Debt Debt Covenants (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010
Long-term Debt		$ 847,339,000	$ 768,160,000
Debt Instrument, Covenant Compliance		the Company is in compliance with all covenants
Debt Covenant Requirement, Threshold for Individual Sales of Timberlands for Application of Covenant Requirements		10,000,000
Covenant EBITDA to Consolidated Interest Expense [Member]
Debt Covenant Requirement, Ratio		2.50 to 1
Debt Covenant Requirement, Actual at Period End, Ratio		9.79 to 1
Debt Covenant Requirement, Amount Favorable or (Unfavorable), Ratio		7.29
Total Debt to Covenant EBITDA [Member]
Debt Covenant Requirement, Ratio		4.00 to 1
Debt Covenant Requirement, Actual at Period End, Ratio		1.72 to 1
Debt Covenant Requirement, Amount Favorable or (Unfavorable), Ratio		2.28
RFR Cash Flow Available for Fixed Charges to RFR Fixed Charges Ratio [Member]
Debt Covenant Requirement, Ratio		2.50 to 1
Debt Covenant Requirement, Actual at Period End, Ratio		14.98 to 1
Debt Covenant Requirement, Amount Favorable or (Unfavorable), Ratio		12.48
Dividends Paid to Covenant FFO Ratio [Member]
Debt Instrument, Covenant Description		The Company’s dividend restriction covenant limits the sum of dividends in any period of four fiscal quarters to 90 percent of Covenant Funds from Operations ("Covenant FFO") plus the aggregate amount of dividends permitted under Covenant FFO in excess of the amount of dividends paid during the prior four fiscal quarters.
Debt Covenant Requirement, Percentage		90.00%
Debt Covenant Requirement, Actual at Period End, Percentage		46.00%
Debt Covenant Requirement, Amount Favorable or (Unfavorable) at Period End, Percentage		44.00%
Reinvestment of Excess Timberland Sales Proceeds [Member]
Debt Instrument, Covenant Description		An asset sales covenant in the RFR installment note related agreements requires the Company, subject to certain exceptions, to either reinvest cumulative timberland sale proceeds for individual sales greater than $10 million (the "excess proceeds") in timberland-related investments or, once the amount of excess proceeds not reinvested exceeds $50 million, to offer the note holders prepayment of the notes ratably in the amount of the excess proceeds.
Debt Covenant Requirement, Limit of Non-reinvestment of Excess Timberland Sales Proceeds	50,000,000
Debt Covenant Requirement, Date of Repayment Offer	March 2010
Debt Covenant Requirement, Amount of Repayment Offer	53,000,000
Debt Covenant Requirement, Excess Timberland Sales Proceeds After Repayment Offer	zero
Debt Covenant Requirement, Excess Timberland Sales Proceeds		37,500,000	27,200,000
Installment note due 2014 at a fixed interest rate of 8.64% [Member]
Long-term Debt		$ 112,500,000	$ 112,500,000