EXPEDITION 2 | August 15, 2026
WORKS HARVESTED UNDER THIS EXPEDITIONExpedition 2 followed a six-hour driving and field route south from Diamond Valley through Cataract Creek, west through the Hailstone Butte area, and north along Highway 22. The outing was conducted by Thomas Farmer with his wife and dogs under Alberta Local Timber Permit LTP4626012.
[VIEW EXPEDITION ROUTE / AREA]
FIELD CONDITIONS
Five or six locations were informally assessed following rainfall in the preceding days. Much of the fractured material encountered was saturated, softened by moisture, actively decaying or smaller than the target recovery scale.
No specimen was removed, tagged or assigned a persistent field identity. Species were not recorded because no material entered the recovery process.
AUTHORITY AND RIPARIAN CONSTRAINTS
At one stop, potentially viable material was encountered within a riparian area outside the permit’s authorized recovery conditions. It was left in place.
Other fractures observed during the day may have warranted closer assessment under drier conditions, but none provided sufficient confidence to justify recovery.
NO RECOVERY
Expedition 2 produced no recovered specimens. Its value lies in documenting the selectivity of the practice and the effect of recent rainfall, seasonal moisture and recovery authority on field decisions.
The outing clarified that promising fracture geometry alone is insufficient. Material must also be structurally viable, appropriately scaled, legally recoverable and capable of entering stabilization without unacceptable deterioration.
FIELD LESSON
Seasonal awareness emerged as the expedition’s principal finding. Recent precipitation can conceal structural weakness, saturate bark and accelerate deterioration, while riparian restrictions may place otherwise promising material outside the available authorization.
The absence of recovered material is retained as an honest part of the field record. Fracture-Scaping depends as much upon deciding what must remain in place as upon discovering what can responsibly proceed.
Date: August 15, 2026
Duration: Approximately six hours
Participants: Thomas Farmer and spouse
Route: Diamond Valley — Cataract Creek — Hailstone Butte area — Highway 22
Authority: Alberta Local Timber Permit LTP4626012
Sites assessed: Approximately five or six
Specimens recovered: None
Persistent IDs assigned: None
Documentation retained: Vehicle trip record
Outcome: No recovery; seasonal and authorization constraints documented