Community Articles (listed by posting date)
General News · 12th June 2025
sadhu
The board of the Cortes Community Forest Coop is planning to shift our organizational structure from a Cooperative Corporation to a Community Service Cooperative. In order to make this transition, we need to dissolve our Class A Investment Shares. The best way to achieve that, for our purposes, is to convert the shares into par value member loans.
We are emailing and attempting to contact all Class A Investment Shares.
If you are a Class A Investment Shareholder, please read the text below that was sent to all Class A Investment Shareholders and reach-out to us to update your email in our system and to discuss converting your shares.
Your status as a regular voting member would be unchanged, and your ongoing investment, now in the form of a loan, would allow us to continue to support forestry-related initiatives in the community.
If you are comfortable with this transition, we are asking that you send an email to: directorscortescommunityforestcoop.org indicating your approval to convert your shares to a loan.
We are hosting a meeting for any shareholders with questions or concerns on June 17th at 3:30 PM in the Pioneer room at the Mansons Hall. Members of the CCFC will be asked to vote on this transition at the 2025 AGM, scheduled for July 15th at 7 PM in the Pioneer Room.
Why Transition From a Coop Corporation to Community Service Coop?
As a cooperative corporation, we have been required to pay taxes on 50% of all revenues generated by the Partnership through logging activities. Over the last decade, we’ve paid over $60,000 in taxes. We believe those funds would be better spent investing in good work on Cortes. As a Community Service Coop, we’ll also be eligible to apply for grants, which we want to utilize to further the work of the CCFC.
What Have We Been Doing With Revenues?
The CCFC has utilized revenues to support local initiatives and economic development related to forestry. We recently oversaw the development of a value-added strategy to help grow local economic activity in the forestry space. We are now implementing that strategy, including partnering to create a Wood Makerspace with professional wood working tools made available to professionals and hobbyists. Over the last year, along with the Cortes Housing Society, we have sponsored the updating of important ecological maps of Cortes. This initiative has aligned with the development of an aquifer health assessment.
What Does the Class A Shares Conversion Entail?
As we transition from a cooperative corporation to a community service coop, we’ll be eliminating the Class A shares. Shareholders are recommended to convert their Class A shares to a loan to the Coop. All Class A shareholders whose shares become loans will continue to be regular members with voting rights as described in the Memorandum of Association (MOA) and their investment will now be in the form of a loan. The value of the loan will be the same as the value of the shares that you owned. Just like the shares, loans will be redeemable at any time. If you would prefer not to convert to a loan, you can redeem your shares for cash. If you would like to do this, please send an email to directorscortescommunityforestcoop.org indicating your desire to cash in your shares.
What’s Going on with Logging on Cortes?
The last significant logging operation was several years ago. Since then, log prices have fallen considerably, so the focus has been on fire risk reduction, including extensive operations to reduce fire risk at multiple locations utilizing grant funding. We are preparing for additional activities in the year ahead if the financial indicators are such that a harvest is worthwhile. You can get more information on our website: https://cortescommunityforestcoop.org/ as well as on the partnership website: http://www.cortesforestrypartnership.com
We recognize that logging in our community is challenging, particularly for neighbors where operations are taking place. As a board, we continue to focus on limited and sustainable logging to age our forests with a focus on supplying local mills, reducing fire risk and supporting local economic development. The uniqueness of our partnership with the Klahoose First Nation in managing Crown lands on Cortes continues to get noticed by other communities and we are proud of our collective work to maintain forestry activities on Cortes in a sustainable way.
We hope you will continue to support the CCFC and will let us know whether you approve of the conversion of your shares to a loan. We look forward to hearing from you or seeing you at one of the upcoming meetings. Please don’t hesitate to send us any questions that you may have.
Best
The Board
Sadhu Johnston, Kate Maddigan, Nicholas Gagnon, Bruce Ellingsen, David Shipway
We are emailing and attempting to contact all Class A Investment Shares.
If you are a Class A Investment Shareholder, please read the text below that was sent to all Class A Investment Shareholders and reach-out to us to update your email in our system and to discuss converting your shares.
Your status as a regular voting member would be unchanged, and your ongoing investment, now in the form of a loan, would allow us to continue to support forestry-related initiatives in the community.
If you are comfortable with this transition, we are asking that you send an email to: directorscortescommunityforestcoop.org indicating your approval to convert your shares to a loan.
We are hosting a meeting for any shareholders with questions or concerns on June 17th at 3:30 PM in the Pioneer room at the Mansons Hall. Members of the CCFC will be asked to vote on this transition at the 2025 AGM, scheduled for July 15th at 7 PM in the Pioneer Room.
Why Transition From a Coop Corporation to Community Service Coop?
As a cooperative corporation, we have been required to pay taxes on 50% of all revenues generated by the Partnership through logging activities. Over the last decade, we’ve paid over $60,000 in taxes. We believe those funds would be better spent investing in good work on Cortes. As a Community Service Coop, we’ll also be eligible to apply for grants, which we want to utilize to further the work of the CCFC.
What Have We Been Doing With Revenues?
The CCFC has utilized revenues to support local initiatives and economic development related to forestry. We recently oversaw the development of a value-added strategy to help grow local economic activity in the forestry space. We are now implementing that strategy, including partnering to create a Wood Makerspace with professional wood working tools made available to professionals and hobbyists. Over the last year, along with the Cortes Housing Society, we have sponsored the updating of important ecological maps of Cortes. This initiative has aligned with the development of an aquifer health assessment.
What Does the Class A Shares Conversion Entail?
As we transition from a cooperative corporation to a community service coop, we’ll be eliminating the Class A shares. Shareholders are recommended to convert their Class A shares to a loan to the Coop. All Class A shareholders whose shares become loans will continue to be regular members with voting rights as described in the Memorandum of Association (MOA) and their investment will now be in the form of a loan. The value of the loan will be the same as the value of the shares that you owned. Just like the shares, loans will be redeemable at any time. If you would prefer not to convert to a loan, you can redeem your shares for cash. If you would like to do this, please send an email to directorscortescommunityforestcoop.org indicating your desire to cash in your shares.
What’s Going on with Logging on Cortes?
The last significant logging operation was several years ago. Since then, log prices have fallen considerably, so the focus has been on fire risk reduction, including extensive operations to reduce fire risk at multiple locations utilizing grant funding. We are preparing for additional activities in the year ahead if the financial indicators are such that a harvest is worthwhile. You can get more information on our website: https://cortescommunityforestcoop.org/ as well as on the partnership website: http://www.cortesforestrypartnership.com
We recognize that logging in our community is challenging, particularly for neighbors where operations are taking place. As a board, we continue to focus on limited and sustainable logging to age our forests with a focus on supplying local mills, reducing fire risk and supporting local economic development. The uniqueness of our partnership with the Klahoose First Nation in managing Crown lands on Cortes continues to get noticed by other communities and we are proud of our collective work to maintain forestry activities on Cortes in a sustainable way.
We hope you will continue to support the CCFC and will let us know whether you approve of the conversion of your shares to a loan. We look forward to hearing from you or seeing you at one of the upcoming meetings. Please don’t hesitate to send us any questions that you may have.
Best
The Board
Sadhu Johnston, Kate Maddigan, Nicholas Gagnon, Bruce Ellingsen, David Shipway