VALUE is worth that each of us defines and attaches to the many aspects of life:  be they experiences, relationships, goods and services, material possessions, property, land and forest. We are the ones who give meaning and measure to all of this. Values aren’t about having the right ones or the wrong ones - yours are yours, mine are mine. Your values and mine may be very similar, very different, a little of both.

If you own land and forest, you assign value to its various features be they cords and logs, acres of deer yard habitat, wintering capacity, cubic feet per second of silt laden stream water, number and type of den trees per acre, even your relaxing ahhhhhh, responding to a sunset while sitting beneath your favorite tree in that special place out in your woods. Maybe you really love being out in your forest, walking in the woods. This is you, valuing your forest. VALUING is what we are about as human beings, as good keepers and stewards of the forest.

In the absence of human beings, a forest would simply go on giving and sustaining life through its own particular rhythms and cycles, without giving a hoot one way or another about the absence of human values and actions. The traditional USDA:FS wheel of multiple-use forest management would simply be out the window, inoperable in any forest in the absence of human values and intentions.

The purpose in addressing values this way is to help you to think about what you really appreciate, cherish, hold near and dear to you about your forest. When we look at any forest through our eyes and minds, we can see a range of interconnected, human defined values:  Water - Fish - Soils - Plants - Air - Wildlife - Timber - Forest Products - Recreation - Tourism - Culture - Spiritual Renewal.

When you look at a forest this way you can begin to see that "forests sustain us" in many, many ways. Our role as stewards and keepers is to be aware of what and how we value the forest, recognizing what we know and don’t know about managing, protecting, and working with our forest. Values influence decisions and direction in life, on land, and in the forest.

Perhaps you are ready to begin some self-reflective work. The following self- assessment, "Determining Values and Goals for Your Land and Forest" is designed to help you assess your values and interests in your forest. When you complete the values and goals inventory, you will be able to write some brief statements about your values and goals for your forest. For family ownership’s be sure to include other family members in the assessment and discussions.

• "Determining Values and Goals for Your Land and Forest" Assessment Form

Roger Merchant, Extension Educator, UM Cooperative Extension, Piscataquis County Office