When Europeans first came to the eastern shores of North America, they encountered a vast virgin forest that seemingly stretched westward forever. First viewed as barriers and places for hiding, the trees soon became cabins, gunstocks and cradles, wagon wheels, and eventually newsprint and prefabrications, as well as economic and recreational treasure. New Jersey’s forests belong to the Eastern Deciduous forest classification, whose trees shed their leaves every year during the harshness of winter. Forty-two percent of the state’s vegetation is forest trees. These forests sustain an abundance of wildlife and plants, and New Jersey is divided into five physiographic regions, each with its own unique topography and soils, factors that help determine the types of trees that grow in each region.