forestry sub-indicator
Four metrics were analyzed in the category of Forestry to obtain state rankings. Individual state data for the acres of forestry, the net volume of trees, the annual harvest removal of trees, and the annual net growth of trees were obtained from the USDA for the year 2015.
Metrics and Data Sources
| Metric Name | Definition | Data Source |
| Acres of Forest per State | Acres of Forest as a Percentage of Acres per State | USDA Forest Inventory and Analysis
[http://apps.fs.fed.us/Evalidator/evalidator.jsp] |
| Growth as a Percentage per State | Annual Growth as a Percentage of Total Net Volume of All Live Trees | USDA Forest Inventory and Analysis
[http://apps.fs.fed.us/Evalidator/evalidator.jsp] |
| Removals as a Percentage per State | Annual Removals as a Percentage of Total Net Volume of All Live Trees | USDA Forest Inventory and Analysis
[http://apps.fs.fed.us/Evalidator/evalidator.jsp] |
Results
| State | Acres of Forest as a % of State | Growth as a % of Live Trees | Removal as a % of Live Trees | Avg. Score | Rank |
| Illinois | 9 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 6 |
| Indiana | 8 | 6 | 3 | 5.7 | 5 |
| Iowa | 10 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 10 |
| Kentucky | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 1 |
| Michigan | 2 | 5 | 7 | 4.7 | 3 |
| Minnesota | 6 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 6 |
| Ohio | 7 | 2 | 10 | 6.3 | 8 |
| Washington | 3 | 10 | 6 | 6.3 | 8 |
| West Virginia | 1 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| Wisconsin | 4 | 1 | 9 | 4.7 | 3 |
Metric Findings
For forestry, Indiana ranked fair overall, with a score of 5 out of 10 compared to Washington’s rank at 8th. Iowa, however, ranked last in Forestry. Iowa’s poor ranking could be related to an overall lack of forestry, while Indiana’s ranking indicates that it is adequate regarding forestry, but improvements can and should be made given the fairly large percentage of forest it has of the state’s total size.
