Burning Man begs festival-goers to help stop BLM from ‘outright killing’ the event
SFGate – Eric Ting – April 07, 2019
Burning Man organizers are pleading with festival-goers to write to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and urge them to reconsider a number of new requirements for the festival.
In March, BLM released a 372-page draft version of the annual Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that required the festival to take a number of new measures to remain in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
These requirements include reducing the amount of light pollution at night, providing more dumpsters inside of the city and along Gate Road for the festival’s 80,000 participants, and paying for the maintenance of County Road 34, which takes participants to the entrance.
“Some of BLM’s proposals are in direct conflict with our community’s core principles and would forever negatively change the fabric of the Burning Man event, if not outright kill it,” festival organizers wrote in March.
On Thursday, Burning Man staff asked Burners and other people interested in the annual festival at Black Rock City to write to the Bureau of Land Management, since organizers believe the new requirements would “spell the end of the event as we know it.”
“The Draft EIS does not adequately factor in the astronomical cost increases and beyond-excessive government oversight associated with BLM’s requirements,” organizers wrote. “It does not adequately factor in our operational track record or expertise and proposes instead to increase federal government agency operations exponentially in order to take over or ‘monitor’ our operations.”
Burning Man organizers attempted to refute many of the BLM requirements, and urged Burners to send emails to BLM echoing their refutations.
PS Let’s keep the magic going…
Posted by Teri Perticone
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