Brief synthesisThe more than 120 limestone caves within Carlsbad Caverns National Park are outstanding and notable world-wide because of their size, mode of origin, and the abundance, diversity and beauty of the speleothems (decorative rock formations) within. Carlsbad Caverns and Lechuguilla Cave are well known for their great natural beauty, exceptional geologic features, and unique reef and rock formations. Protection and management requirementsDesignated by the U.S. Congress in 1930 as a national park, Carlsbad Caverns National Park is managed under the authority of the Organic Act of August 25, 1916 which established the United States National Park Service. The NPS Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) program, and the Chihuahuan Desert I&M network, of which Carlsbad Caverns National Park is a part, have developed several “vital signs” to track a subset of physical, chemical and biological elements and processes selected to represent the overall health or condition of park resources. In Carlsbad Caverns National Park, these vital signs include air quality, climate, invasive plants, landbirds, landscape dynamics, spring ecosystems, uplands vegetation and soils.