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The planning
process does not need to be complicated. In fact, the more complex it
is, the fewer people you will have interested in its development.
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Every community is
different and thus plans vary among communities.
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However, the steps
taken to create a plan are similar, and there is a logical sequence of events
in the process that helps to produce a successful plan.
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The five basic
steps in a management plan are: the vision, assessing the resources,
identifying the needs, setting goals and developing action plans, and
evaluating the outcomes.
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The vision sets
the direction for your plan. Ask yourself “what do we want these trees
to do for our community”.
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Once you have an
idea of what your community forest will look like in the future, you will
need to know what you currently have. Taking an inventory of the trees
in your community will allow you see the current condition of your trees as a
whole and help you to better understand what needs to be done to realize your
vision. You should plan to reassess your trees periodically (i.e. every
five years or so) to see how things are progressing.
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What types of
things must be done (or needs to be done) to move your urban forest program
toward your vision. Things such as public education, funding, tree
maintenance policy, periodic tree inventories, tree ordinance, etc. are
possible needs that should be addressed.
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With your needs
outlined, set reasonable goals to address the needs. Develop measurable
objectives or action items to help you accomplish the goals. Assign the
action item to an individual or group, and give them a target date for
completing the item. If there is a cost associated with the action
item, it is a good idea to estimate that as well. This will be
presented to the community’s elected officials (or whoever is responsible for
the community’s finances). Costs usually must be justified, so it may
also be a good idea to provide a good, valid reason why money should be spent
on that action item.
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Periodically
evaluate the progress of your plan. It may be a good idea to do this
once every year, preferably well in advance of the start of the new fiscal
year. Ask yourself, “Are we getting what we wanted?”. Was
everything that we set out to do completed? If not, why not? You
may need to re-evaluate your vision, needs, goals, and action items to ensure
they are reasonable and/or attainable. At this point, you will want to
set new goals and objectives for the new year, or you may simply need to set
new completion dates in order to accomplish the goals previously set
out. A professional arborist can help you determine what goals are
attainable and at what cost.
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