Mexico's firefly sanctuary

In the village of Nanacamilpa, tiny fireflies are helping save the towering pine and fir trees on the outskirts of the megalopolis of Mexico City.

Thousands of them light up a magical spectacle at dusk in the old-growth forests on reserves like the Piedra Canteada park, about 45 miles (75 kilometers) east of Mexico's sprawling capital city.

Piedra Canteada in Tlaxcala state isn't a government-run park, but a rural cooperative that has managed to emerge from poverty and dependence on logging with the help of the fireflies. 

For years, economic forces, including low prices for farm produce, forced rural communities like Piedra Canteada to cut down trees and sell the logs. Then, in 1990, community leader Genaro Rueda Lopez got the idea that the forest could bring tourism revenue from campers.

Business was slow for years. Then in 2011, community members realized the millions of fireflies that appear between June and August could draw tourists from larger cities where few people have seen them in significant numbers. Indeed, around the world, deforestation and urban growth are threatening the over 2,000 species of fireflies with extinction.

Five years later, the park's cabins and camp spaces are sold out weeks in advance, with the attraction especially popular among families with young children and couples seeking a romantic setting.

"The amount of fireflies you see is impressive," said Carlos Landa, a Mexico City native who visited Piedra Canteada this week. "Something that I also find quite impressive is their synchronicity: To turn off and turn on, that is something really spectacular. It's like Christmas in the forest."

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In this July 21, 2016 photo, fireflies seeking mates light up in synchronized bursts as photographers take long-exposure pictures, inside Piedra Canteada, a tourist camp cooperatively owned by 42 local families, inside an old-growth forest near the town of Nanacamilpa, Tlaxcala state, Mexico. The families purchased the 1560-acre (630-hectare) tract of land from a private owner in 1990 and began offering camping and forest visits, while continuing to exploit the logging quota authorized by the government. Only in 2011, did they realize the potential draw of the local firefly population, and begin advertising nighttime viewing tours. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

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The cooperative of 42 families still cuts some trees, but has preserved over 1,560 acres (630 hectares).

"We log, we live from the forest, from cutting trees, but in an orderly way," said Rueda Lopez, one of the cooperative's founders. "It's like a garden, you have to remove the branches yourself, the dry parts, the parts with diseases to really grow." He said they have plans to plant over 50,000 pine trees in the areas they log each year.

The idea has spread to nearby places in largely rural Tlaxcala, like Granja Interactiva Salma, whose primary business is still crops like corn, wheat, broad beans and peas. But they say firefly tours are a much-needed source of extra income.

"We are trying to treat the whole area here with no herbicides, because it's logical if we have insecticides, that could affect the fireflies," said Hugo Brindis, a certified guide at Granja Salma. "We are talking to biologists and the people who make these chemicals to see which have less of an effect on fireflies and the forest."

He said their operation is a reservation-only ranch and they are trying to reduce the amount of people who visit the area, 250 maximum on the weekends, to maintain a sustainable space in the forest.

In Piedra Canteada, the co-op acquired a small sawmill in 1998 so it could sell higher-priced cut lumber instead of just logs. The sawmill gives residents jobs and income beyond the three-month firefly season.

But the fireflies are now the main source of income.

"We have reduced our wood production, you can say by 60 or 70 percent to preserve the forest and have better amount of tourism," said sawmill manager Salvador Morale.

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In this July 3, 2016 photo, tourists avoid the rain by waiting inside the restaurant at Piedra Canteada, near Nanacamilpa, Tlaxcala state, Mexico. The more established and older centers like Piedra Canteada and Santa Clara offer restaurants, play equipment, cabins, and camping facilities. Newer centers are more basic, but working rapidly to expand their offerings. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

In this July 21, 2016 photo, fireflies light up in sync in the woods of Piedra Canteada, near Nanacamilpa, Tlaxcala state, Mexico. The income from tourism is providing a new incentive to residents to focus on conservation rather than deforestation. In addition, Mexico's forest service is supporting the replanting of hundreds of thousands of trees in the area, and Piedra Canteada's Rueda Lopez said they have plans to plant over 50 thousand pine trees in the areas that they log each year. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

In this July 21, 2016 photo, a family plays on a swing inside Piedra Canteada, near Nanacamilpa, Tlaxcala state, Mexico. Since the advent of firefly tourism, the park's cabins are sold out weeks in advance, with the attraction especially popular among families with young children or couples looking for a romantic setting. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

In this July 21, 2016 photo, wooden crosses mark the spot where masses were celebrated to give thanks for a natural spring, inside Piedra Canteada, near Nanacamilpa, Tlaxcala state, Mexico. Crosses dot the forest edges at Piedra Canteada. A legend behind one set says that a troubled visitor in the days before firefly tourism walked in to the forest to speak to God with his eyes closed. When he opened his eyes, he found himself surrounded by fireflies, which he took as a sign from god. After that, he returned yearly to leave crosses at the site. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

In this July 21, 2016 photo, tourists awaiting nightfall chase each other in a game, inside Piedra Canteada, near Nanacamilpa, Tlaxcala state, Mexico. The firefly viewing season lasts from mid-June to mid-August. In the five years since Piedra Canteada and two other centers began offering viewing tours, tourist demand and revenue have skyrocketed. More than a dozen other centers offering tours have opened in the surrounding area, and the neighboring state of Puebla announced the creation of an alternative "Firefly Route" in 2016. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

In this July 21, 2016 photo, rules to protect the firefly habitat and mating process are posted inside Piedra Canteada, near Nanacamilpa, Tlaxcala state, Mexico. Among the list of banned activities are the use of camera flash or flashlights, smoking, making noise, or lighting campfires. To avoid interfering with the fireflies mating process, in which they communicate through their light patterns, power in the camp is shut off for two hours during the peak nighttime appearance of the fireflies, and cars are prohibited from entering or exiting. Certified guides lead groups of silent tourists along dark forest paths to get the best view of the fireflies. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

In this July 21, 2016 photo, Juan Guzman Guzman, 70, holds onto a truck as it bumps over a dirt road carrying a work crew on their way to clear brush and remove dead branches to protect against forest fires, inside Piedra Canteada, near Nanacamilpa, Tlaxcala state, Mexico. Guzman is one of the original 42 buyers who collaborated in 1990 to purchase the land that contains Piedra Canteada. Their families, most of whom live in the nearby village of San Felipe Hidalgo, have found many opportunities for employment inside the forest, working as tourist guides, cooks, cleaners, or in forest maintenance. Many others work in the harvesting and processing of timber, which takes place outside the area set aside for tourist exploitation. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

In this July 22, 2016 photo, a group of tourists begins their tour at the edge of the forest as night falls, inside Santa Clara Firefly Sanctuary, near Nanacamilpa, Tlaxcala state, Mexico. Both Piedra Canteada and Santa Clara have been receiving up to 1500 visitors on a Saturday night, but Santa Clara, the only center recognized by the Mexican government as a firefly sanctuary, is now shifting to a different strategy in order to protect the environment, capping the number of visitors they accept and operating by reservation only. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

In this July 22, 2016 photo, tourists set up camp inside the Santa Clara Firefly Sanctuary, near Nanacamilpa, Tlaxcala state, Mexico. "If we don't limit access," says Santa Clara's Jose Flores Nava, "we will wipe out the fireflies. There are centers that accept up to 3000 visitors in a weekend. Imagine how much trash they leave, the pollution, and to guide 3000 people, at minimum we need 100 guides, which certified there aren't. If all those people go alone, they will destroy the fireflies' habitat." (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

In this July 22, 2016 photo, fog hangs over a field of wildflowers outside the village of San Felipe Hidalgo, near Nanacamilpa, Tlaxcala state, Mexico. Tiny fireflies are now helping to save the towering pine and fir tree forest that lies outside San Felipe Hidalgo, and the rural farming community is getting a much-needed boost of income to help them emerge from poverty and dependence on logging. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

In this July 21, 2016 photo, a farmer walks a herd of sheep along the road leading from San Felipe Hidalgo toward the fireflies' forest habitat, near Nanacamilpa, Tlaxcala state, Mexico. Thousands of tourists traverse the area's unpaved roads each weekend during the season, paying between 100 and 200 pesos ($5-$10) for a one-hour walk amidst thousands of fireflies.(AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

In this July 22, 2016 photo, sheep walk past stacks of finished lumber, at a sawmill belonging to Piedra Canteada, outside Nanacamilpa, Tlaxcala state, Mexico. The families who own the forest that includes Piedra Canteada have been exploiting their government permitted cuota of lumber for decades. But in the five years since they began advertising firefly tours, their tourist income from the two month season has surpassed what they can make from a year of logging. The income is also more reliable, since the national forest service can halt logging for years at a time if blight or dry weather is hindering growth. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

In this July 22, 2016 photo, farmer Arturo Garcia Munoz picks peas in an ejido outside the village of San Felipe Hidalgo, near Nanacamilpa, Tlaxcala state, Mexico. Although Garcia doesn't work in tourism, he says the boom has been good for the whole village. "All the unemployed now have work." His own opportunities as a farmer and mariachi have expanded with the increased numbers of restaurants and tourist businesses. Because the whole community sees the benefit, he says, the farmers are working in collaboration with the growing tourist industry, agreeing to avoid using pesticides and fungicides close to the forest habitats. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

In this July 22, 2016 photo, residents go about their day in Nanacamilpa, Tlaxcala state, Mexico. As the largest town near the forest, Nanacamilpa is seeing the creation of new hotels and restaurants to cater to the thousands of tourists who pass through on weekend nights. The town is less than a two-hour drive from Mexico City, but with tourists only able to leave the forest beginning at 10pm, competition for the few existing hotels within the forest or in Nanacamilpa town is stiff. The municipality is also in its third year of hosting a cultural festival to coincide with the peak of firefly season. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

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Text from the AP news story, AP PHOTOS: Mexican farmers using fireflies to save forest, by Lulu Orozco.

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