decisions. Now, as with other grower- 

 owned organizations, the board of di- 

 rectors and manager are the manage- 

 ment team for the cooperative. The 

 Forest Ranger primarily serves as a 

 consultant. 



Policy Guides 



From its early days, the Au Sable 

 organization had definite policies to 

 follow in the form of Bylaws and 

 Articles of Incorporation. These poli- 

 cies were designed to improve the 

 financial position of woodland owners 

 and create employment opportunities 

 for local people. 



To discourage developing a number 

 of small itinerant operators, members 

 of the association originally were not 

 permitted to hire any help outside the 

 family or neighbors. The purpose of 

 this policy was to provide maximum 

 returns to the man on the job and to 

 use local resources to the fullest 

 extent possible. There has been some 

 relaxing of this requirement in recent 

 years. 



To promote good woodland manage- 

 ment, the association adopted rules and 

 regulations on cutting practices. 

 Forest products cut from privately 

 owned lands could not be marketed 

 on the association's contract unless 

 prescribed practices were followed. 



To effect economy of operation, 

 the association purchased and pooled 

 logging, trucking, and other equipment 

 for use by all members. As volume 



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