On October 5, the Playa Restoration Team held victory in the palm of its hands at the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) post-event site inspection. The team overcame significant weather setbacks and handled even tougher test standards to attain the best inspection results it has ever achieved.
Ten days later, BLM and statisticians from the Desert Research Institute (DRI) used a new digital pixel-count method to confirm an unprecedented near-perfect score.
The Playa Restoration Team (a.k.a Resto) also confirmed the MOOP Map was the greenest to date — thanks to the Leave No Trace efforts by YOU, the Black Rock City citizens who really stepped up to the plate this year!
The final inspection results will not be official until BLM releases the Post Event Site Inspection Report in the new year, but Playa Restoration Manager Dominic “DA” Tinio says the preliminary results reveal a much-needed win for Resto and the community.
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“In my 20-year career here, this is without a doubt the best results I’ve ever seen. With all of the pressure surrounding the BLM’s Environmental Impact Statement and the increased difficulty of the inspection, we needed a decisive victory and we got it,” DA says.
“I am so proud of the Playa Restoration All-Star Team who stayed behind to fight through an extraordinarily difficult season to deliver our biggest win ever. And I am so proud of the 80,000 Burning Man participants who really rallied to the cause this year and stepped up their Leave No Trace effort overall — it showed.”
In July 2019, on the back of its Environmental Impact Statement, the BLM added a new inspection standard requiring that no more than 10 percent of the 120 randomly selected inspection test sites could exceed the designated limit. A successful test site was based on finding less than a palmful of MOOP in a 37.7 foot radius area. (See this previous post for more detailed maths.)
To prepare for the inspection, a new Resto team known as “The Test Team” was established to replicate the BLM Inspection method using the “rule of palm” all day, every day during the cleanup. But the Test Team continued to find Resto just short of success — a few wood chips here, a scrap of toilet paper there, pushing them over the line.
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“It’s a game of inches. We were in good fighting shape, but it wasn’t down to 10 percent yet,” says DA, whose 20-year dedication to Black Rock City’s ‘Leaving No Trace’ efforts was tested like never before.
During the playa restoration season, he and his team struggled with rain and high winds that carved days out of their schedule and delayed line sweeps — the inch-by-inch cleanup of the 156 million square foot Burning Man event site.
These delays extended the restoration season and led to dwindling volunteer numbers, rising fatigue and flagging morale. Rain also meant playing a game of hide and seek when finding Matter Out of Place (MOOP).
“The post-event weather was challenging,” says Field Operations Manager Weldboy. “The playa does what it wants — dust storms, rain, freezing temperatures. We also had a hailstorm! It’s always a game of ‘now you see it, now you don’t with MOOP. Our best bet was to cover Black Rock City as many times as possible.”
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After multiple passes of the entire event site, the MOOP Map had turned a splendid shade of green when heavy rains struck five days before inspection, which was originally scheduled for October 4. Rain packs the playa dust down while MOOP works its way up. The MOOP Map, which had been mostly green, now began to show red dots.
Three days of hustle later, the team finally pulled the pin — or, more specifically, the Golden T-stake from the playa.
The Golden T-stake, at 5:30 Esplanade in front of MOOP Map HQ, is the last standing street location marker in Black Rock City. (Not to be confused with the Golden Spike marking the city’s center.) Once we pull the Golden T-Stake, Black Rock City is gone.
At this year’s Golden T-Stake ceremony, DA honored Weldboy for his heroic efforts in co-leading the team while also overcoming his own private battle with cancer.
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DA says everyone was in good spirits as they parted ways after a brief celebratory drink at the Gerlach Saloon and headed to bed for an early inspection start the next morning. “We’re going to kill this tomorrow,” DA remembers thinking.
But the weather had other plans. Rain bucketed down twice during the night, forcing an inspection postponement and leaving no further opportunity to line sweep for last-minute “peekaboo” MOOP before the rescheduled inspection on October 5.
On October 5, 88 Resto members worked alongside BLM representatives in 11 teams to undertake the testing. DA says he remained cautiously optimistic when team after team returned with excited faces and either empty handed or near-empty handed.
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“There was this one kid on his second year on Resto. He comes in and he says: ‘You wanna know what I think? I think we killed this test!’ I really appreciated that he could have the bravado that I couldn’t have at that moment,” DA says.
On October 15, that bravado was vindicated when DA and BLM representatives gathered at BLM offices to measure the results. They were accompanied by DRI statisticians who have been helping BLM and Burning Man Project move to a new digital measuring system for the inspection. They confirmed the Black Rock City site had passed all but one of the 120 test sites.
Black Rock City has passed every inspection since 1999, when the BLM began requiring such inspections as a condition of future event permits on the playa.
Stay tuned for the release of the final high-res MOOP Map in the new year
Top photo: MOOP Map Scribe, Your Sister (photo by Moon)
Thank you, Resto! Thank you, Black Rock City!
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I own a construction company, and cleanliness is one of our top priorities. Even on a small scale such as a house remodel, it is extremely difficult to keep things clean.
How you manage to clean 150 million S/F is utterly beyond me.
Thank you. I appreciate your diligence.
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Congrats and Great work!
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Thank you so much moop map team!
Y’all are on some next level ish :)
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Amazing! Thank you Playa Restoration ALL STAR Team!
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Thank you Resto! I wasn’t there this year but think of you guys always for helping make sure we can make it back!!! <3
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Thank you! To all the theme camps, villages and citizens of BRC for your part in returning the playa to its former beauty! Thank you Playa Restoration Team for cleaning up what we missed. You are all freaking awesome!
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First of all – big congratulations and thanks for the service Burning Man and the Restoc Crew has done for our planet. I volunteer with the Oregon Country Fair and would like to share this information with our Recycling and Sustainability Crews as well as with the general population. Is there a way you would make this article shareable for me? With gratitude – coyote
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Thanks for your interest, Coyote. You can share this article by using the url: https://journal.burningman.org/2019/11/black-rock-city/leaving-no-trace/2019-blm-inspection/
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Tremendous thank you, Resto Crew! You are true heroes.
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Once a great team does the impossible, it’s no longer impossible! So well done Resto! So impressive! Thank you all!
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Thank you all for your tremendous efforts! We could not do this with you.
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Thank you, Resto. Ya’all RAWK!
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Ahhhh such great news!! So proud of and thankful for the burners who kept it clean and the Resto team!
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Great job. Congratulations.
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Stellar results! So much green, like we were never there. As BRC citizens we are doing better every year but it takes the Resto crew to put the finishing touches on our cleanup. Thanks DA for 20 years of effort to help create this result, thanks Resto for bearing the elements to the end. You are truly inspiring!
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You killed it you sexy mothafuckas!!!!
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Thank you, Resto Team! Many of us work hard during the event to reduce and remove MOOP, but we know you still have a hard job, and we appreciate it!
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Thank you Resto crew!!
I can’t wait to see a higher res moop map.
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Also, MuddyPuppy is now my girlfriend and I new crush.
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Thank you Resto team!
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Thanks, Resto crew! Is there a higher quality version of the map somewhere we could check?
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Hi Zach, As mentioned at the end of the article, the high res version will be available in the new year
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Hey Guys, I feel humbled by your efforts. Saying ‘Thank you’ just doesn’t seem enough.
Through out the Burn I have an Earth Guardian moop bag slung on my shoulder, and for me, just picking moop as I go is a normal part of my day/night.
But I have now been officially inspired by the efforts of the Resto Team. Next year, I plan to make even more of effort to collect moop daily.
Thank you so much again.
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YAY!!!! WAY TO GO, YOU GUYS!!
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Wow!! This is such a wonderful testament – and a holy fucking effort. Thank you!!!
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Thank you everyone for all your hard work ! The Bishop ! L AND 4 : 30
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Excellent article Jane. Thanks again for your help on Henry Chang article.
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it takes a village – love you!!
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Killin the game! Thank you Resto!
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Fantastic news to hear and what a joyous achievement for RESTO to accomplish! Keep up the good work!
Will spread the great news near and far.
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Terrific job RESTO!!
Was the issue of bikes left on playa also much improved from prior years?
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Weldboy here,
Thank you Black Rock City for making this the greenest MOOP Map ever. Y’all are make us on the resto team proud. There has been a huge outreach effort made to keep the LNT ethos burning bright and this season’s MOOP Map shows the fruits of that effort. Thanks for listening.
I will see y’all out in the dirt in 2020. Don’t forget to stop by MOOP Map HQ at 5:30 and Esplanade. We can hangout, look at the past year’s MOOP Map and wear ourselves out patting each other on the back…and, of course have a cocktail.
LEAVE NO TRACE!!
Thanks Jane. You make us all look smart with your good writin’
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Thanks for the big part you played in all of this success, Weldboy! Much appreciated!
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be careful putting babies faces on the internet. we maybe have fucked up and have no defense against the robot armies but we don’t have to doom the youngins.
leave no trace
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Thanks, Weldboy. It was my absolute pleasure to tell your story. Many thanks to you, the crew and all you do!
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I can’t really out into words the level of gratitude we all have for your amazing efforts and dedication, so I would like to show you guys with a beautiful on playa meal next year if you are interested (absurd but delicious meals is my preferred gifting on playa). Approximately how many people are at your resto camp? I’m thinking a Metamorphosis themed Beef Wellingtons dinner, with vegan butternut squash Wellingtons, all sorts of sides, a desert of grilled peaches with crumbled pistachios goat cheese cinnamon and NH maple syrup etc…..
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Thanks Resto, I’ve known a few!
What is amazing is that this team comes together under the most challenging environmental situation.
They pick up all the things burners SHOULD NEVER HAVE LEFT.
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Thanks to Resto and to all of those at the burn that made the extra effort as well!
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Wonderful result. Does this include the trash (or lack of trash) found on the roads to and from Gerlach? If it does, then I am even more super happy.
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Goof, the highway restoration was completed even earlier: https://journal.burningman.org/2019/09/black-rock-city/leaving-no-trace/burning-man-restoration-crew-completes-initial-highway-cleanup/
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Great! i missed this report. Super job this year by burners and RESTO team!!
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Yep, there are special crews out for the highway cleanup as well. Right now, those the cleanest highways in Nevada. :-)
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I think the winds did almost all of the work. God is storing most of the roadside trash at the base of the mountains in case he needs 8 tons of trash for some reason in the future.
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Huge thanks to DA, Weldboy, and the entire Resto team for this enormous victory! And even more thanks to each and every citizen of Black Rock City for contributing to our community’s Leave No Trace efforts. Well done!
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Hi , Burning – Man , It’s possible to see who did play Music ? Especially Psytrance , Ambient , and all … I’m a french man … Thank you . Rock and roll …
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Oh, you want to know about “little red wagon” on continuous repeat???
It really comes to life after the 178’th replay…
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What’s with the red areas around the man?
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Great news! Thanks to all the volunteers – we appreciate you!
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Odds on that massive splurge at 815 and L was pay to play utopia Zentropez. Went in there and listened to a sparkle pony scream about her electric bike not working at some poor fellow…. great new otherwise x
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This year, although we’ve always made the effort, we redoubled our camp efforts–including have a Leave No Trace leadership position and making sure that all our wood was cut and sized before we ever left for the Playa—even though it’s an all camp responsibility, we figured having someone LEAD that effort would make a difference—and like to think it made one—and we have so much love and thanks to the hard-working Resto folks who led us on the way—you show us the right way, the good way, the best way. Thank you!!!
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Thank you team! Amazing work!!
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Thank you Resto team! Respect!
Burn on!
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It’s all about the magic 4 foot tall trash fence that doesn’t let anything through. Someone should find a way to sell that tech to NASA and other space agencies. It could be used to collect astroids and other space debris.
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Good job, but what I would really like to know, is how much carbon has been released into the atmosphere from the Art cars, Generators, Vehicles and the un-needed burning of structures? I don’t think we are in any danger of significant climate change from a few extra sequins left in the dessert.
What is BM’s plan for recapturing or off setting all of the carbon it is releasing into the atmosphere??
Let’s really start thinking of Mother Nature, even after the mushrooms wear off and start being good stewards of this planet.
I would recommend immediate restrictions on gas powered generators, art car emissions and requiring solar/battery systems.
The environmental hypocrisy I experienced this. last BM from a supposed highly educated group of people was amazingly sad…..
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BRAVO TO RESTO! You guys kick ass!
And three cheers to everyone else to picked up after themselves! We’re doin’ it right!
And I have to wonder how much this improvement is related to recent Citizenship articles by Crimson Rose, et al, and getting rid of some of the messier, more troublesome camps…
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Moop destroyers!!!! Awesome job!!!
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Go team! I am so proud to read this. What a kick ass representation of the teamwork and determination of this community!
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I can’t believe how amazing this is. Everyone is amazing. Burning Man is amazing. Cleaning up trash is amazing. I’m so amazed by all this amazing amazingness. It’s just so amazing.
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Im amazingly amazed at your amazement, it’s just so….so…..good
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True Heros !
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Hooray! I work with Earth Guardians LNT patrols during the event and (with a few notable jerks), everyone seemed to be really trying hard this year. Fuel storage was much better, too. Keep it up Burners! Luv ya!
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At this years event, I saw more people randomly collecting playa MOOP throughout the week than ever before. It was hugely encouraging to see and a testament to the call for help the organizers put out after the BLM inspection rules changed this year. Thanks so much to the community, and especially the Resto team! XXX
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Big love the DA and the entire Resto team. Burning Man could not continue with you!
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2019 Burning Man – Black Rock City
Did You Know?
Human beings shed about 8 pounds of dead skin cells each year (0.02 pounds per day).
If 80,000 people attended Burning Man over seven days they shed approximately 6 tons of dead skin cells.
MOOP that!
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Wonderful news and thanks to all who made it happen!
One question: what do the different shades of green mean?
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