The North Central Research Station's Forest Inventory and Analysis program began fieldwork for the fourth forest inventory of Nebraska in 2001, in partnership with Nebraska Forest Service, University of Nebraska, Lincoln.

Results of the 2005 annual inventory of Nebraska show an estimated 1.24 million acres of forest land. Softwoods comprise one-third of this forested area, with ponderosa pine being the primary component by acreage and volume. Hardwoods comprise more than half (58 percent) of all forested acreage. Overall, the elm/ash/cottonwood type is the predominant forest-type group in the state, comprising 26 percent of all forested land. In terms of volume, the estimate of net volume of all live trees and salvable dead trees on timberland increased from 1.71 to 1.74 billion cubic feet between the 1983 and 2005 inventories.