Bag of Cheetos dropped off-trail in national park cave is ‘world changing’

A small bag recently had a “huge impact” on a cave at a national park.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico hosts thousands of visitors a day who tour the caves.

“Incidental impacts can be difficult or impossible to prevent,” park officials said on social media. “Like the simple fact that every step a person takes into the cave leaves a fine trail of lint. Other impacts are completely avoidable.”

Rangers recently found a bag of Cheetos (still full of food) dropped off the trail in the Big Room, which is the largest single cave chamber by volume in North America.

“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 said.

The processed corn became soft in the humidity of the cave, creating an ideal environment for microbial life and fungi.

“Cave crickets, mites, spiders and flies soon organize into a temporary food web, dispersing the nutrients to the surrounding cave and formations,” officials said. “Molds spread higher up the nearby surfaces, fruit, die and stink. And the cycle continues.”

It took rangers 20 minutes to remove the foreign materials and mold created by this litter.

Park officials encourage visitors to practice “Leave No Trace” principles to minimize human effects on these fragile ecosystems.

The park includes the Chihuahuan Desert and more than 119 caves.