Most owners value the privacy and aesthetic beauty their forests provide. Some landowners want an annual supply of fuelwood for their own use or for some periodic income. The list of potential benefits is long. No one can develop a forest management plan that is right for you without knowing what benefits you value and what ones are unimportant to you. Management recommendations for a given stand of trees can vary dramatically depending upon the objectives.
Priorities provide the framework for developing forest management recommendations.
Without them, a forester can write a plan only by making assumptions about your priorities or by imposing his or her own. Take a holistic view of forest management, and develop plans that consider commodity and non-commodity benefits. Management for wildlife, rare and endangered plants and animals, recreational opportunities, scenic vistas, sites of archaeological significance, and areas of future development are all part of natural resource management. These factors should be considered in developing your landowner objectives for a forest management plan. A location map enables someone who is unfamiliar with your property to find it from a major highway.