<P> Deforestation in the United States is an ongoing environmental issue that attracts protests from environmentalists . Prior to the arrival of European - Americans, about one half of the United States land area was forest, about 1,023,000,000 acres (4,140,000 km) estimated in 1630 . Recently, the Forest Service reported total forestation as 766,000,000 acres (3,100,000 km) in 2012 . The majority of deforestation took place prior to 1910 with the Forest Service reporting the minimum forestation as 721,000,000 acres (2,920,000 km) around 1920 . The forest resources of the United States have remained relatively constant through the 20th century . </P> <P> The 2005 Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Global Forest Resources Assessment ranked the United States as seventh highest country losing its old growth forests, a vast majority of which were removed prior to the 20th century . </P>

When was most of the continental us deforested