A state forest or national forest is a forest that is administered or protected by a sovereign or federated state, or territory.

Background

State forests are forests that are administered or protected by some agency of a sovereign or federated state, or territory. The precise application of the terms vary by jurisdiction. For example:

Purposes

The purpose of a state forest varies between countries and the quality of the landscape it covers. In many places, state forests are divided into land for logging plantations, area for conservation, area for livestock grazing, and area for visitor recreation. As an example, in the state of California, the Redwood National and State Parks are a string of protected forests, beaches, and grasslands along Northern California's coast; these are owned by both the U.S. federal government and the State of California.