Since the introduction of rail lines in the 1870s and 1880s, the forested valleys of the western Cascades and the ponderosa pine stands of eastern Oregon have been national – and indeed global – centers of wood production. Oregon has been the largest softwood lumber producer in the U.S. since 1938. In fact, with 30.5 million acres of forestlands, nearly 50 percent of the total landmass of the state is forest.