A useful rule that I came across a while ago is "ask yourself before doing something (such as picking a flower in the wild), what would happen if a 100 other people did the same thing?". The answer should usually be "don't do that thing"
I think there's some inherit psychology that's tough to get around, some "I better grab one while I still can" deep down part of our reptile brain. People are still animals. Out on vacation they may not be fully engaging their critical thinking skills.
I think, far and away, the most effective preservation is Pele's curse - https://www.hawaii-guide.com/why-you-should-never-take-lava-...
Total fabrication by the parks service. They show you the rocks people have sent back, to lift the curse.
If you're fully engaged and thinking critically, it's harmless. If you're not, it encourages good behavior.
I'm not a big fan of marketing, but the way you tell the story really does have a huge impact on guest behavior.
FWIW, Jim Gray's Petrified Wood Company has a vast supply of this stuff you can buy and take home. It's right down the road in Holbrook. Very interesting store even if you're not planning to buy anything. (No working website that I could find. Google it. I have no connection with them.)
On the other hand, nature isn't so delicate. My ground cover has smaller blooms most the year and provide the pollinators with much more abundance and resiliency to what people or animal might do to my "prettier" flowers. It's difference between O(n) impact to O(log n) impact.
Or "do it now and get the money before they do"
I mean, philosophy has a reputation for just that kind of hairsplitting but this seems to bear pretty directly on the basic ethical question of "What should I do?", one of the most important questions for humans to ask imo