Forestry Facts in the United States Quiz

Answer: Yellowstone

Yellowstone is the oldest national park, but it is also the oldest national forest, established in 1891 as the Yellowstone Park Timber Land Reserve. After another name change and some land redistribution, the area became known as Yellow National Forest in 1903. Just a short time later, in 1908, authorities began to subdivide the forest, and, over time, it has become part of 27 forests, including the Teton National Forest and the Beartooth National Forest. The Yellowstone name is no longer used.

Did you know that forests are called the lungs of the earth? They help provide oxygen for us to breathe.

Answer: False

According to the Congressional Record Service report on December 16, 2021, there is a total of 765 million acres of forest land in the United States. Non federal forests make up approximately 527 million acres of forest lands, which are either privately owned or owned by state or local governments. Thirty-one per cent of forest land is federally owned.

Forests play an important role in photosynthesis, as they absorb energy from the sun, convert it into carbon dioxide, which gives the plant nutrients, and then expel the oxygen.

Answer: False

While approximately 67% of the forests in the United States are timberlands, they are not automatically the same thing. A forest is simply an area that has a large number of trees. A timberland is considered to be a type of forest land, but the difference is that timberlands produce trees that can be cut down for profit.

The oxygen that is expelled from trees then can be used by humans to produce energy in our bodies in a process called respiration.

Answer: succession

Succession is the cycle in which the plants in an area can change over time. This process can evolve over several years - even decades; however, the cycle can be interrupted at any phase and start all over again due to many factors. Changes in the composition of the soil, fire, erosion, and climate change can all affect the cycle in one way or another. Because plant succession can cause a change to take place in a particular area, it is more commonly called ecological succession. As the plants change the microorganism and animals that exist in the area can also change.

Some scientists believe that just one large tree can provide enough oxygen for four people each day - not to mention the fact that it draws harmful gases, like carbon dioxide, from the air!

Answer: Pacific Coast

A moraine occurs in places where the terrain has been changed by a moving glacier. It consists of glacial till, which is essentially all kinds of debris - sediments, gravel, and even sand, that were carried by the glacier. The Pacific Coast forest is a temperate forest situated in the western areas of British Columbia in Canada, and Washington and Oregon in the United States. Common trees found there include the Douglas fir, western hemlock, and western red cedar.

And - trees don't just remove the carbon dioxide from the air we breathe. They also remove other harmful gases like car exhaust and chemicals from other air pollutants. The United States Department of Agriculture has estimated that trees remove about 53 tons of carbon dioxide and 450 pounds of other air pollutants annually!

Answer: Eastern Deciduous Forest

The Eastern deciduous forest, also called a temperate deciduous forest or temperate broad-leaf forest, covers twenty-six states in the United States and even extends north into Canada and west into Texas. While evergreen trees are found in some places, the area is dominated by broad-leaf deciduous trees; their dropped leaves help to promote rich, fertile soil. The trees, such as oak, maple, and elm, typically require 30-60" of rain and year and thrive in a temperature range of -22-86 F.

The carbon dioxide that the trees absorb is stored throughout the life of the tree. This process helps to reduce the buildup of carbon dioxide and slows down global warming.

Answer: Clearcut

In a shelterwood system, natural reproduction starts with openings made in the forest. The preparatory cut allows light in and creates sheltered openings, the seed cut removes competing trees and increases openings for reseeding, and the removal cut removes the remaining seed trees after they have released their seeds. A clearcut is a process where most of the trees in a forest are removed at the same time, typically in a logging operation, and just a few trees are left standing.

Planting trees in urban areas helps to maintain air quality and even makes the atmosphere cooler by the evaporation of humid air in a process called transpiration. The United States Department of Agriculture has estimated that the cooling process produced by trees can save about 56% in air conditioning costs annually.

Answer: Tongass National Forest

Tongass National Forest, located in southeastern Alaska, is the largest in the United States. It contains 16.7 million acres, making the forest larger than the state of West Virginia. Established in 1907 by President Theodore Roosevelt, it was merged with the Alexander Archipelago Forest Reserve in 1908. With resources that are closely guarded, the area has moved away from logging operations to establish other economic endeavors such as tourism, subsistence food, and salmon farms.

When people say that they breathe better in the forest, they probably aren't kidding! With the trees taking in the carbon dioxide in the air, and expelling fresh oxygen, it is a well known fact that visiting a forest is great for a person's lungs!

Answer: Lewis and Clark

It happened really fast! Lewis and Clark made it to the Pacific Northwest in 1805 and traveled down the Columbia River, discovering the enormous forest resources there. By 1828 the first sawmill in the area was built. When the California Gold Rush began, there was a pressing need for lumber, and the completion of the railroad meant the Northwest became the center of railroad production.

So - I guess it can be said that trees and humans have the perfect partnership. Maybe it's time to go out and do some planting!

Answer: Yes, but a person must first obtain a Forest Service-issued permit

There are strict guidelines to follow, however, many of the national forests in the U.S. allow the cutting of Christmas trees, as well as the collection of firewood. A person must have their permit with them at all times, and it's important to maintain contact with the forest office in order to know where to cut the tree and if it is permissible to cut up dead wood for firewood.

Permits to cut holiday trees are usually available in November, and each forest will have areas that are suggested for harvesting. It is very important to be familiar with the guidelines in the forest you intend to visit for this purpose, and to be aware of the fact that both Christmas trees and firewood obtained from a national forest cannot be resold.

While their contribution to the air we breathe has to be their most important function, it must be remembered that trees provide us with food, natural healing products, paper, shade, firewood, and a host of other benefits. And - they are beautiful!