CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : SACRAMENTO : Redwoods Bond on Ballot, Backers Say

Proponents of an initiative to buy vast stands of redwood forests from lumber companies and exclude them from logging say they have gathered more than 800,000 signatures--more than double the number needed--to qualify the measure for the November ballot. If approved, the $742-million bond issue also would restructure the nine-member state Board of Forestry, which sets foresting policy, by limiting the timber industry to one representative while setting aside three seats on the panel for members of environmental groups. All Forestry Board members, appointed by the governor and lieutenant governor, would be subject to confirmation by the state Senate. About 100,000 acres of redwood trees remain in California, but about 20,000 acres, mostly in the north, are not protected by state or federal statues and could be cut under present law.