The board is a three-member panel that is responsible for buying wilderness acreage for the state. The members include Davis' finance director, Tim Gage, plus the chairman of the Fish and Game Commission, and the director of the state Department of Fish and Game. Davis has not yet named a Fish and Game director. The Fish and Game Commission chairman is a Wilson appointee. On the chance the deal is not final by Wednesday, the board has scheduled meetings for Thursday and Friday.
All sides have an interest in striking a deal.
Perhaps a deal can defuse ongoing protests by environmentalists over its logging operation. As it is, environmentalists' lawsuits against the company raise doubts that it ever can log Headwaters because of the threat to species that face extinction. For the state and federal government, a deal means preservation of thousands of acres of old-growth redwoods. A deal also avoids the prospect that Pacific Lumber will prevail in a lawsuit alleging that the government has illegally rendered its land useless without compensating the firm. I'm cautiously optimistic.