Cooperative Extension Service: Wood Energy

Wood Availability

Firewood species thrive throughout timbered regions of Alaska. Sitka spruce, hemlock, alder, waste wood from old timber sales and dead cedar are cut in the coastal forests of Southeast Alaska. White spruce, birch, aspen, balsam poplar, cottonwood, black spruce and tamarack are used in Western, Interior and South Central Alaska. Many river communities take trees as they float by along our major rivers. Each tree species has its regional preference and firewood value.

Click the map for a high resolution image which may be enlarged or printed

Map of Alaska with colored areas indicating different classifications of forest cover

Alaska Forest Dominant Tree Species by Forest Class
(USGS Classified AVHRR, 1991)
Maroon color key for map areas with these species

Closed Broadleaf & Closed Mixed Forest

  • Black Cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa)
  • Balsam Poplar
  • Paper Birch
  • Quaking Aspen
  • White Spruce
  • Black Spruce
Red color key for map areas with these species

Closed Mixed Forest

  • Black Spruce (Picea mariana)
  • Paper Birch (Betula papyrifera)
  • White Spruce (Picea glauca)
  • Balsam Poplar (Populus balsamifera)
Orange color key for map areas with these species

Closed Spruce Forest

  • White Spruce
  • Black Spruce
Gold color key for map areas with these species

Spruce Woodland/Shrub

  • White Spruce
Yellow color key for map areas with these species

Open Spruce Forest/Shrub/Bog

  • White Spruce
Bright green color key for map areas with these species

Spruce & Broadleaf Forest

  • White Spruce
  • Black Spruce
Green color key for map areas with these species

Open Spruce & Closed Mixed Forest

  • White Spruce
  • Black Spruce
  • Paper Birch
  • Balsam Poplar
  • Quaking Aspen (Populus tremuloides)
Dark green color key for map areas with these species

Closed Spruce & Hemlock Forest

  • Sitka Spruce (Picea sitchensis)
  • Western Hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla)
  • Woodland has 10 - 24% tree cover
  • Open forest has 25% - 59% tree cover
  • Closed forest has 60% - 100% tree cover
  • Mixed forest hs 25% - 75% of tree cover is broadleaf or conifer species
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