BAY STREET-Investors may find safety on a telephone pole

* Investors seen best off in specialized forestry firms

* Telephone-pole, railway-tie, and tissue makers cited

* Seen having measure of earnings protection

By Allan Dowd

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 7 (Reuters) - Investors searching for a hint of good news from the beleaguered Canadian forestry sector may want look at the telephone poles outside their houses or at a nearby railroad line.

The recession has battered sales of lumber for housing construction, but utilities still need to replace aging poles and railroads have to maintain their track - something both may do more of as government stimulus spending kicks in.

That's good news for Stella-Jones Inc (SJ.TO: Quote, Profile, Research), which makes poles and railroad ties by treating wood it buys from sawmills. It has also produced something in short supply this year for Canadian companies linked to trees: A profit.

"I'm not going to say it's recession proof, but we don't get hit the same way," said Stella-Jones Chief Executive Brian McManus, who does not like to describe the company as being a forestry firm.

Stella-Jones, Sino-Forest Corp (TRE.TO: Quote, Profile, Research), Fortress Paper (FTP.TO: Quote, Profile, Research), and Cascades Inc (CAS.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) are cited by analysts as examples of companies that offer at least a bit of earnings shelter from the current economic storm through their specialized products.