While Oklahoma is not generally known as a forested state, a significant amount of forest is found there. Oklahoma's forests cover approximately 7,665,000 acres (3,102,000 hectares) or nearly 17% of the state's land area. Approximately 65% of this is commercially productive forestland. These forests are about 95% privately owned. They are intensively utilized for lumber, plywood, paper, fuelwood, and other products. They also provide high quality drinking water for the state's two largest cities, excellent wildlife habitat, substantial protection against soil erosion, and numerous recreational opportunities.
Oklahoma's forests play a vital role in the economy in the eastern half of the state. Much of the timber harvested in Oklahoma is shipped to processing plants in western Arkansas. Nearly two million acres of the loblolly-shortleaf pine and shortleaf pine-oak forests support several major wood processing plants in the southeastern corner of the state. Hardwood processing is scattered over the entire forested area in smaller sawmills. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Oklahoma's eastern red cedar forests and woodlands supported a surge in processing plants.
In 1999 roundwood output from Oklahoma's forests totaled 120 million cu ft (3.4 million cu m). Mill byproducts generated from primary manufacturers totaled 51 million cu ft (1.44 million cu m). In the same year, Oklahoma had 67 primary processing plants.