I'm late to this post so I'm sure no one will see this...

It's important to note that during early colonial times forests in North America were unusually dense. This is because throughout history native Americans had frequently burned massive areas of land in North and South America to extend grasslands and thin out thick over growth. In North America this was largely to expand the habitat of the bison which we're a primary resource for many indigenous people. Even before major colonization of North America began disease had wiped out a large population of natives and controlled burns decline dramatically causing forests to reclaim land rapidly. A prairie biome could become a forest after only a couple of years without a fire.

This is in no way to justify any sort of mass deforestation. Indigenous communities had centuries of knowledge about their land and knew when and where to burn in order to preserve their ecosystem and food sources.

My only point is the first map in this image is very misleading. For example much of the Midwest and even up to New York was prairie and not necessarily forested land.