Rangers at Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico were recently forced to deal with the repercussions of a tourist who carelessly dropped a bag of Cheetos in the underground chamber, which led to the entire ecosystem of the cave being thrown into upheaval.
Park officials released a statement on Facebook last Friday, explaining the unfortunate situation. "Here at Carlsbad Caverns, we love that we can host thousands of people in the cave each day," the post read. "Incidental impacts can be difficult or impossible to prevent. Like the simple fact that every step a person takes into the cave leaves a fine trail of lint."
However, the post added that other impacts are "completely avoidable," such as when a visitor dropped a full bag of the brightly orange-hued snacks in the Big Room of the caverns, which had a "huge impact" to the ecosystem of the cave. The 4,000 foot long, 625 foot wide, and 255 foot tall limestone chamber is the largest in the United States and the 32nd-largest in the world.
"The processed corn, softened by the humidity of the cave, formed the perfect environment to host microbial life and fungi," the post continued. "Cave crickets, mites, spiders and flies soon organize into a temporary food web, dispersing the nutrients to the surrounding cave and formations. Molds spread higher up the nearby surfaces, fruit, die and stink. And the cycle continues."
To deal with the impact, the post explained that rangers spent about 20 minutes carefully removing the foreign detritus and molds from the surfaces of the cave. It pointed out that while members of the fleeting ecosystem are cave-dwellers, many of the microbial life and molds are not.
"At the scale of human perspective, a spilled snack bag may seem trivial, but to the life of the cave it can be world changing," the post concluded. "Great or small we all leave an impact wherever we go. Let us all leave the world a better place than we found it."
In fact, on the National Park Service website , it is clearly stated that in order to protect the cavern and wildlife, consumption of any food or drink, with the exception of plain, unflavored water, is strictly prohibited. An underground rest area does feature a snack bar, however any food purchased must be consumed there.
In a follow-up post , park officials stressed the Leave No Trace policies to ensure that waste is disposed of properly. "Contrary to popular belief, the cave is NOT a big trash can," the post stated, adding that even then, rangers walk the trails and pick up waste left behind at the end of each day.
But while cleaning up after oneself is especially important at Carlsbad Caverns, the National Park Service highlights the importance of Leave No Trace principles at any of its parks, from minimizing campfire impacts to respecting wildlife.
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