CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS: THE AD CAMPAIGN

The ballot measure: Proposition 130, to reduce logging in California’s forests.

Whose ad: The Forest & Wildlife Protection Committee, Yes on 130.

Cost: A spokesman for the committee said $600,000 has been budgeted for this advertisement and another television commercial still in production. They will begin airing next week, according to the spokesman. The commercials are paid for by San Mateo financial adviser H.L. Arbit and by environmental groups.

The group’s advertisement shows a burning forest and cuts to David Pesonen, former director of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, sitting in an office decorated with firefighting helmets.

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

Ad: “Proposition 130 maintains every current method of fighting fires in this state. In fact, 130 greatly reduces the chance of wildfires.”

Analysis: The initiative will prohibit the use of tractors on steep slopes for brush clearing, although brush still could be removed by hand.

Burning on logged timberlands also would be discouraged. It would be allowed only if the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection determines burning is necessary to eliminate an unreasonable risk of wildfires. In addition, the department would have to determine that alternatives to burning are not feasible.

Burning will not be allowed just because it is more convenient or because it improves access to the site for planting. Supporters of the measure contend that current burning practices rob the soil of its nutrients and cause erosion.

The measure is not designed to reduce substantially the threat of wildfires, although it does require that fire roads be maintained.