Variable Interest Entities (Details) (Textual) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended					9 Months Ended				3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
	Jul. 31, 2011	Jul. 31, 2010	Jul. 31, 2011	Jul. 31, 2010	Oct. 31, 2010	May 23, 2005	Mar. 28, 2005	Jul. 31, 2011 STA Timber [Member]	Jul. 31, 2010 STA Timber [Member]	Oct. 31, 2010 STA Timber [Member]	May 31, 2005 STA Timber [Member] Monetization Notes [Member]	Jul. 31, 2011 Flexible Packaging JV [Member]	Jul. 31, 2011 Flexible Packaging JV [Member]	Jul. 31, 2011 Asset Company [Member]	Jul. 31, 2011 Trading Company [Member]
Variable Interest Entities (Textuals) [Abstract]
Approximate acres of timberland to be sold under agreement with Plum Creek Timberland							56,000
Acres of timberland sold under the agreement by Soterra						35,000
Approximate value of sale agreement with Plum Creek Timberland							$ 90,000,000
Value of timberland sold under the agreement by Soterra						51,000,000
Pretax gain resulting from sale under agreement						42,100,000
Purchase notes payable						50,900,000
Maximum amount of guarantee on purchase notes						52,300,000
Restricted bank financial instruments under buyer SPE	50,900,000		50,900,000		50,900,000
Interest income of Buyer SPE			1,200,000	1,200,000
Committed capital contribution			150,000,000
Commitment to obtain third party financing			upto $150 million
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Senior secured notes											5.20%
Maturity date											Aug. 05, 2020
Debt instrument, principal outstanding								43,300,000		43,300,000	43,300,000
Interest Expense	18,435,000	15,935,000	53,817,000	47,582,000				1,700,000	1,700,000
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Ownership percentage in Variable Interest Entity														51.00%	49.00%
Noncontrolling Interest [Line Items]
Noncontrolling interests attributable to the flexible packaging JV												$ 100,000	$ (3,500,000)