Summary: The forest of northern hardwoods, white pine and hemlock that blankets much of the western Massachusetts landscape is in reality a patchwork quilt of non-industrial family plots–about 220,000 of them in all, ranging in size from several dozen to several hundred acres. In 1999, a group of forest landowners recognized that a cooperative structure would enable them to strengthen their bargaining power, pool their resources, add value to their forest products, enrich the local economy, and maintain the region’s rural quality of life.


The Massachusetts Woodlands Cooperative: Poised for Expansion (PDF)