Hancock Timber Resource Group Names Alan P. Bruce Timberlands Manager for Cahaba Forest Management

BOSTON, September 25, 2000 - The Hancock Timber Resource Group (HTRG) has named Alan P. Bruce timberlands manager of Cahaba Forest Management, Inc. (CFM), in Childersburg, Alabama.

Bruce will oversee the staff and operations on 400,000 acres of timberland. Management activities, including marketing and harvesting plans, reforestation, silviculture practices and stewardship, will be under his direction. He also will oversee CFM's compliance with the principles of the American Forest and Paper Association's Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI).

A graduate of Auburn University, where he earned a B.S. in forest management, Bruce recently completed the Alabama Agricultural and Forest LEADERS Program. His leadership in environmental outreach and conservation programs has received several awards, including the Alabama Wildlife Federation (AWF) Governor's Conservation Achievement Award in 1998.

Bruce has held increasingly responsible positions in forestry operations and wood procurement on both private and industrial timberlands. Before joining CFM, Bruce was operations manager of southern timberlands and wood procurement for James Rivers' Naheola Mill, and most recently was manager of forestry and fiber supply for the mill, located in Pennington, Alabama. In February of this year, Cahaba Forest Management, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Hancock Natural Resource Group (HNRG), was established to manage the Alabama properties of US Alliance Coosa Pines purchased by HTRG. The properties are located in Autauga, Bibb, Calhoun, Chilton, Clay, Cleburne, Coosa, Elmore, Etowah, Hale, Lee, Randolf, Shelby, St. Clair, Talladega and Tallapoosa counties. The Hancock Timber Resource Group is the world's leading timberland investment manager for institutions, with $2.8 billion and 3.0 million acres under management in North America and Australia.