Landowner cooperatives vary in size, number of participants, and organizational structure, depending on the needs and objectives of the members.  For example, if an objective is to offer fee-hunting for white-tailed deer, cooperative landowners should consider an area unit larger than 2,000 acres; however, if fee-hunting is offered for liberated bobwhite quail, a smaller acreage is sufficient.

By participating in a wildlife cooperative, landowners develop a community bond from working as a team toward a common purpose. As the cooperative becomes successful in managing and marketing the wildlife resource, participating landowners gain satisfaction in seeing the resource improved.

Landowners interested in organizing a cooperative for wildlife need to contact neighbors to discuss the idea. If you are not sure who your neighbors are, or land ownership surrounding your property, your county Farm Services Agency (FSA) office or tax assessor's office has a list of names and boundary lines of adjoining property.  While at the FSA office, you may also purchase a current aerial photograph of the proposed cooperative site. High-quality photographs are invaluable when "marking off" boundary lines of individual land tracts and to identify the location of the cooperative unit as a whole. Landowners may want to involve forestry and wildlife professionals and county leaders in organizing a cooperative.

In any group that attempts to accomplish a specific task, you must have organizational structure. The same prerequisite is true when developing a wildlife landowner cooperative. Within the organizational structure, you need leadership, cooperation, and communication among members.

The first step in organizing a landowner cooperative is an organizational meeting of interested landowners with adjoining or nearby properties. The primary purpose of a meeting is to inform and gauge interest to the cooperative approach of managing and marketing the wildlife resource. Interested landowners should discuss the feasibility of this joint venture.  Will a landowner cooperative work?  What are the potential problems and/or benefits?  How would the landowner cooperative function?  The county Extension agent or other resource professionals have information, available options, and guidance for developing and managing a successful landowner cooperative. 

Landowners attending an organizational meeting should decide whether to form a cooperative unit after all the information is presented. If there is general agreement to proceed, an election of officers should be conducted to provide leadership and direction to the cooperative. If only a small number of landowners (fewer than five) are considering forming a cooperative, you may not need to elect officers. The officers will develop guidelines or bylaws, approved by all members, and use the guidelines in the operation of the cooperative. Officers need to name the cooperative to help identify the adjoining landowner group as a distinct unit.

Defining the objectives of the cooperative is one of the most important decisions of participating landowners. Take careful consideration in developing and clarifying cooperative objectives so they meet the expectations of all landowners.  Write cooperative objectives to complement the individual objectives of each landowner.  Well-thought-out objectives help determine the management and marketing directions of the cooperative unit and also serve as a basis for long-range planning.

Management of the cooperative can be divided into three categories--administrative, land management, and promotion/marketing. Provide careful attention to each management phase to establish a successful landowner cooperative.

• Administrative management keeps the cooperative membership together as a functioning unit. This usually includes scheduling meetings to help maintain communication among members.  Administrative management is best performed by the cooperative leaders or elected officers. Communication to other nonparticipating landowners and community members may also be important.

• Land management involves recommending and implementing specific habitat improvement practices aimed at increasing the productivity and quality of wildlife on cooperative lands, and sustaining the long-term sustainability of the wildlife resources and their habitat on the related property.  This involves long-range planning that requires the services of a wildlife biologist or consultant.  Individual landowners can pay for specific management practices required on their lands or may share expenses with other cooperative members (based on a preset formula).  Hunters also may be willing to pay for management practices that directly benefit wildlife. Cost-sharing assistance may be available for certain management practices through state and federal agencies, which contribute to improved wildlife habitat.

• Promotion and marketing involves actively searching for and obtaining the best price for access to, and the use of the wildlife cooperative.  Fee-hunting on cooperative lands should be promoted by the cooperative members or officers, with marketing methods centered around income level and other goals.

Many landowners are concerned about the liabilities of having others on their lands, especially with firearms involved.  Most individual landowners require users to purchase liability insurance that protects all parties including owner, operator, and clientele. Cooperatives typically can find hunting liability insurance at cheaper rates than individual landowners with small tracts.