Timber firms look for other ways to profit from forests

Another Cascadia timber company said Monday that much of its land would be worth more if used for something other than growing trees.

At an investor conference in New York, Spokane's Potlatch said about 300,000 of its 1.5 million acres of timberland are "non-strategic to our core forestland operations." Some of the land is worth more as recreational properties and could be sold, with the proceeds going to acquisitions, pay down debt or buy back shares. Potlatch this year reorganized itself as a real estate investment trust.

The statement is the latest sign of how the Cascadia timber companies that helped build the region's economy are retooling. Weyerhaueser sells some Puget Sound-area land to individuals, Plum Creek Timber wants to turn coastal Oregon land into houses and British Columbia firms have dramatically scaled back their operations.

Potlatch is the largest private timberland owner in Idaho and recently announced that it would charge for recreational use there, according to the AP.