Disney Chief Leads Push for Forest Bill

A wealthy Hollywood executive has taken a leading behind-the-scenes role in an effort to revive far-reaching forestry protection legislation that has deeply divided environmentalists and Northern California timber companies.

Coalitions working on both sides of the issue are girding for a showdown before the scheduled end of the legislative session next Monday.

Among the most prominent voices urging lawmakers to support the proposal designed to stop over-cutting in the state’s 7.1 million acres of private timberlands is Disney Co. President Frank Wells, who has backed initiatives on forestry protection.

In an Aug. 17 letter to Assemblyman Lloyd G. Connelly (D-Sacramento), Wells urged support for the compromise legislation, declaring that the “situation in the forests of California is critical.”

In the letter, Wells seeks to throw cold water on hopes by environmental opponents that he would sponsor a voter initiative drive if the legislation fails. “Any attempt to divert our efforts from the legislation and toward the uncertain fate of a possible future initiative is unproductive,” Wells told Connelly, who is critical of the bill.

Wells also cautioned Connelly: “If the legislation fails, I will seriously consider the forces that caused its defeat when deciding on future options open to me.”

The 60-year-old Wells was in Alaska and could not be reached to explain what he meant. But Michael Paparian, state director of the Sierra Club, said the letter “appears to be a thinly veiled threat aimed at the opponents” of the timber package. The environmental group is organizing opposition to the legislation.

The proposal--wrapped into a bill by Assemblyman Dan Hauser (D-Arcata)--would ban clear-cutting in ancient and old-growth forests, limit the size of clear-cuts in other types of forests, restrict harvesting in watersheds and limit timber harvesting to no more than is being grown back.

The legislation was drafted after discussions among several environmental groups, including the Planning and Conservation League and--though the industry is divided--some of the state’s largest timber companies. It was endorsed last November by Gov. Pete Wilson, who had vetoed a similar Democratic-backed forest protection bill.

Resources Agency Secretary Douglas Wheeler said that Wilson “feels strongly” about enacting the legislation in the current session.

But legislative supporters are pessimistic about the prospects.

“It’s the longest of long shots,” said Assemblyman Byron D. Sher (D-Palo Alto), a backer of the legislation. He and others cited stiff opposition from some timber companies and the softening of support among some backers. Earlier this year, a similar attempt to reshape the state’s timber laws was rejected by the Legislature.

Both sides are made up of unlikely coalitions. Supporters include Sierra Pacific Industries, a major private landowner that recently hired a top lobbying firm, and environmental groups such as the Planning and Conservation League. Lined up against them are other timber companies, the Sierra Club and Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco).

The Sierra Club contends that the proposal would allow loggers to strip 68% of the state’s ancient redwood groves on private land, destroying a protective canopy that they say fosters a diversity of plants and wildlife. Of special concern is the Headwaters Forest, the largest remaining stand of virgin redwood forest in private hands, located in the state’s North Coast area southeast of Eureka. The 3,000-acre stand is owned by Pacific Lumber Co.

Wheeler acknowledged that some old-growth trees could be cut “pursuant to certain constraints” but said that the legislation would be much more restrictive.

In the battle over the bill, Wells is taken seriously because he has emerged as a top campaign contributor and a force in the environmental community, establishing the Environment Now conservation group and helping to sponsor a recent conference on the Sierra.

Wells and millionaire investor Hal Arbit bankrolled the unsuccessful “Forests Forever” ballot initiative. Proposition 130 was designed to protect the state’s remaining redwoods but was defeated in 1990 by voters. Wells and his wife, Luanne, shelled out $1 million to back the campaign.

In the wake of that defeat, the couple last year reported spending another $574,000 on signature-gathering for a similar ballot measure. But the effort was abandoned when supporters agreed to compromise legislation negotiated by environmentalists and timber interests and embraced by Wilson.

Wheeler said he has spoken to Wells several times, describing him as “an important player” because of his ability to finance an initiative drive.

Brown said Wells talked to him three months ago about his dedication to the forestry legislation. “He’s a very nice man,” the Speaker said, noting that several years ago he sought to get the movie mogul to run for statewide office.

People who know him say that Wells’ keen interest in the environment grew out of his mountain climbing experiences. A decade ago, Wells quit his job as president of Warner Bros. Studios, setting out to become the first person to climb the highest mountain on each of the seven continents. Associates say Wells conquered six peaks but did not quite make it to the top of the world’s tallest, Mt. Everest in Nepal.