When a recent visitor to Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico dropped a bag of Cheetos inside one of the caves, losing a snack was probably an inconvenience. But to the tiny microorganisms ...

'World-changing' impact: Carlsbad Caverns National Park scolds visitor who left Cheetos The New Mexico park says that a discarded snack bag may seem trivial but the impact to the ecosystem can be ...

How a bag of Cheetos disrupted the ecosystem at Carlsbad Caverns National Park The salty morsels of processed corn, made soft by thick humidity, triggered the growth of mold on the cavern floor ...

Rangers at Carlsbad Caverns National Park in southern New Mexico describe it as a “world-changing” event for the tiny microbes and insects that call this specialized subterranean environment home.

It’s pretty simple — leave no trace. But at least one person didn’t get the message and left behind a bag of Cheetos at Carlsbad Caverns National Park during a visit.

When a recent visitor to Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico dropped a bag of Cheetos inside one of the caves, ...

Carlsbad Caverns National Park rangers pounced into action after a visitor left a bag of Cheetos that inhabitants of the caves found and spread, nearly destroying its ecosystem.

The Cheetos slogan, dangerously cheesy, took on a whole new meaning this summer after an incident at Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. A visitor dropped a bag of Cheetos off the trail and left it there.

Hundreds of cave formations are shown decorating the Big Room at Carlsbad Caverns National Park near Carlsbad, N.M., Dec. 18, 2010.

A parkgoer at Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico recently dropped a bag full of Cheetos at the caverns. That one bag of the dusty orange snack made a “huge impact” on the cave’s ...

Rangers at Carlsbad Caverns National Park in southern New Mexico describe it as a “world-changing” event for the tiny microbes and insects that call this specialized subterranean environment home.

Rangers at Carlsbad Caverns National Park in southern New Mexico describe it as a “world-changing” event for the tiny microbes and insects that call this specialized subterranean environment home.