management, harvesting, and manufacturing as critical elements of local and regional economies, Mills and manufacturers from individual entrepreneurs to facilities with many hundreds of workers produce a dizzying array of wood products, from crafts to building materials, paper, pulp, fuel, finished goods, ingredients for other consumer goods, and industrial materials.

MFS is charged by statute to report on key aspects of the forest industry, including wood processing, silvicultural activities, and stumpage prices. View these annual reports.

Forest Health

Forest insects and diseases, particularly those that are non-native, are an increasing threat to Maine’s forests. These threats, as well as environmental conditions and weather are excacerbated by climate change. MFS’s Forest Health and Monitoring Division provides regular Forest Health Conditions updates (link), and maintains information about many specific agents.

Other data sources

Periodically, MFS also derives information from multiple other data sources. As these reports are available they may be included here. Interested parties should check back from time to time for updates or send a request to forestinfo@maine.gov.

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