CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS: THE AD CAMPAIGN

The ballot measure: Proposition 130, an environmentalist supported initiative that would substantially reduce logging on commercial timberland.

Whose ad: Californians for New Forestry, No on 130 and Yes on 138, a counter measure sponsored by the forest products industry.

The commercial shows scenes of forest fires. Firefighters do the talking.

Cost: Sponsors of the commercial, paid for by the forest products industry, refuse to disclose how much they are paying to run the advertisement.

Producer: The commercial was made by Woodward & McDowell, a political consulting firm in Burlingame.

Elements of the ad, with an analysis by Times environmental writer Maura Dolan:

Ad: “Poorly written, it would increase the risk of devastating wildfires. Trained forestry professionals will no longer be able to do what they must to prevent forest fires.”

Analysis: The timber industry burns sites that have been logged to clear them for future planting, improve access and reduce fire hazards.

The initiative, which applies to commercial timberland, would require the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to write regulations that would reduce as much as possible any adverse environmental effects, including air pollution and soil erosion, from such burning.

No burning would be allowed unless the department found that no feasible alternatives existed to eliminate an unreasonable risk of wildfire or to ensure adequate new growth on the site. The timber industry complains that additional regulations will hinder its ability to clear sites, and raise costs.

“I, in good conscience, can’t say that it is going to have a deleterious effect on wildland fire protection issues,” said Robert Paulus, chief deputy director for the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. “It’s going to depend to a large degree on how it is implemented.”

Ad: “That’s why groups representing virtually every firefighter in the state oppose Prop. 130.”

Analysis: Proposition 130 is opposed by the California Professional Firefighters, which says its represents 85% to 95% of California’s firefighters, and by the California Department of Forestry Employees Assn., the bargaining unit for most of the department’s workers.