You may be asking yourself “why should I manage my forest”? If I leave the forest alone, won’t nature “take its course” and be the best option for my forest? The kinds of trees in the forest as well as the forest structure will change whether you manage your forest or not. That is, succession will happen naturally, or you can manage your forest to guide some of the changes you want to occur. Just like a flower or vegetable garden, some individual plants will succeed, while others will not. Forest management can be thought of as “tending the forest”, just as you would tend a garden. By actively managing your forest, you can choose to favor trees that are economically valuable, or trees that provide good homes or food for wildlife, or you can choose to manage for a variety of different trees. Forest management can also be used to maintain or restore forest health.

Your forest can provide you with many benefits. The existing conditions (size, age, health, etc.) of your forest, combined with the management actions you take, will shape your forest’s future and affect your options.