Why Co-ops?
Cooperatives are one way to structure a business that involves individuals working together to accomplish goals not possible by working alone. Cooperative enterprises can be vehicles for accomplishing a variety of important outcomes for rural forest-based communities, such as:
- Creating jobs focused on improvement of the forest resource base for future generations
- Keeping more economic value closer to the resource base, through value-adding processes
A selection of helpful articles and reports about forest landowner cooperatives
Growth of the Massachusetts Woodlands Cooperative, LLC
Arthur Eve, Suzanne Webber, Paul Catanzaro, David Damery, Susan Campbell, Jay Healy, Kristina Ferrare, Paul Barten, and David Eve. HomeGrown Wood™ Journal: Volume 1, Issue 1. Revised, December, 2008. An Occasional Paper of the Massachusetts Woodlands Cooperative, LLC. 18 pages.
Massachusetts Woodlands Cooperative: Recommendations Based on Our Experience.
Pages 14-17 in HomeGrown Wood™ Journal: Volume 1, Issue 1. Revised, December, 2008.
Forest Landowner Cooperatives in the United States: A Local Focus for Engaging Landowners.
Charles R. Blinn, Pamela J. Jakes, and Misato Sakai. Journal of Forestry. July/August 2007. Pages 245-251.
Forest Cooperatives Revisited.
Bruce Hull and Sarah Ashton. March 2008. Journal of Forestry. Pages 100-106.
Learning from the experiences of others: four forest landowner cooperatives share their stories. Jakes, Pamela. 2006. In Jakes, Pamela, ed. Forestry cooperatives: what today's resource professionals need to know. Proceedings of a satellite conference; 2003 November 18. Gen. Tech. Rep. NC-266. St. Paul, MN: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Forest Service, North Central Forest Experiment Station. 53-62.
Sustainable Woods Cooperative Lessons Learned In Its 5 Years.
Compiled by Warren Gaskill. Sustainable Woods Co-op Summary Report: May, 2003. 22 pages.
Massachusetts Family Forests: Birth of a Landowner Cooperative.
Paul K. Barten, David Damery, Paul Catanzaro, Jennifer Fish, Susan Campbell, Adrian Fabos, and Lincoln Fish. Journal of Forestry 23-30. March 2001.
Private Forestland Owners in Sweden: Large-Scale Cooperation in Action.
David Kittredge. March 2003. Journal of Forestry. Pages 41-46.
More general resources about cooperatives
Cooperatives: principles and practices in the 21st century.
Kimberly A. Zeuli and Robert Cropp. 2004. University of Wisconsin Extension. 90 pages. Hard copies can be purchased at "The Learning Store" of the University of Wisconsin Extension.
An Owners Guide to Business Succession Planning
Stephen Clifford & the Staff of the Ohio Employee Ownership Center at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio.
