Leave No Trace Principles
What does Leave No Trace mean for 20,000 people camping for a week on the playa? When BLM started training Burning Man participants in 1998 and asked Earth Guardians to do outreach to the larger Burning Man Community, we decided to make the LNT principles relevant to Burning Man camping. Afterall, camping in Black Rock City isn't your normal car camping weekend in the woods. The result of that effort is show below and further elaborated in the section of the web pages titled LNT Practices.
Plan Ahead and Prepare
Read all of the literature provided before leaving for Burning Man. Start with the survival guide. Plan your structure to be able to withstand the extreme conditions on the playa and be reusable. With Garbage, Precycle/Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - try to reduce the weight, volume, and odor of the trash that your camp generates. Leave all unnecessary packaging at home. Choose cans over bottles, and reusable containers over both. Have a predetermined plan for perishables, liquids and ice. Prepare food in sensible quantities that your group can finish at a single sitting -- leftovers will quickly become a liability). Have your camp tear-down well planned and practiced. Don't stress to hurry home on Sunday. Recognize that long-term exposure to the playa will fatigue your body and impair decision powers. Also, when under pressure, we are all likely to make rushed decisions, miss details and leave things behind. You will make the wise choice if you know what to expect and are property prepared.
See more hints from Recycle Camp.
Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces
Stay on the playa surface, drive only on obvious, marked roads, keep speeds under 5 mph in Black Rock City. Avoid the Hot Springs during the event. These delicate ecosystems cannot handle the volume of usage that free use during the event creates. Also, many of the surrounding hotsprings are on private land. Avoid crypto-biotic soils at the edges of the playa. These soils can take over 100 years to develop. One footprint can leave a lasting impression. Please stay within the boundaries of Black Rock City during Burning Man.
Dispose of Waste Properly
Every camping party is responsible for its refuse. Leave nothing behind, including: firewood, ashes, rocks and cigarette butts. Pick it up and take it with you. Read on what cleaning up at Burning Man really means BEFORE you leave for the playa. Please do not leave behind your old bikes behind for us. Do not use the playa as your toilet. This is unacceptable behavior and unsanitary. Be aware of spare nails or smaller trash particles that may be dismissed as too small for trash including: hair, matches, cigarette butts, feathers, plastic tie wraps. Do not pour left over FUEL onto the playa.
Leave What You Find
(except trash!); No trenching or digging; No pillaging other camps, No burning of other people's art;  No claiming of potential artifacts. Artifacts should be turned into the Lost and Found in center camp with an EXACT location of wher it was discovered. Minimize impacts near old Pioneer Wagon tracks throughout the year. Blankets for all and any fires on the playa
Minimize Fire Impacts
Use Fire shields to protect playa surface; Do NOT burn carpets, the fumes are toxic; Do NOT throw bottles into fires, or burn anything that is not necessary. Burn in predesignated areas ONLY with the fire barrels provided for general use.
Respect Wildlife
The Desert is no place for dogs or other pets; Doggy Doodoo - bring a shovel with you and dump that poop right in the portolet. Do not harass or shoot any creatures.
Be Considerate of Other Visitors
Be courteous to your neighbors -remember that we're all part of the larger BR community, Place yourself where you belong according to the indications on the city map, coordinate sound and lights effects with your neighbors, educate late comers on the "Burning Man ways" as soon as they enter your neighborhood, make your neighbors your friends, help each other with Sunday clean-up - it's amazing what a fresh face can see.
Interested in more information about what Leave No Trace means? Check out these additional Leave No Trace web pages:
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