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‪Measuring the impact of forest exploitation for industrial purposes is a longstanding issue in history, but one that has been revitalized by Geographical Information Systems (GIS). The forests of the Northern Vosges, in France, were heavily exploited for foundries and glassworks, particularly from 1760 onwards. The state and management of these forests has been studied across the Comté de Bitche, an area that is fortunate to possess two high-quality archival sources: an exceptional “topogeographical” atlas and a series of forestry registers. The study is based on data relating to 415 coppices with standards and 340,000 trees earmarked to be cut down between 1762 and 1785. These were compiled into a historical GIS showing that forest exploitations destined for industrial uses were not more intensive than those destined for other uses by local people or for sale. The strong presence of oak on the borders of Alsace does not seem linked to hypothetical overexploitation linked to burgeoning industrial development.‪