The purpose of a Natural Areas Land Management Plan for the Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum is to create a forward-focused systematic document that covers the most essential topics for land management.

This tree plan, not only comprises a history of trees that once stood in the Park and catalogues the trees currently standing, but also directs the succession and maintenance of the tree canopy that future generations of Park users will enjoy.

This is an example of how a historic landscape and public garden used GIS to map, track, and monitor tree health on their grounds.

Today the leaders of public gardens are faced with many difficult decisions related to climate change, membership and audience development, change in historic character, and maintenance. Necessary contemporary