More specifically...
As a club, we shall approach each collecting trip in a manner that is respectful towards nature, the owners or authorities of the land, and in a way that promotes the invertebrate-keeping hobby. Unnecessarily trampling local flora and fauna, disturbing the soil, damaging habitat, or needlessly starting rockfalls or other such disturbances is to be avoided as much as possible. Digging up burrows and flipping logs/rocks is standard for any trip, but they should not be destructive, i.e "chain-digging" up numerous burrows in a small area or taking apart whole logs; all turned-over objects should be replaced carefully and gently into the exact spots they were moved from.
The use of earth-moving equipment in the form of large metal shovels, picks, etc. are not allowed to be used, except in some certain circumstances where the habitat will not be seriously damaged and they are necessary to find certain invertebrates (such as collecting deep-digging scarabs).
Whoever finds a specimen(s) gets to keep it, even if another person captured it, with some exceptions. If someone rolls over a very large log or rock for someone else to look under, the person who rolled over and held the object gets first claim on whatever is underneath. In the case of colonies (such as with isopods), the finder/object-mover and the catcher split the specimens how they see fit.
Everything in moderation is a good maxim for life and doubly-true of collecting. Only a few specimens of a given species should be collected even if there are hundreds, depending on the situation and the need. If a large number of specimens are needed for a breeding project please discuss your situation with the trip leader beforehand.
In terms of materials (rotting wood/leaves, stones, sand, substrate, etc.), take only what you need, and try to spread your gathering over as wide an area as possible. Remember to avoid damaging the habitat and associated flora and fauna when doing so.
Attempting to capture or move a potentially lethal vertebrates, such as rattlesnakes, of any kind is completely prohibited on any ICSC trip.
The discoverers of a location are allowed to announce at the beginning of the trip what they are looking for, and claim first pick on a few specimens of a given species within reason ("claiming" multiple specimens of multiple species is not allowed). This is to keep things fair for the discoverer while still keeping the trip fun for everyone involved.
Trades or sales between members on the trip are perfectly acceptable and encouraged.
If collecting on private land, permission must be garnered prior and all respect paid to the land. If collecting on public land, traveling in protected or sensitive habitat is to be avoided. Trampling the ground or bush-whacking is to be avoided in all situations.
A humane approach to collecting is necessary, and if we cannot capture something without possibly hurting/killing it, such as a scorpion hiding in a crack that can only be captured by crushing the rock to widen the crack, we shall move on. Recklessly damaging flora in the search of fauna (or vice versa) is not allowed and can lead to being banned from collecting trips. All specimens need to be properly housed and padded once captured, and rehoused into appropriate enclosures upon the collector's return home.
Each place visited by the ICSC should look better after we leave, by way of picking up trash and packing it out, removing obstructions from trails, etc.
ICSC trips and hikes are often in mountain lion/coyote/bear country, and because of this it is required that all participants stay together, or at least in pairs/trios when collecting, as there is safety in numbers and it is much easier to defend one's self with help; two are better than one, and a rope of three strands is not easily broken. Everyone also need to make sure to see where one steps, as rattlesnakes can be found in many of the places where we go collecting.
Everyone needs to be aware of the above risks, which are not exhaustive. Each is person is responsible for themselves and their belongings, and the ICSC shall not be held responsible for loss, injury, or damage on trips. With that said, trip leaders will always do their best to keep collecting groups in safe areas and make sure dangerous situations are avoided.
In the case of most collected (and more so for rare/possibly endangered) species, captive breeding should always be attempted if possible, with a portion of the offspring to be released where the parent(s) were found. The ICSC is currently exploring how to better organize monitoring and captive breeding projects to this purpose.
The collection of endangered species shall not be attempted without the (if required) proper permits and safeguards in place to protect the species involved.
Commercial collecting is not allowed on any ICSC collecting trips, and is discouraged from the locations where we go on subsequent trips; these jaunts are for your personal collection, not your wallet. Participants are allowed to sell or trade specimens they catch on ICSC trips at a later date should they choose to, but collecting large amounts of specimens for the express purpose of selling or trading is not acceptable.
All members of the ICSC agree to keep the specific locations of collecting trips confidential, as they often hold rare, endangered, or otherwise valuable species, and poaching is a very real threat in such a populous area as Southern California (please remember this when uploading iNaturalist observations from a club trip; obscuring usually takes care of any difficulties in this regard). The sharing of general geographical areas or regions is acceptable unless other instructions are given by the trip leader/location discoverer.
Unless a collecting area is on easily-accessible public land or the location can be found easily on the web (such as on iNaturalist), consider the locations "claimed", and therefore permission is needed from the original discoverer to collect there again. This is out of respect for the member's who trust us with their collecting locations. Anyone found to be breaking trust in this way is subject to the loss of membership with the ICSC.
Lastly, should anyone have questions, comments, suggestions, concerns, or problems, please let the trip leaders/organizers know, as this helps the ICSC prepare better and tweak things to make trips in the future better. To this end please help keep the club accountable by adhering to the rules and encouraging others to do the same. The spots where we go are valuable, and we want to be able to return to them in the future.
