Access to the cave is limited to approved scientific researchers, survey and exploration teams, and National Park Service management-related trips.

Led by Dave Allured, a group of cavers from the Colorado Grotto gained permission from the National Park Service and began digging in 1984.

[5] Drawn by the cave's pristine condition and rare beauty, cavers come from around the world to explore and map its passages and geology.

[4] In May 2012, a team led by Derek Bristol of Colorado climbed over 410 feet (120 m) into a dome and discovered several new, unexplored passages, pits, and large rooms.

The team spent eight days mapping Oz, adding the largest distance to the survey since 1989, and bringing the total length to 134.6 miles (216.6 km).

These bacteria feed on the sulfur, iron, and manganese minerals and may assist in enlarging the cave and determining the shapes of unusual speleothems.

[10][11] A 4 million year-old strain of Paenibacillus isolated from soil samples in Lechuguilla Cave was found to be naturally resistant to many modern antibiotics, including daptomycin.

[citation needed] The 1992 National Geographic Society program titled Mysteries Underground was also filmed extensively in Lechuguilla Cave.

[13] In October 2016, crew members from London-based production company Nutopia[14] descended into Lechuguilla Cave with microbiologist Hazel Barton[15] to film a sequence for season 1, episode 4 (titled "Genesis") of the National Geographic series One Strange Rock.