Timber land area in the U.S. (defined as forest land that is producing or is capable of producing crops of industrial wood in excess of 20 cubic feet/acre/year in natural stands and not withdrawn from timber utilization by statute or administrative regulation) stands at
514 million acres, up more than 5.3 million acres since 1953. Timber land represents 69 percent of all forest land in the U.S.   In contrast to the relatively modest growth in the area of timber lands, timber growing stock volume on these lands has increased at a steady pace for more than 50 years’and is now 51 percent higher than the volume in 1953 (Figure 3).