This year, the 30th annual Burning Man took place in the Black Rock Desert in northwest Nevada. From August 28 to September 5, 2016, 70,000 visitors arrived on the desert playa and assembled a temporary metropolis, complete with temples, a stained-glass space whale, theme camps, and of course, the iconic 43-foot-tall Burning Man itself which was set to burn Saturday, September 3, 2016.
"Old Razorback on the other side of the playa;" Source: Friends Group Facebook page
While people danced, lived and celebrated this unique event, Friends of Black Rock - High Rock were also there to educate visitors and ensure that the playa itself remained protected. The nonprofit friends group, which is an official partner of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), teamed up with the advocacy nonprofit Earth Guardians to meet with Burning Man attendees throughout the week and ensure that they followed “Leave No Trace” principles.
“It’s a great way to talk to people,” said the friends group Executive Director Michael Myers, who explained that by helping investigate issues such as litter on the ground, leaks from vehicles or burn scars from activities, he is able to educate Burning Man attendees and help them be proactive in protecting the landscape.
He explained that Burning Man’s “Black Rocky City” is laid out like a clock and that, in partnership with Earth Guardians and BLM staff, his group is able to navigate different segments of the clock each hour to check for improper use of the land.
“Most of the time, if there’s a problem, people are cooperative,” he said.
Burning Man’s Recreational Land Use Permit
Over the past thirty years of this event, the producers of Burning Man, Burning Man, LLC, and the attendees seem to have increased their focus on preserving the land so that they can return year after year. That focus is also enforced through their Special Recreation Permit with the Bureau of Land Management, which Burning Man, LLC must apply for each year.
As listed in the permit, “Upon leaving [the event], the lands must be restored as nearly as possible to pre-existing conditions.” Each year, the event brings large crowds who build a multitude of structures, but when they leave the playa must remain the blank canvas that it was before the event.
This is no ordinary feat. To disassemble the city’s structures, breakdown camps and move out 70,000 people without a trace, requires the efforts of all attendees. That’s why Burning Man, LLC also publishes a MOOP map, which stands for “Matter Out of Place” to educate attendees on where the trouble spots are. The map is color-coded and it grades the different segments of the city so participants know if their area is violating Leave No Trace principles.
Preserving and Enjoying the Playa Year-Round
“We want them to embrace ownership and place beyond Burning Man,” Myers said, whose group helps provide data for the MOOP map through their inspections. Not only do the Friends of Black Rock - High Rock encourage attendees to Leave No Trace, so Burning Man can happen in future years, Myers explained that he also wants Burning Man attendees to see the playa as a destination for year-round outdoor enjoyment.
“You can do practically anything out here,” Myers said as he described how his group takes people on the playa throughout the year for star-gazing, camping trips, hikes and other educational events.
But Myers also explained that his friends group has concern with what higher traffic each year from Burning Man means for the playa. According to the friends’ website, “as more and more people travel to this area, the playa’s crust softens, grows friable. It gets tracked out. Meaning that as recently as ten years ago, you could drive for quite some time without seeing another set of tracks. Not so anymore.” In addition, there are endemic species (believe it or not) that live on the semi-arid playa.
"Just inches under the shifting dust of the playa there are live fairy shrimp eggs;" Source: Friends Facebook page
When the playa floods, it becomes aquatic habitat for phytoplankton, bacteria, microbes, and crustaceans such as fairy shrimp and tadpole shrimp that are a food source for migrating birds.
While Burning Man takes place on only 3% of the playa’s land area, the friends group is concerned about how recreational use of the playa by vehicles and long-term camping may decrease crustacean egg abundance.
For this reason, the friends group educates visitors and is present at Burning Man so that the attendees understand the potential impact and may reduce their impact as much as possible.
The playa is only one part of the 1.2 million acres of the Black Rock – High Rock National Conservation Area (NCA) that the friends group helps support. Throughout the NCA, visitors can enjoy canyons, hot springs, hardwood forests and 8,000-foot peaks. In addition to the group’s preservation efforts, Myers added, “We want people to interact with the land and have fun with it, but we want them to do it responsibly so that everyone can do what they want to do.”
To learn more about Friends of the Black Rock – High Rock’s activities to protect the playa and the surrounding NCA, visit their website at http://blackrockdesert.org.