Just as the sun sank behind the La Plata Mountains northwest of Sunnyside Farms on Saturday evening, something magical happened: Tiny yellow lights began to twinkle here and there among the wind-rippled pastureland. Then, as dusk finally faded into night, thousands appeared and rose from the grass, dotting the darkened meadow like stars.
The lights belonged to fireflies, called “marsh flickers,” that make their home in wetlands throughout the West. But most people don’t know they exist, said Ryan Schwarz, a career entomologist and associate professor of biology at Fort Lewis College.
“The lore that I was raised with as a southern Arizona kid was that fireflies occur east of the Mississippi,” he said. “I never studied them. But when I was told about the ones here, I said ‘What? There are fireflies here?’ and got really excited.”
Schwarz had come to teach about fireflies to local youths and their mentors from Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Colorado. They played bocce and firefly bingo at a barbecue and viewing party organized by the La Plata Open Space Conservancy, a nonprofit that works with private landowners on conservation projects.
Senior Program Manager Bundy Gomar said the event was an opportunity to bring a little more magic into the kids’ worlds while inspiring a love for where they live and a curiosity about the natural world.
“I feel like we’re so lucky with Big Brothers Big Sisters here in Southwest Colorado, because we have so many ways to spend time outside,” she said. “That’s not really an option for the kids in the city, so I think it’s a great opportunity for them to see how lucky we are to live in this area.”
Schwarz said he hoped the event would inspire the kids in attendance to one day become scientists.
“But I’m hoping some of these kids here will one day go on to study fireflies as well,” he said.
Schwarz said research surrounding Western fireflies has ramped up in the past year because many scientists were unaware they existed in the West. Of course, they’ve always been here, he said. They were just very rare compared to out East, leading to the misconception.
Schwarz initially worked independently with local landowners to study the fireflies, which are not flies but bioluminescent beetles. Earlier this year, he learned other Western entomologists were studying the insects, and together they formed the Western Firefly Working Group.
“We are a prime site for research that will help science better understand this type of firefly,” he said. “So far, we’re the only group studying fireflies here. We’ve got other collaborators in New Mexico, in Utah, in Arizona, but my undergraduate students at Fort Lewis and I are the Southwest Colorado core.”
He explained that because little is known about them, the working group aims to answer basic questions about the marsh flicker – such as what type of wetland they need to thrive and when their mating season occurs.
The population at Sunnyside is one of the largest Schwarz has found.
Interest in marsh flickers has grown since they were recognized as a distinct species from those in the East and Midwest – and especially since they were added to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species in 2021, because of climate change, habitat loss and drought.
Artificial light pollution harms fireflies, Schwarz said. Some of the healthiest populations around Durango are on private agricultural land where there is less light from houses, streetlights and roads. But, he said, there is a patch of ideal habitat right in Durango.
He said lights from living rooms and porches that shine onto the wetland can harm fireflies in the area. The habitat supports about 10 individual fireflies, but turning off those lights or closing curtains at night could allow the population to rebound.
“We don’t realize that we’re harming our local firefly species,” Schwarz said. “We have them in Durango, and that population could get big and strong if the light went down and we maintained the quality of that wetland habitat.”
Schwarz did not share their location and urged people not to go search for them. The population is so small and vulnerable, he said, that any additional stress or habitat damage could wipe them out.
The first private firefly viewing party held last year at Sunnyside used ticket sales to fund additional La Plata Open Space Conservancy projects. The event was a hit, so they hosted another this year – this time to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters, said Jennifer Zahratka, executive director of the conservancy.
Zahratka said she hoped the event would inspire the kids to pursue careers in science or conservation, but giving them a fun evening outdoors was just as important.
“I want these kids to just be here,” she said. “I want them to have loved tonight – loved the fireflies, loved running around – to go home tired and just have this wonderful outdoor experience. Because not everybody gets to do that.”
The conservancy facilitates land easements with landowners – voluntary legal agreements that preserve full ownership of property but ensure the land is protected from development, Zahratka said. In addition to private easements like Sunnyside, the conservancy holds easements in Dalla Mountain Park, Overend Mountain Park, Horse Gulch and Oxbow Park to ensure they remain undeveloped.
Zahratka said conserving habitat amid development pressures, drought conditions and wildfire threats is particularly meaningful. But that effort depends on connecting people with the land – especially local youths and families.
“We protect what we love,” she said. “We protect the special experiences that we have. It doesn’t matter if you have land or money, you have a voice and you have a vote.”
sedmondson@durangoherald.com
