The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) today issued a special recreation permit authorizing Black Rock City LLC to host the 2015 Burning Man event on public lands in Nevada. This year, the Burning Man event will take place from Aug. 30 through Sept 7.
?BLM and BRC team members have worked hard over the past several weeks to get to this point,? said Acting Nevada State Director John Ruhs. ?Throughout the process, our priority has always been to ensure the health and safety of the participants, volunteers and staff while on the playa. By working together, we?ve arrived at a common sense, cost-efficient plan that meets our core operational needs and paves the way forward for a successful event.?
The 2015 permit, which is among the largest and most complex issued by the BLM, allows up to 70,000 participants and includes updated public health, safety and environmental safeguards.
Burning Man has occurred annually on public lands situated on the Black Rock Desert Playa since 1990. As the event has grown in popularity, so has attendance, dramatically increasing the complexity of management responsibilities. During the event, Black Rock City becomes the sixth largest city in Nevada. Event operations occupy approximately 4,400 acres of public land for seven weeks, beginning with site preparations in mid-August through final clean-up in early October.
As in past years, temporary public land-use closures are implemented to protect the environment, ensure public safety, address local community concerns, and facilitate the event.
Copies of the permit and other related environmental documents are available online at http://www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/fo/wfo/blm_information/nepa0.html and upon request from the BLM Winnemucca District Office, 5100 East Winnemucca Boulevard, Winnemucca, NV 89445-2921, during regular business hours (7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.).