In the decades prior to 1940, social changes and the resiliency of the forest took over. Farms were abandoned at a record pace following the Great Depression and much of the land was reclaimed by forest. Hundreds of thousands of acres that were once pasture land were either planted or, more likely, reverted to forests naturally. The expansion continues today. Ohio now has 7.9 million acres of forests covering 30 percent of the state. Ohio forests have increased 144 percent, during just the last half century.
Percentage of Ohio in forest land
Of the 7.9 million acres of forests, 7.6 million are considered timberland or forests producing or capable of producing crops of wood.