In 2002, Alaska's forested area was 126,869,000 acres (51,343,000 hectares), far more than any other state. However, the area of harvestable timberland was only 11,865,000 acres (4,801,000 hectares). Some 18,887,000 acres (7,644,000 hectares) of forestland were privately held in 2002. Alaska contains the nation's largest national forests, Tongass in the southeast (17.4 million acres—seven million hectares) and Chugach along the Gulf Coast (6.9 million acres—2.8 million hectares).
Timber companies harvest logs from the two national forests with the majority from the Tongass National Forest. The timber is made available for harvest through a competitive bidding process.