Damn.
Thanks a lot to everyone for helping out with this. I know a lot of you did, because I heard the anceinttrees.org website got a lot of extra hits, and was told that the issue received a lot more attention over the last few weeks than it seemed to be getting earlier.
Here’s what I just found out:

Dear Friend of the Forest,
Unfortunately, the Heritage Tree Preservation Act failed to pass the California Assembly this year. In the end, we fell short by a handful of votes. We know that you share our deep disappointment. But its time to step back and appreciate just how much we

Alright guys, we have actually had some success in keeping this SB 754 alive.
I spoke to Autumn Bernstein at the Campaign for Old Growth, the organization sponsoring the Bill, and it looks like this thing is going to be voted on any day now. She says that the most important thing you can do to help this thing pass is to call these two people below and tell them you support a “yes” vote on SB 754 to save our redwoods:
Fabian Nunez, Assembly Speaker – 916-319-2046 (FAX 916-319-2146)
and
Dario Frommer, Majority Leader – 916-319-2043 (FAX 916-319-2143)
I just called both of them and left messages with their staff. Both of them had friendly staff who were familiar with the SB 754 controversy and basically wanted to know if I was for it or against it. (They’re keeping a tally of phone calls.)
Now’s your chance to take less than a minute of time (not kidding, I did both calls in about a minute) for what could make a big difference on this bill getting through.

UPDATE: AUGUST 23, 2004
SB754 Still Alive and Kicking for Old-Growth Protection!
Despite the passage of Friday

One last round of letters needs to go out today, if you can manage it.
Don’t worry about whether the people on this list are “your assemblymember” — it is my hope that they all receive letters from all over the world. These are the world’s Redwoods being destroyed!
Here’s the info:

A bill to protect California

This post goes with this post.
Update August 8, 2004
I called the Assembly Appropriations Committee last week to check on the vote, and it turns out that the vote was pushed forward to August 11th. That means we have a few more days to send letters.
I went back to the redwoods on Friday to get video of all the redwoods being killed.
Here it is.
********
Short explanation:
I know this is short notice, but it’s pretty self explanatory and will only take a second! Thanks for helping out!
Here’s a letter to fax and email asap: (Text) (Word).
Detailed explanation:
I was driving through the Northern California Redwoods last weekend when I came across a horrific site: miles and miles of new lumbermills spawning stacks upon stacks of freshly-killed ancient redwood trees. Some of the trees in these piles were so huge that they must have been 1,000’s of years old.
My friend and I came home and immediately began to research this issue, and it turns out that there is a bill, The California Heritage Tree Preservation Act (SB 754), that is being voted on tomorrow (August 4th) by California’s Assembly Appropriations Committee. This isn’t an impossible task as it has already cleared a major hurdle on June 14 with the approval of the Assembly Natural Resources Committee by a 7-3 vote.
If passed, the bill will protect many species of “heritage trees” on non-federal forestland in California. (Heritage Trees are older than California, which became a state in 1850, and must also meet specific diameter requirements.)
These trees hold the soil, shade streams, preserve fisheries, act as seed trees, maintain generic diversity, resist fire by reducing temperatures, shade out underbrush and maintain moisture, and provide species habitat. Less than one percent of California’s old-growth trees remain standing on non-federal forestland.
SB 754 would also grant property owners and their heirs the benefit of substantial reduction in estate taxes. This fact alone would help keep many old-growth trees standing, since they wouldn’t have to be cut down and sold to meet tax obligations.
Here’s a letter (Text) (Word) that you can FAX and email if you want to help swing tomorrow’s vote.
(Please do both.)
August 3, 2004
The Honorable Judy Chu
FAX# 916-319-2149
Email: william.wong@asm.ca.gov
RE: SB 754 – SUPPORT
Dear Assembly Member Chu and Members of the Appropriations Committee,
I urge your support of SB 754, the Heritage Tree Preservation Act. This bill has been carefully written to protect some of California’s largest and oldest trees while minimizing impacts to landowners, jobs and state revenues. The bill minimizes and offsets costs and it preserves revenues to the state from tourism, recreation and fisheries.
Less than one percent of California’s old-growth trees remain standing on non-federal forestland. SB 754 will protect these trees and the ecological and economic benefits they bring to our state. Millions of tourists flock to California’s forests each year to witness these towering giants with their own eyes. The trees protected by this bill are among the oldest, tallest, and largest living things on earth.
Please approve SB 754 and help us preserve California’s ancient trees for future generations.
Sincerely,
Your name and address here
Thanks to the
Bay Area Coalition for Headwaters for the great information and sample letter.