About Us

Donegal Woodland Owners Society Limited was registered as a cooperative Society on 27th March 2008. The main objective of the Society is to maximise returns to forest owners through good forest management. To be eligible for membership applicants must own woodland located in Co. Donegal. Each member owns one share in the Society, irrespective of the size of their woodland. The share has a value of €5. The Society has been financed to date by membership fees, charges for goods and services provided and a start up grant from the Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. The voluntary commitment of the members has resulted in huge cost savings to the group. To date the Society has over 140 members who between them own approximately 10,000 acres of woodland located in Co. Donegal.

Committee Membership

A Committee of 13 members was elected at the First General Meeting on 12th June 2008. Measures were put in place to ensure the Committee had representatives from throughout the county.

The 2010 Committee officers and members are:

Chairman:	John Jackson, Stranorlar
Vice Chairman:	Raymond Treacy, Stranorlar
Secretary:	John Coyle, Ramelton
Joint Treasurers:	Charles Doherty, Burt Hugh McGarrigle, Ballyshannon
Events Coordinators:	Richard Dobson, Bundoran Daniel O'Donnell, Dungloe
Committee Members:	Michael Mullin, Ballybofey Leslie Edwards, Burt Stan McWilliams, Muff Keith Stewart, Kilmacrennan Thomas Becht, Glenties

Our achievements

A bottom up, hands on approach has been adopted by the Society members with the added commitment of voluntary time and labour. Reward for this commitment will be in the skills acquired and employed in the best management of their forests and from the local processing and value added of their timber and the non timber forest goods and services (e.g. recreation, tourism, etc).

As DWOS enters its 3rd year we have our own professional Forester Meike Siebel. Hence we can provide a growing range of services to our members and other Donegal forest owners.
Our timber processing machinery and forestry software equipment has been increasingly used and added to.

We have increased our Forest Inventory from 225 acres to 1250 acres. From this, over 5,000 m3 of timber is available to enter the market from 1st thinnings.
Work has started in cutting and extracting timber based on the results of the inventory. This will shortly be on the market creating income for the woodland owner.

During 2010 we must continue to extract our 1st thinnings for the best management of our forests and to provide much needed revenue and employment.
DWOSL are striving to provide the best professional forestry services at competitive prices to our members.

Managing our forest in a professional way may involve discovering new paths in order to provide multifunctional services in the current challenging and competitive environment. Alternative management options such as permanent cover forestry should be examined and considered.
If you are interested in finding out more about alternative management options, please attend our evening seminars, events and field days/study trips.

“Donegal Woodland Owners is a growing society which demands high standards. With professionalism, loyalty and voluntary commitment we will succeed in adding value to our timber”.

Future Developments

An inventory of members' timber which is approaching thinning or harvesting stage is ongoing. Membership of DWOSL can be enlarged, the machinery pool further increased and goods and services expanded to meet the increasing needs of our members and our local communities.

Three to four timber depots will have to be strategically located in the county for wood energy and the further processing / added value to Donegal's timber. These depots can be located in a green field site, an existing industrial building, a farmyard or forest location, depending on location, costs and suitability.

With ever increasing volumes of timber coming onto the market from privately owned forests it is now time for Donegal to harness this indigenous growth area. If the venture is successful Donegal could be importing raw saw log instead of exporting it.


Contact us to join or for more information about Donegal Woodland Owners Society Ltd.

Name:	Donegal Woodland Owners Society Limited
Address:	P.O. Box 10, Donegal Town, Co. Donegal
Telephone No.:	086 0410809
Email:	admin.dwogsl@gmail.com