What can Californias legislators do to protect our states old-growth trees?
While California legislators cannot directly protect the trees President Bush has targeted for destruction in our National Forests, California’s legislators are empowered with several ways to protect the state’s old-growth trees, on non-federal land: 1. Pass legislation that would ban the cutting of California’s old-growth trees; 2. Pass legislation that would put the Heritage Tree Preservation act on the March 2004 ballot and let the citizens of California decide what should happen to the trees. Language for this has already been crafted in Senator Perata’s SCA 17 bill from 2002; 3. Pass legislation that would enact a moratorium on the cutting of old growth until the voters of California have the opportunity to vote on the Heritage Tree Preservation Act in 2004. What will happen if we don’t protect the old-growth trees? It is impossible to predict all of the devastating results from the loss of our old-growth trees, but the most immediate include: Destruction of natural habitats, incl
