Virginia

Forestry

As of 2002, Virginia had 16,074,000 acres (6,505,000 hectares) of forestland, representing more than 63% of the state's land area and 2.1% of all US forests. Virtually every county has some commercial forestland and supports a wood products industry. In 2002, 1,502 million board feet of lumber were produced. Reforestation programs initiated by the Division of Forestry in 1971 have paid landowners to plant pine seedlings, and state-funded tree nurseries produce 60–70 million seedlings annually. The Division of Forestry's tree seed orchards have developed improved strains of loblolly, shortleaf, white, and Virginia pine for planting in cutover timberland. For recreational purposes, there were 2.59 million acres (1.05 million hectares) of forested public lands in 2002, including Shenandoah National Park, Washington and Jefferson National Forests, 24 state parks, and eight state forests.