EXHIBIT 99.1

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:  John M. Rudey                    Stefanie King
           U.S. Timberlands Company, L.P    Edelman Financial
           (212) 755-1100                   (212) 704-8291



                  U.S. TIMBERLANDS NAMES STUART AND SYMINGTON
                             TO BOARD OF DIRECTORS


KLAMATH FALLS, Ore.,  December 18, 1997 -- U.S. Timberlands Company, L.P.
(Nasdaq: TIMBZ) announced today that Spencer R. Stuart and Allen E. Symington
have been named to the Board of Directors of the Company's General Partner.

Spencer R. Stuart, 75, is the Founder and honorary Chairman of Spencer Stuart &
Associates/Management Consultants-Executive Searches, known today as
SpencerStuart, one of the world's leading executive search and management
consulting firms.  Following his tenure with SpencerStuart, Mr. Stuart was
chairman of Dean Witter Council of Management Advisors, a division of Dean
Witter Investment Banking.  Mr. Stuart has served on the Board of Directors of
several public companies, including UST, Inc., Keystone Custodian Funds, Western
Airlines, Allegheny International, as well as a number of non-publc companies,
including Ingersoll Milling Machine.

Allen E. Symington, 58, is Vice President, Finance of Simpson Timber Investment
Company, a privately owned, Seattle based holding company which owns
timberlands, lumber, plywood and door operations, and pulp and paper operations
in the United States, as well as fast growth forests and a joint venture mill in
Latin America. Since joining Simpson in 1962, Mr. Symington has held various
positions, including Vice President & Treasurer, Vice President - Investments,
Manager Pension Trusts and Financial Analysis, Director of Business Planning,
Interim General Manager of Simpson Building Supply Company, Marketing
Controller, Industrial Engineer -Plywood, and Process Development Engineer.  Mr.
Symington has been instrumental in expanding Simpson's land base over 40% since
the late 1980's.  In addition, he developed log testing methods, log allocation
methods, and a log appraisal system which resulted in increases in dollar
returns to standing timber.  Mr. Symington is currently Vice Chairman of the
Washington State Employees Retirement Board, Treasurer of the Washington State
Republican Party and a board member of Enterprises International, a company
which owns companies which produce manufacturing equipment for the pulp and
paper industry throughout the world.

 
John M. Rudey, chairman of U.S. Timberlands, stated, "Spencer and Al bring to
our Board a wealth of experience in various operating and management roles.
Their expertise will be invaluable to us as we evolve as a public company."

U.S. Timberlands Company, L.P. owns approximately 630,000 fee acres of
timberland and cutting rights on approximately 3,000 acres of timberland
containing total merchantable timber volume estimated to be approximately 2.2
billion board feet in Oregon east of the Cascade Range.  U.S. Timberlands
specializes in the growing of trees and the sale of logs and standing timber.
Logs harvested from the timberlands are sold to unaffiliated domestic conversion
facilities.  These logs are processed for sale as lumber, plywood and other wood
products, primarily for the use in new residential home construction, home
remodeling and repair, and general industrial applications.  The Company also
owns and operates its own seed orchard and produces approximately five million
conifer seedlings annually from its nursery, approximately half of which are
used for its own internal reforestation programs, with the balance sold to other
forest products companies.

                                     # # #