An Ethic for the Gravel Bar

Every trip starts with land status, collection rules, and local restrictions. Permission is not a footnote to the experience; it is what makes the experience possible. When the status is uncertain, we look and leave everything where it is.

We favor loose surface material, take modestly, and avoid sensitive formations. Location details for vulnerable sites stay out of public field notes.

A specimen without context loses part of its meaning. Back at the vehicle we record the broad locality, date, ground conditions, and any observations that might guide the cut. Those notes follow the stone into the studio and, when it is sold, to its next keeper.