In Finland, private forest owners own nearly 60% of forest land. The average size of a private forest property is around 30 hectares. Many owners identify as multi-objective owners with varying management goals related to recreation, biodiversity, and scenery, in addition to timber production. The aim of this research was to assess how a cooperative approach to game-oriented forest management could be perceived by forest owners and also to evaluate the type of mechanisms that influence how cooperative management principles could be put into practice. Game-oriented forest management refers to forestry practices that aim to maintain the habitats of grouse species, such as the highly-valued game species capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus L.). The lekking sites of capercaillie are extensive (up to 20 hectares) and can be located on several private properties. Game-oriented management applied in lekking sites could improve the quality of the sites but would require a cooperative management approach across property boundaries. However, the openness of forest owners to game-oriented or cooperative forestry practices has been unknown.
This research consisted of two double-sampling survey studies that included three surveys (two for forest owners, one for forest professionals) and one qualitative interview study with forest owners, which together explain the use of game-oriented and cooperative forest management methods, the type of beliefs that forest owners associate with cooperative management of lekking sites, and how willing and ready they are to participate in cooperative forest management practices. The results indicated that game-oriented forest management methods are increasingly approved by forest owners, and that the forest owners are intrigued by cooperation. However, currently independent forest management, norms, restricted services and communication between forest owners may hinder their interest in participating in cross-boundary forest management. The findings also emphasise the importance of forest owners’ decision-making power in cooperative forest management. Cooperative schemes promoted through cooperation between forest owners with similar goals could yield optimal management solutions across wide habitats of capercaillie.