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If travelers are careful, tourism in caves can work well for centuries. © AFP
The catastrophic consequences of a single bag of chips
It wasn’t intentional definitely not. But there were still consequences when a guest at Carlsbad National Park in New Mexico dropped his bag of chips. Maybe it ended up in the trash can, maybe it was blown away by the wind, maybe it was left careless. But unfortunately the “Cheetos” chip bag ended up in the Carlsbad Caverns, the park’s caves – and caused considerable damage there. What for us humans is just unsightly rubbish could turn the delicate ecosystem of the cave upside down within a short period of time.
In the caves In principle, nothing should be consumed except still water, the park says. The residue from the cheese-flavored snack provides the perfect breeding ground for bacteria and fungi, including mold spores. These would be carried through the cave and distributed by insects.
The employees of the national park tried in vain to remove mold and other debris from the surfaces inside the cave. The bag of chips brought bacteria into the cave that didn’t fit into the ecosystem at all. A “completely avoidable” mistake.
The chip bag incident is not the first time that a nature reserve has been littered due to human influence – intentional or not. The national park authority therefore appeals to everyone to adhere to the top rule of nature conservation: “leave no trace”. vale
