Burning Man, BLM mum about permit process
By Jenny Kane, Reno Gazette-Journal
Burning Man is right around the corner, yet Burning Man organizers and Bureau of Land Management officials have been mum about the progress of the permit which allows the event to take place.
The two entities are working out their differences, which became the center of controversy in late June when the Reno Gazette-Journal obtained documents that detailed some of the unprecedented requests made by BLM. BLM federal director Neil Kornze called the requests, which would cost Burning Man more than $1 million, “lavish” and “outlandish” and asked the Nevada state office to revise portions.
The BLM wanted 24-hour access to ice cream, flushing toilets, and washers and dryers for its upper-level personnel during the Burning Man event in order for the San Francisco-based nonprofit to acquire its more than $4 million permit for the Aug. 30 to Sept. 7 pop-up arts utopia in the Black Rock Desert. The permit is the largest special recreation permit in the country and allows 68,000 people to attend.