Pope Resources reported net income of $0.45 million, or $0.10 per diluted unit, in the first quarter of 2010, compared to a net loss of $0.12 million, or $0.03 per diluted unit, in the same quarter of 2009.

The management of Pope Resources indicated that the domestic housing market was still weak, but that domestic and export markets for logs were seeing some strength in orders.

David L. Nunes, the CEO of Pope Resources, said, “Despite continued weak domestic housing starts, we were encouraged by improving market dynamics in both domestic and export log markets.” Pope said that the company was accelerating its harvest to meet the higher demand.

The company said that prices for logs were $459 per thousand board feet (MBF) in the first quarter of 2010, up $13 per MBF on a year over year basis, and up $58 per MBF sequentially from the final quarter in 2009.

Pope Resources is a Master Limited Partnership that owns 115,000 acres of Timberland in the United States. The company operates 3 segments:

Fee Timber – Manages the company’s owned timberland.

Timberland Management & Consulting – Offers timberland management and forestry consulting services to other timberland owners.

Real Estate – The management of company owned timberland that converts to higher and better use, including residential and commercial development.

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