Conservation (Inventory)

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The Conservation section is used to record stations where some type of conservation issue is indicated.

Flowstone

This flowstone has been stained by dirty, marring boots. This should be inventoried as conservation flowstone, a restoration project and, of course, calcite flowstone.

The Flowstone conservation inventory field should be used to list stations with flowstone where changing to clean aqua sox is required. Not all flowstone will be inventoried as a conservation item (see also Flowstone) such as flowstone on the wall.

Wearing marking soles can cause black marks on flowstone, and dirty boots can track mud, sediment and other items onto clean flowstone. Any flowstone which is easily marred or damaged from not changing to aqua sox should be inventoried as a conservation flowstone item.

See also

• Flowstone

Gloves off area

The Gloves off area of the Conservation section should be used to list stations where removing dirty gloves is advised to prevent marring pristine surfaces.

In some situations, it is adviseable to remove gloves after passing through a dirty section such as corrosion residue, mud, dirt or guano before proceeding to a cleaner area such as flowstone. An extra pair of clean gloves or powder-free surgical gloves should be worn temporarily. These situations are usually encountered in crawls but could be in walking passage where the hands are needed for stability or climbing. Should one of these situations be encountered, it is best to flag the location with a "gloves off" sign to warn future travelers.

Restoration projects

This stalagmite has been stained with mud from being touched with soiled gloves. This is a good example of a restoration project.

The Restoration projects field should be used to list any stations that have human impacts which could benefit from work to restore. The human impacts could be accidental or purposeful, it doesn't matter. Muddy flowstone is one of the easiest to recognize but other useful restoration projects should be listed including broken formations and other impacts that can be restored.

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