Wells Completes First Timberland Acquisition

Wells Completes First Timberland Acquisition

Purchase/Lease from MeadWestvaco is 2007's Fourth-Largest Deal

NORCROSS, Ga. - Oct. 10, 2007 - Wells Timberland REIT Inc., the first public, nontraded timberland fund, announced today it has completed its acquisition and lease of approximately 320,000 acres of commercially managed forestland in Georgia and Alabama from MeadWestvaco.

It's the year's fourth-largest timberland transaction by acreage, as ranked by Forestweb. The $400 million transaction was announced in August, three months after Wells announced the launch of the new fund, and was completed with a sophisticated financing package.

"This closing is a real milestone for the fund. This is a sizeable collection of investment-quality timberland, and we believe it will prove to be a great first acquisition," said Jess Jarratt, president of Wells Timberland Investment Management Organization. "Our plan is to manage these lands professionally and responsibly for our investors."

The company's business model seeks to generate revenue for the fund through the sale of timber-harvesting rights, as well as by leasing land-use rights. The properties are located amidst the desirable Southeastern timber region, in close proximity to numerous pulp mills and sawtimber plants. Wells and MeadWestvaco have agreed to a long-term fiber supply arrangement to support MeadWestvaco's paperboard mill operations. Wells plans to continue to manage the lands under Sustainable Forestry Initiative standards.

Approximately 228,000 acres were owned outright by MeadWestvaco in Stewart, Marion, Quitman and Randolph counties in Georgia, and in Russell, Barbour and Chambers counties in Alabama. The sale also included long-term leaseholds on roughly 95,000 acres owned by third parties.

Wells Real Estate Funds is a national real estate investment company based in suburban Atlanta. Since its founding in 1984, Wells has invested more than $11 billion in real estate for more than 200,000 investors. Wells funds include REITs, mutual funds and other commercial real estate investment vehicles. For more information, see www.wellsref.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements can generally be identified by our use of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "will," "expect," "intend," "anticipate," "estimate," "believe," "continue," or other similar words. Readers of this press release should be aware that there are various factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statements made in this release. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, changes in the general economic and business conditions, industry trends, changes in government rules and regulations (including changes in tax laws), and increases in interest rates. Accordingly, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. This is neither an offer nor a solicitation to purchase securities. Such an offer can be made only by prospectus and a qualified financial representative. For a prospectus, contact Wells Investment Securities, Inc., 6200 The Corners Parkway, Norcross, Georgia 30092, (800) 448-1010. SEC filings: www.sec.gov. Wells Real Estate Funds is affiliated with WIS - Distributor - Member FINRA/SIPC.

Wells Timberland REIT's Board of Directors expects that it will elect to be qualified as a REIT in the first year in which we meet the requirements for election as a REIT. The Board anticipates this will be the tax year ending Dec. 31, 2009. There are no assurances that we will qualify to be taxed as a REIT in the future.

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