A discarded snack bag containing processed corn found in Carlsbad Caverns triggered an unexpected ecological chain reaction. The humidity caused mold growth, attracting insects and spiders that spread the contamination throughout the cave.
Read full article: St. Augustine to kick off series of workshops aimed at shaping city’s future with residents’ inputFlood watches, winds and heavy rain continue as the weekend approachesNew age-progression photo of HaLeigh Cummings released as the case still remains unsolvedFILE - Hundreds of cave formations are shown decorating the Big Room at Carlsbad Caverns National Park near Carlsbad, N.M., Dec. 18, 2010.
From this underground wonderland in New Mexico to lake shores in Nevada, tributaries along the Grand Canyon and lagoons in Florida, park rangers and volunteers collect tons of trash left behind by visitors each year as part of an ongoing battle to keep unique ecosystems from being compromised while still allowing visitors access.
“It’s such a dark area, sometimes people don’t notice that it’s there. So they walk through it and it tracks it throughout the entire cave," said Joseph Ward, a park guide who is working specifically on getting the “leave no trace” message out to park visitors and classrooms. After the bag was discovered in July, cave specialists at the park settled on the best way to clean it up. Most of the mess was scooped up, and a toothbrush was used to remove rings of mold and fungi that had spread to nearby cave formations. It was a 20-minute job.
Pleas to treat the caverns with respect are plastered on signs throughout the park, rangers give orientations to visitors before they go underground, and reminders of the do's and don'ts are printed on the back of each ticket stub. "If someone doesn’t feel a personal stake in the preservation of these environments, they may not take the rules seriously,” Tanner said.
Carlsbad Caverns National Park Pollution Ecosystem Trash
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