Burning Man seeks permit renewal

The Bureau of Land Management, Winnemucca District, Black Rock Field Office is seeking public input as it evaluates a proposal from Black Rock City to renew their special recreation permit to conduct the Burning Man Festival for the 2011-2015 period. The deadline for comments is Dec. 13.

The festival is held annually on public lands in Pershing County on the barren playa of the Black Rock Desert approximately 10 miles northeast of the community of Gerlach. The festival has been held since 1990 and has been permitted by the BLM since 1992.

The operations associated with the event occupy about 4,400 acres of public land for a seven week period starting with fencing the site perimeter the second week of August and concluding in late September with the final site cleanup. The major activities are confined to several weeks in late August and early September associated with final setup, the actual event, and the initial phases of cleanup. During this period, Black Rock City becomes one of the largest cities in Nevada, with approximately 50,000 participants.

Open houses will be held from 5-7 p.m. Dec.7, at the Lovelock Community Center in Lovelock, on Dec. 8, at the Gerlach Community Center in Gerlach, and on Dec. 9, at the Hyatt Place Hotel in Reno. The open house meetings are scheduled by the BLM to share information about the current proposal, answer questions and allow publics to provide input into the permit renewal process.

Public comments may be submitted via regular mail to: Cory Roegner, Attn: Burning Man Permit Renewal, BLM Black Rock Field Office, 5100 East Winnemucca Blvd., Winnemucca NV 89445-2921 or via e-mail to wfoweb@nv.blm.gov. E-mail messages should include "Burning Man Permit Renewal (Roegner)" in the subject line.

Public comments submitted for this project, including names and addresses of commentors will be available for public review at the Winnemucca District Office during regular business hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except federal holidays.

For further information please contact Cory Roegner, Project Lead, at 775-623-1500