The January 4 issue of Crosscut (one of those online newspapers staffed in part by the survivors of several defunct off-line newspapers) raised a question about new ways Weyerhaeuser has found to generate money from the forests it owns; switching from timber, paper and packaging to financial instruments. Crosscut writer Daniel Jack Chasan says:

Weyerhaeuser is close to becoming a real estate investment trust (REIT). For tax analysts and shareholders, forests are no longer about timber; they're about harvesting tax-advantaged money. The Weyerhaeuser Company has finally dropped that other shoe, or at least has decided to drop it. Last month, Weyerhaeuser announced that its board of directors had finally committed the company to becoming a Real Estate Investment Trust. The company may make the switch in 2010. Or it may not. The only question is when. Arguably, that has been the question for a long time. Many investors and observers have been awaiting this news for years. In 2008, the company lobbied successfully for legislation that cut its tax rate in half, comparable to the corporate tax paid by a REIT — if a REIT paid taxes. But a REIT isn't likely to have much taxable income. Instead, it channels 90 percent of its earnings to shareholders, who pay as individuals, avoiding the “double taxation” levied on most corporate profits and dividend income. There's more... read on.

WRECO - Weyerhaeuser Real Estate Company - is one of the country's 20 largest homebuilders. For those who may not recognize Weyerhaeuser's homebuilding subsidiaries here are some names you may know: . .