Carlsbad National Park Shares Impact of Discarded Cheetos Bag

A carelessly thrown away Cheetos bag threatened the ecosystem of Carlsbad Cavern National Park.

A thrown away bag of Cheetos at Carlsbad Cavern National Park / NPS

The Carlsbad Cavern National Park had their day disturbed by a carelessly discarded bag of Cheetos chips and took the time to explain why it's important not to litter in a post on Facebook.

"Other impacts are completely avoidable. Like a full snack bag dropped off-trail in the Big Room. To the owner of the snack bag, the impact is likely incidental. But to the ecosystem of the cave it had a huge impact," said the park. "Rangers spent twenty minutes carefully removing the foreign detritus and molds from the cave surfaces. Some members of this fleeting ecosystem are cave-dwellers, but 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."

While it may seem like common sense not to throw random trash away in nature to some, the park says that they are constantly having to stop and pick up trash.

Cheetos were a particularly dangerous thing to be left behind. With how they are made, it's incredibly easy for mold to take over as well being an attractor to wild life which can spread the mold around the cave.

Carlsbad is a national park, located in New Mexico, that plays host to around half a million people per year. Guests are drawn in to see the beautiful caves that it has to offer.

Where this bag was found, the Big Room, is the spot that most come to see. It's the largest single cave chamber in North America as it spans around 4,000 feet in length.

When traveling to a national park, in order to be a more considerate guest, keep in mind the "leave no trace" guidelines. Ideally, the park is the same when you leave as when you first arrived. Throw away any and all trash and belongings that may have been left behind. Don't take pieces of nature for a collection at home. Stick to clearly marked areas that are ok to be in.

Even if it's not as egregious as a bag of Cheetos may be, any small trash can make a huge impact.