Figure 1. Ownership of timberland in North Carolina.
Sixty percent of all land in North Carolina is timberland. Sixty-seven percent of this is privately owned by individuals, including farmers. Farmers alone own 27 percent of the timberland. Forest companies own or lease 13 percent; federal, state, and local governments own 11 percent; and other corporations own 9 percent of the timberland, as shown by the graph in Figure 1.
Figure 1. Ownership of timberland in North Carolina.
Of the 18.7 million acres of timberland, hardwood forests occupy 53 percent; pine forests, 33 percent; and oak-pine forests, 14 percent. North Carolina has over 60 different commercial species of trees. The more important ones are yellow and white pines, red and white oaks, hickory, soft maple, sweetgum, ash, blackgum, and yellow poplar.
North Carolina has 383 primary wood-processing companies. The piedmont has 129 sawmills, 12 plywood or veneer plants, and 11 miscellaneous plants for a total of 152 companies. The mountains rank second statewide with a total of 117 wood-processing companies, including 104 sawmills, 5 plywood or veneer plants, 7 miscellaneous plants, and 1 pulpmill. The 114 companies located in the coastal plain consist of 77 sawmills, 16 plywood or veneer plants, 17 miscellaneous plants, and 4 pulpmills. The distribution of these businesses is shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2. Distribution of primary wood processing industries.
North Carolina leads the nation in production of both upholstered and wooden household furniture with annual shipments valued at more than $3.9 billion. The state's furniture industry ships 29 percent of the nation's wooden living-room furniture, 44 percent of all wooden dining and kitchen furniture, and 33 percent of all wooden bedroom furniture.
The forest products industry employs one out of six, or nearly 136,000 of the state's manufacturing workers. The annual payroll for the industry is $2.8 billion, ranking second only to that of the textile industry, as shown by the graph in Figure 3.
Figure 3. Payrolls for North Carolina manufacturing industries.
The value added by manufacturing in the forest products industry totals $6.1 billion annually (Figure 4). This amount, compared to the value added by the other 17 manufacturing industries in the state, ranks the forest products industry fourth behind tobacco products ($11.0 billion), chemical products ($8.2 billion), and textile products ($7.5 billion).
Figure 4. Value added by manufacturing in the forest products industry.
Value of Shipments
The total value of forest product shipments is $13.1 billion annually, or 11 percent of the state's total shipments. The only manufacturing industries with higher totals are textile products ($18.4 billion, or 16 percent of the state's total) and tobacco products ($14.8 billion, or 13 percent of the state's total).
North Carolina is a major producer of Christmas trees. More than 5 million trees valued at about $60 million are harvested annually in the state. Christmas trees, including the predominant fraser fir, are grown in 70 of the state's 100 counties. North Carolina currently supplies 15 percent of the nation's Christmas trees and has the potential to increase its production by 50 percent in five years.
North Carolina is a recreational paradise. From the mountains to the seashore, more than 300 privately owned campgrounds offer over 15,000 campsites. National forests, state parks, and other public facilities offer another 4,000 campsites. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is America's most popular national park, and the Blue Ridge Parkway is the nation's most popular scenic parkway. The Cape Hatteras and Cape Lookout national seashores also offer a variety of recreational activities.
Forests provide food and cover for wildlife and freshwater fish. Approximately 2.2 million people hunt or fish in North Carolina, spending more than $1.2 billion in the process. Hunters lease 2 million acres of private timberland, and another 2 million acres of public lands are available for hunting. In addition, 4 million people enjoy wildlife through other activities such as bird-watching and photography.
Forests also protect watersheds, reduce reservoir siltation, stabilize excessively eroding farmland, reduce flood crests, and improve water quality in streams.
In North Carolina, North Carolina State University offers baccalaureate and graduate degree programs in forestry and related fields of recreation and wood and paper science (Figure 5). Duke University offers graduate degrees in forestry and environmental sciences. North Carolina State University and Western Carolina University offer a baccalaureate degree in natural resources. Appalachian State University, East Carolina University, Mount Olive College, University of North Carolina-Greensboro, University of North Carolina-Wilmington, and Wingate College offer a baccalaureate degree or course work in outdoor recreation or outdoor education. Eight community colleges (Catawba Valley, Central-Piedmont, Fayetteville Technical, Haywood, Montgomery, Southeastern, Vance-Granville, and Wayne) offer training in forestry, wood products, furniture production, wildlife management, and parks and recreation as part of their agricultural and natural resources programs or their mechanical-manufacturing or service programs. Several universities and colleges provide preforestry programs.
Figure 5. Location of institutions offering degrees or training in forestry and related fields.
Agricultural education programs provide natural resources management courses, including forestry, to 50 high schools in the state. More than 150 high schools include forestry units in their introduction to agriscience programs.
Prepared by
Larry Jahn, Wood Products Extension Specialist
For more information or any questions, please contact Larry Jahn, ljahn@wolf.ces.ncsu.edu
Published by North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service
Distributed in furtherance of the Acts of Congress of May 8 and June 30, 1914. Employment and program opportunities are offered to all people regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability. North Carolina State University, North Carolina A&T State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and local governments cooperating.
5/93-1M-MOC-230272 (Revised)
AG-373
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