Burning Man likely to return to same site after cleanup efforts

Martin Griffith

Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2000 | 9:49 a.m.

RENO, Nev. - Burning Man celebrants likely will be allowed to return to the same site on the northern Nevada desert next year after leaving it clean this year, federal officials said Monday.

Terry Reed, field manager of the Bureau of Land Management's Winnemucca office, praised cleanup efforts on the Black Rock Desert following the weeklong counterculture festival, which ended Labor Day.

"I know in general we were quite pleased," he said. "Certainly, nothing has come up that would cause us to take a different look at the event."

BLM outdoor recreation planner Lynn Clemons predicted organizers would be able to secure a special recreation permit for the same site next year. The site is on BLM land 120 miles north of Reno.

More than 26,000 free spirits from at least 40 states and 20 countries took part in the festival billed as a celebration of art and radical self-expression.

The Mardi Gras-like celebration began in San Francisco in 1986 and moved to the Nevada desert in 1990. It features an offbeat mix of art and music in a surreal five-square-mile encampment known as Black Rock City.

BLM officials attributed the successful cleanup to organizers' tougher leave-no-trace policies this year.

Burning Man spokeswoman Andie Kopp said community burn platforms were used for the first time in an effort to prevent burn scars on the desert floor.

The event climaxes with the torching of a 52-foot-high wooden man for whom the event is named. This year, even the "Man" did not touch the ground.

It also climaxes with artists tossing their paintings, sculptures and other creations on bonfires to reinforce the celebration of art for art's sake.