Environmental Loss Contingency Disclosure - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
Environmental Exit Cost [Line Items]
Environmental clean up, agreement terms	The agreement, which is outlined below in principle after lengthy negotiations, includes Removal of about 2,000 creosote pilings; Excavation of intertidal areas and dredging of wood waste from the bottom of Port Gamble Bay; Installation of a sand-cap of up to four feet in specific locations in Port Gamble Bay; Removal of all existing docks and overwater structures on and around the former Pope & Talbot Port Gamble mill site by the fall of 2015.
Total estimated clean up cost	$ 17,000,000
Accrual for estimated environmental remediation costs	13,900,000	13,900,000
Environmental liability, next 12 month	671,000
Environmental liability thereafter	13,200,000
Minimum
Environmental Exit Cost [Line Items]
Estimated environmental clean up costs	11,500,000
Maximum
Environmental Exit Cost [Line Items]
Estimated environmental clean up costs	$ 16,100,000