Perservatives

I found this really cool looking wild cherry tree which had been knock-down by the wind in a forest my dad's friend owns, and i cut this really nice knarled branch that looks alot like a tree trunk that i want to put in an intermedius terrarium im going to build. It's pretty fresh but in a humid tank it will brake down really quickly. Is there some way i can preserve it? I dont really want to use a sealent cuz that will make it look sort of unnatural. I was thinking about soaking it in salt water, after all isnt that what makes driftwood a good choice for a terrarium? But that is gonna take a long time. Is there something else i can use or will wild cherry hold up? :?