Forests, which originally occupied two-thirds of Minnesota's land area, have been depleted by lumbering, farming, and forest fires. As of 2002, forestland covered 16,680,000 acres (6,750,000 hectares), or about 36% of the state's total land area. Most of the forestland is in the north, especially in Arrowhead Country in the northeast. Of the 14,723,000 acres (5,958,000 hectares) of commercial timberland, less than half is privately owned and more than one-third is under state, county, or municipal jurisdiction. In 2002, lumber production totaled 272 million board feet, 49% hardwoods and 51% softwoods. Over half of the timber that is harvested is used in paper products, and about one-third for wood products. Mills that process raw logs account for half of all forest and forest-product employment in Minnesota.
The state's two national forests are Superior (2,092,097 acres—846,671 hectares) and Chippewa (666,325 acres—267,661 hectares). The Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry, promotes effective management of the forest environment and seeks to restrict forest fire occurrence to 1,100 fires annually, burning no more than 30,000 acres (12,000 hectares) in all.
More than 3 million acres (1.2 million hectares) are planted each year with trees by the wood fiber industry, other private interests, and federal, state, and county forest services—more than enough to replace those harvested or destroyed by fire, insects, or disease.