As companies look for ways to shrink their environmental footprint, timberland owners are discovering an intriguing new way of diversifying their revenue streams: Sell carbon offset credits to polluters and get paid not to cut down their trees. …In June, JPMorgan Chase snapped up Campbell Global, a timberland manager based in Portland, Oregon, which manages forests in the US, Australia, New Zealand and Chile. …Boston-based John Hancock Natural Resource Group bought 36,000 hectares in Maine earlier this month. Michigan is also emerging as a player in this space. …Can regular investors take advantage of this emerging trend? Perhaps. Acadian Timber… announced an agreement to sell carbon offset credits on a portion of its property in Maine. …The extent of the opportunity for timberlands, though, is not yet clear. …Forests represent a small slice of the overall offset market. As well, revenue from carbon offsets is not competitive with revenue from harvesting trees. [to access the full story, a subscription may be required]