There’s no doubt that humans have the potential to create the greatest chaos in the ecosystems around them. However, unlike other animals, no matter how big the mistake, humans are capable of repeating it in a short time. What happened in one of the most fascinating areas of the U.S. is a good example of this, even if it’s “just” due to a Cheetos bag.
The importance of Carlsbad Caverns. Located in New Mexico, the Carlsbad Caverns National Park features a group of more than 119 subterranean caves of great geological and ecological importance. Formed by the action of acidic water that dissolved limestone rock over millions of years, these caverns notably have a vast network of passages and chambers, including the famous Big Room, one of the largest underground chambers in the world.
These unique geological formations include impressive stalactites, stalagmites, and columns, which make it of great scientific interest for studying cave formation processes and the geological history of the southwestern part of the country. However, this UNESCO World Heritage Site has also become a must-see for mass tourism.
A snack bag. In a recent Facebook post, the National Park team explained what recently happened as a warning for future visitors. Someone dropped a Cheetos bag deep in the depths of Carlsbad Caverns, specifically, in the historic Big Room, North America’s largest cave chamber by volume that can only be accessed by walking about an hour underground.
A threat to the ecosystem. Left to rot in the wet cave pits, these small “cheese” snacks left in the cave could create a small shock wave from the local ecosystem.
“The processed corn, softened by the humidity of the cave, formed the perfect environment to host 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. Molds spread higher up the nearby surfaces, fruit, die and stink. And the cycle continues,” the National Park says.
A much bigger problem. “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 National Park team explained. “Great or small, we all leave an impact wherever we go. Let us all leave the world a better place than we found it,” the team added.
As it turns out, the rangers had to do some arduous follow-up work to carefully remove any remaining trash and mold from the cave’s surface, hoping to prevent any lasting impact on the cave.
Trash and natural environments. One of the great plagues in America’s national parks is what visitors “bring in” and leave behind when they leave. That trash yields some chilling numbers: More than 300 million people visit national parks each year, generating nearly 70 million tons of trash.
And of all the enclaves, caves get the short end of the stick. The reason? They’re most vulnerable because they’re isolated from the outside world and are home to a wide variety of highly adapted, endemic, and sensitive organisms. Add a new spice to the equation, call it Cheetos or the like, and the result can radically alter the balance of biodiversity.
The case of the Lascaux Cave. It’s possibly the most famous and clearest example of how humans are capable of altering this type of environment. Discovered in France in 1940, it immediately became famous for its cave paintings dating back 17,000 years, making it one of the best examples of prehistoric art. However, after opening to the public in 1948, mass visits negatively affected the cave’s delicate microclimate.
Carbon dioxide exhaled by visitors, together with humidity and temperature changes, started to cause visible damage to the paintings, such as the appearance of fungus and algae on the walls. These changes put the conservation of the paintings, some of humanity’s most important, at risk.
Closed for good. In 1963, faced with such deterioration, the French authorities decided to close the Lascaux Cave to the public to protect the paintings. Since then, only a very limited number of scientists and conservation experts have had access to the cave. To allow the public to continue to appreciate the art of Lascaux, a replica known as Lascaux II was created, which reproduces the main chambers and paintings of the original cave.
Protecting the caves’ historical value with steel doors and security cameras has allowed Lascaux’s artistic heritage to be preserved while maintaining its educational and cultural value.
Perhaps we should do the same with all other caves of historical value, but first, we should check that no one has left a snack bag behind.
Image | Carlsbad Caverns National Park (via Facebook)
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