301 redirect important anymore?

[clarksc3]

I am getting ready to change many pages and websites from .htm to .cfm

Is it that important to redirect the old pages to the new ones since Google and other spider and update more frequently now. (2 to 4 weeks)? In the past we had to wait 2 to 3 months for an update.

If I am willing to have low traffic for 2 to 4 weeks. Should I bother with the 301 redirect? I have 3000+ pages to redirect.

Thanks