As of 2002, there were 13,812,000 acres (5,590,000 hectares) of forestland in Louisiana, representing almost half the state's land area and 2% of all US forests. The principal forest types are loblolly and shortleaf pine in the northwest, longleaf and slash pine in the south, and hardwood in a wide area along the Mississippi River. More than 99% of Louisiana's forests—some 13,722,000 acres (5,553,000 hectares) in 2002—are commercial timberland, over 90% of it privately owned. Lumber production totaled 1.3 billion board feet in 2002.
Louisiana has one national forest, Kisatchie, with a gross area of 1,022,373 acres (413,754 hectares) within its boundaries; gross acreage of National Forest System lands in the state was 2,210,000 acres (894,400 hectares) in 2001. Near the boundaries of Kisatchie's Evangeline Unit is the Alexander State Forest, established in 1923.