West Virginia Forest Industry Facts

 Forest Resource

Seventy-eight percent of West Virginia is forestland.  Broadleaf (hardwood) species dominate West Virginia’s forests accounting for nearly 95% of the State’s total forest resource.  West Virginia possesses some of the finest Appalachian hardwoods.  These include the select red and white oaks, ash, cherry, maple, and tulip-poplar that are highly valued throughout the world.  West Virginia has a diversity of species in ample supply for use both now and in to the foreseeable future.  The latest forest inventory conducted by the USDA forest Service estimated there is more than 634 million cubic meters (22.4 billion cubic feet) of timber of merchantable quality.  The Northeastern region of West Virginia accounts for 40 percent of the State’s overall timber base.

 Forest Ownership

 Private landowners control roughly 87% of West Virginia’s forests (nearly 10,750,000 acres).  Much of the West Virginia hardwood resource is in large ownerships.  Private landowners number more than 260,000, and 3% own nearly half the State’s timber acreage.  Fifteen percent of the privately owned forestland in West Virginia is owned primarily for timber production.  Moreover, 83% of the private landowners in the State include harvesting as part of their management plans.

Forest Industry

The wood products industry in West Virginia ranks third in employment and fourth in payroll.  If furniture manufacturing is added, the combined industries account for over 15 % of West Virginia’s total manufacturing employment.  The wood products industry led all other West Virginia manufacturing sectors in adjusted real growth between 1997 and 2001.  West Virginia’s diversified and vibrant timber industry consumed 1.1 to 1.2 billion board feet of timber (hardwood and softwood) in 2001 making such products as lumber, veneer, a variety of engineered wood products, log homes, and rustic rail and treated fencing.

 The West Virginia Wood Technology Center

The Center provides a variety of training programs for the wood industry.  The Center is equipped with the latest technology and wood production machinery.  Customized training programs specific to your operation can be developed.  The Center also offers an Associate of Applied Sciences Degree in Wood Production.

 West Virginia University Appalachian Hardwood Center

 The mission of the Center is to provide relevant, natural resource-based outreach and extension programs, technical assistance, and research for businesses, communities, and individuals located in the West Virginia Appalachian forest region.  These efforts, where possible, promote multiple uses of natural resources in ways that are sustainable and compatible.