VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - March 17, 2010) - Western Forest Products Inc. (TSX:WEF) announces that it has entered in a non-binding letter of intent with the Capital Regional District of Victoria, British Columbia for the sale of certain properties at the purchase price of $18.8 million dollars ("the Transaction"). These properties, located in the southern portion of Vancouver Island, cover approximately 2,350 hectares, and include the Jordan River, Sooke Potholes and Weeks Lake areas. While the parties are currently negotiating the terms of a definitive and binding purchase and sale agreement, matters are at an early stage and there is no assurance that the Transaction will be completed.

Western Forest Products

Western is an integrated Canadian forest products company and the largest coastal British Columbia woodland operator and lumber producer with an annual available harvest of approximately 7.4 million cubic metres of timber of which approximately 7.1 million cubic metres is from Crown lands and lumber capacity in excess of 1.5 billion board feet from eight sawmills and four remanufacturing plants. Principal activities conducted by the Company include timber harvesting, reforestation, sawmilling logs into lumber and wood chips and value-added remanufacturing. Substantially all of Western's operations, employees and corporate facilities are located in the coastal region of British Columbia while its products are sold in over 25 countries worldwide.