3,000,000 acres of land, or about 56% of Massachusetts is forested, placing it in the United States’ top ten. White Pine, Hemlock, Red Maple, and Northern Red Oak are the most common tree species. Forestry and related industries support almost 38,000 jobs and $3.7 billion of the state’s GDP.

A mix of public and private entities own the Commonwealth’s forests:

•  64% is privately owned by families, individuals, non-profit organizations, and businesses.
•  36% is publicly owned (Federal, State, and Municipal). Of this… 17% is state-owned (DCR State Forests and Parks (9%); DCR Water Supply (3%); and Mass Wildlife (5%). 

The forests we enjoy in Massachusetts are predominantly owned by private individuals and families. In fact, an estimated 212,000 private landowners own most of the state’s forest lands. Despite this forest abundance, we lose these precious woodlands to development at an alarming rate – about 5,000 acres every year. The benefits of forests to our health and economy, and the protection they provide in mitigating the impacts of a changing climate, will lessen and eventually disappear altogether unless this destruction ends.

In 2023, the Healey-Driscoll Administration launched the Forests as Climate Solutions Initiative, which reflects the critical role of forests in addressing climate change and achieving the statutorily required limit of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. In 2024, the administration released the Report of the Climate Forestry Committee: Recommendations for Climate Oriented Forest Management Guidelines. These management guidelines will work to increase forest carbon storage and resilience to climate change. The report emphasizes that reducing the loss of existing forest lands to development and increasing permanent land conservation was paramount for Massachusetts to “keep forests as forests.” Recommendations involve both passive and active techniques, including enlarging forest reserves, implementing management strategies for increasing carbon storage, and implementing passive management strategies for older forests’ continued carbon storage.