Forest-range environment for the 48 States 

 is made up of 34 ecosystems ranging in area 

 from 173 million acres of Plains grasslands 

 (fig. 9) to one million acres of Redwood (table 

 3). However, Plains grasslands, Oak-hickory 

 (125 million). Sagebrush (94 million), Desert 

 shrub (86 million). Mountain grasslands (80 

 million), and Loblolly-shortleaf pine (55 mil- 

 lion) jointly comprise 613 million acres, or 

 more than 50 percent of the total forest-range 

 environment. 



The Federal Government as an entity main- 

 tains jurisdiction over 373 million acres, or 

 31 percent of the forest-range lands, while the 

 non-Federal owners control 829 million acres, 

 or 69 percent of the total forest-range. Owner- 

 ship by ecosystem, however, varies widely. 



Table 3. — Forest-range by ecosystem and 



ownership, 1970 



(Million acres) 



[Totals may not add due to rounding] 



Table 3. — Forest-range by ecosystem and 



oivnershij), 1970 — Continued 



(Million acres) 



[Totals may not add due to rounding] 



Ecogroups 



National 



Other 



Non- 



Forest- 

 Range 

 Environ- 

 ment 



and 



Forest 



Federal 



Federal 



Ecosystems 



System 



Land 



Land 



Western Range 











Sagebrush 



10.0 



67.2 



17.1 



94.2 



Desert shrub 



5.0 



55.3 



25.8 



86.0 



Southwestern 











shrubsteppe _ 



1.1 



10.3 



27.2 



38.6 



Chapparal- 











mountain 











shrub 



6.7 



12.8 



12.6 



32.1 



Piny on- juniper 



10.2 



17.4 



15.1 



42.7 



Mountain 











grasslands 



7.2 



5.6 



67.0 



79.8 



Mountain 











meadows 



1.9 



0.1 



2.0 



4.0 



Desert grass- 











lands 



1.2 



9.6 



15.3 



26.1 



Annual grass- 











lands 







0.4 



6.3 



6.7 



Alpine^ 



8.3 



T^ 







8.3 



Total 



51.6 



178.8 



188.2 



418.6 



Western Forest 











Douglas-fir 



20.2 



3.3 



15.4 



38.9 



Ponderosapine_ 



19.2 



1.6 



16.7 



37.6 



Western white 











pine 



3.5 



0.1 



0.5 



4.1 



Fir-spruce 



18.4 



1.8 



4.2 



24.4 



Hemlock- Sitka 











spruce 



2.2 



0.5 



4.4 



7.1 



Larch 



3.3 



0.2 



1.7 



5.1 



Lodgepole pine_ 



13.5 



2.6 



3.0 



19.1 



Redwood 



T 



0.1 



0.9 



0.9 



Hardwoods — 



6.8 



1.7 



15.0 



23.4 



Total 



87.1 



11.9 



61.7 



160.6 



Great Plains 











Shinnery 



0.1 



T 



1.9 



2.0 



Texas savanna_ 



T 



0.1 



15.1 



15.2 



Plains grass- 











lands 



3.6 



6.8 



162.9 



173.3 



Prairie 



0.3 



0.2 



37.9 



38.4 



Total 



3.9 



7.1 



217.9 



228.9 



Ecogroups 



National 



Other 



Non- 



Forest- 

 Range 

 Environ- 

 ment 



and 



Forest 



Federal 



Federal 



Ecosystems 



System 



Land 



Land 



Eastern Forest 











White-red-jack 











pme 



1.5 



0.1 



10.9 



12.6 



Spruce-fir 



2.2 



0.2 



21.2 



23.6 



Longleaf- 











slashpine 



1.1 



0.8 



19.0 



20.9 



Loblolly-short- 











leaf pine 



3.6 



0.7 



50.7 



55.1 



Oak-pine 



2.2 



0.7 



31.6 



34.5 



Oak-hickory 



6.8 



2.0 



116.2 



125.1 



Oak-gum- 











cypress 



0.5 



1.2 



32.4 



34.1 



Elm-ash- 











cottonwood _ 



0.3 



0.2 



24.5 



25.0 



Maple-beech- 











birch 



2.7 



0.2 



32.8 



35.6 



Aspen-birch 



2.4 



0.2 



20.0 



22.6 



Wet grass- 











lands' 



T 



2.7 



1.7 



4.5 



Total 



23.3 



9.0 



361.1 



393.5 



48 State Total _ 



165.9 



206.8 



828.9 



1,201.6 



^ Includes barren areas above treeline. 



= T=:less than 50,000 acres. 



" Occurs throughout much of coastal United States. 



The USDA Forest Service, through the Na- 

 tional Forest System, maintains jurisdiction 

 over 14 percent, or 166 million acres of the 

 forest-range. Although every ecosystem except 

 Annual grasslands is represented in this land 

 area, two-thirds is forested, and more than one- 

 half is in the Western Forest ecogroup. Forest 

 ecosystems over which the U.S. Forest Service 

 has major control include : 85 percent of the 

 Western white pine, 75 percent of the Fir- 

 spruce, 71 percent of the Lodgepole pine, 65 

 percent of the Larch, 52 percent of the Douglas- 

 fir, and 51 percent of the Ponderosa pine (fig. 

 10). National Forest System lands in the east 

 are dispersed among all ecosystems and account 

 for only 6 percent of the Eastern Forest eco- 

 group total. 



The nonforest portion of the National Forest 

 System is also concentrated in the western eco- 

 groups. But with the exception of the Alpine 

 ecosystem, where the U.S. Forest Service has 

 jurisdiction over essentially all of the 8 million 

 acres, the Forest Service share of the individual 

 ecosystems involved is small. In absolute terms, 

 however, 10 million acres each of Pinyon- 

 juniper and Sagebrush, 8 million acres of 

 Alpine, and 5 or more million acres each of 

 Chaparral-mountain shrub, Mountain grass- 

 lands, and Desert shrub, plus lesser amounts 



21 



