Burning Man 1997 | Burning Man and the Environment by Larry Harvey

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Burning Man and the Environment

by Larry Harvey

I'm writing this in response to various recent comments concerning Fly Geyser, its surrounding environment and the ecological impact of the Burning Man Festival. To begin, it should be noted that Fly Geyser is man-made--the result of an aborted mining operation. An abandoned crane which looms above the pool immediately adjacent to the geyser bears testimony to this fact. It was employed in the dredging operation that created the pools.

The geyser formation itself is composed of calcite, which has coalesced around pipes that were thrust into the ground. Calcite deposition, in these mineral laden waters, occurs very quickly. Hence, the beautiful polychrome terraces, which form so remarkable a feature here, are the direct result of human intervention. The "complex ecological relationships" which some critics cite, have simply had no time to evolve.

Further, it seems probable to me that if those individuals who now object to our use of the site had been present at its creation-- as machines gouged holes in the ground-- they doubtless would have protested that as well-- one of those small ironies so apt to overtake the uninformed. I would also point out that the land which will form our campground in 1997 has been used for cattle grazing for decades. It is not virgin wilderness.

This said, however, I want to reassure everyone that we are not insensitive to environmental concerns. In fact, we're making every effort to protect what is a beautiful and precious place. We have purposely located our campground a full four miles from Fly Geyser in order to prevent a mass migration into this area.

The road which leads directly to the geyser will be closed to all traffic. Our intention is to use public transit to convey people here--thus allowing us to control the numbers of people who use the site. Furthermore, the geyser and pools are shielded from our camp by a nearly impassable marsh that bars pedestrian access. We also intend to carefully conserve the natural features here. An "art" fence, beautifully designed by a professional landscape artist, will in the future protect the fragile terrace that surrounds the geyser, and equally attractive barriers will shield the two exquisite tufa towers that exist here. The geyser itself will be lit at night to insure public safety and monitors will patrol the area to guard against any littering or vandalism. Lastly, we have discovered that the Fly hot spring complex is not limited to the two pools with which most of us are familiar, but extends to include more than 14 separate pools--thus lessening the impact on any one of them. Given our ability to filter public access, we are confident that it will be possible to avoid creating some imagined critical mass of people who would recklessly trample the landscape.

Our campground itself, as I've mentioned, is on cattle range land. Cows have already created paths amidst the sparse shrubbery that grows here. Our event, it should be remembered, lasts a mere five days, and it is not our intention to cover this land with pavement. We propose low-impact camping which will have no affect on the surrounding land. It is true, of course, that we will fashion unpaved roads through the immediate area of our campground. To those who are appalled by even this alteration of what is in no way a virgin environment, I suggest that this reaction may be the result of a certain sense of impotence. No one, after all, is picketing Phoenix or, for that matter, the many land developments that are now spreading outward from Reno. These, of course, have a tremendous impact on the environment, but seem part of an irresistible economic juggernaut.

The Burning Man Project, on the other hand, will go to great lengths to preserve the natural character of the landscape. Our policy has always been to leave a minimal footprint, the least possible impact on the environment, and we're not about to abandon that creed. We are, however, a more available target for this misdirected outrage, more easily blamed precisely because of our past attention to environmental concerns. If our critics would only consider the large-scale destruction of the natural world taking place all around them, perhaps they'd reconsider their priorities.

I would also point out, in light of the fact that we're intending few "improvements," that campers at our event must confront a survival situation. They may therefore find that, far from making depredations on the land, this imagined power relation is reversed. Should a horse fly bite them, they'll discover that the environment has made depredations on them. This will be an instructive lesson for those whose principle impression of Nature has been gained from television documentaries.

Lastly, Hualapai Playa itself will, of course, be unaffected by our presence. The yearly cycle of flooding that renews the Black Rock Desert from year to year is also operant here. Upon the whole, I believe I can say the Burning Man Festival will have no adverse impact on the environment, but that, instead, we intend to protect and enshrine it.