Forests

Virgin forests were a predominant feature in early American life. It was estimated that they covered more than 820 million acres during the early years of European settlement at the beginning of the seventeenth century. These primeval forests contained a large variety of trees and wildlife species of tremendous diversity. More than 80 percent of the land in the northeast region of the country, which presently encompasses Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, was dominated by hardwood, deciduous trees. Species common to the northeastern region were oak, hickory, ash, cotton-wood, spruce, fir, maple, beech, and birch along with white, red, and jack pine.