Ask, Evaluate, Do, Part 2

Evaluating is about decisions.

When you have satisfied yourself that you have asked enough, then comes the evaluation. It is not that much difference than seeking advice from a physician for a medical question, there are always at least two choices to take the advice or not take the advice.  Each has a set of consequences associated with them.  For instance doing a thinning under certain forest conditions will result in the remaining trees virtually falling down or bending over like a wet noodle.  If that same thinning had happened earlier in the trees’ lives you probably would have had a more resilient forest.

You can do research for yourself about what should be done, if anything.  Again using a medical example, knowing the signs of a heart attack are important and then a decision do nothing, or seek help.  Trees grow faster than you think, but like our bodies, a mistake can take a long time to heal.

Evaluating is as much about the forest as who you are seeking advice from.  Seek out someone who has experience and has seen what has worked and has not worked.  To become a physician in the US it takes about 11 years.  Forests given their lifespan how long do you think someone should practice before doing an evaluation?