Are any cooperatives dealing with non-timber forest product management and marketing?
A. The short answer is yes the long answer is more varied. Generally speaking, the forestry cooperatives most talked about in the conference are not formally managing, processing or marketing non-timber products for members as a major element of their business planning. However, many members of the groups are very interested and experienced in this area so there is educational and more informal work being done to develop their ideas and interests. More specifically, there are efforts to develop a maple syruping co-op in Wisconsin, and there are also very targeted non-timber projects being initiated by Rural Action in Ohio, primarily around ginseng. (Respondent: Katie Fernholz kfernholz@iatp.org http://www.forestrycenter.org) Q. Use of local wood for community projects (e.g. schools, libraries, etc) seems a good niche market for cooperatives. Can you comment? A. Yes! Absolutely! Using locally grown, well-managed wood and non-wood products in local buildings and community projects makes
