Mount Washington Valley, New Hampshire 

The Mt. Washington Valley Economic Council serves the towns of Albany, Bartlett, Chatham, Conway, Eaton, Freedom, Jackson, Madison, Ossipee, and Tamworth, NH and the towns of Fryeburg and Brownfield, ME from an office in Conway, NH.

Concerned about the region’s reliance on tourism, the Council established a forestry committee to explore options for reinvigorating the timber industry - once an economic mainstay in the area. The forestry committee recognizes that changes in the economy are connected to changes in land use. They assume that forestland will continue to be converted for development unless forest landowners can get a better financial return by managing their land for forestry. They approached the National Community Forestry Center, Northern Forest Region for assistance in determining the feasibility of establishing a forestry cooperative comprised of both public & private forestland owners committed to sustainable forestry practices. With assistance from the Center, the committee designed an interview survey, then conducted interviews with forest landowners to determine their interest in a cooperative approach to support sustainable forest management. Center staff followed their progress, provided information and assistance upon request, and produced an annotated bibliography, "So You're Thinking of Starting A Landowner Cooperative?" to assist others in exploring options for building relationships among forest land owners.