A new report from the Bureau of Land Management shows the federal agency requesting more law enforcement officers for the annual Burning Man festival in the Black Rock desert.
The Reno Gazette Journal reportsit’s the latest scuffle between the agency and Burning Man organizers, who say there are already too many cops on the playa.
Last year, the event gave the BLM about $1.2 million toward law enforcement resources. The BLM works with the Pershing County Sheriff’s office to staff the event – which last year totaled 53 BLM officers and 19 sheriff’s officers.
That’s about one officer per nearly 1,000 people for an event which draws close to 80,000 attendees.
The BLM has not made any arrests at Burning Man for several years, but issued about 400 citations last year.
Meanwhile, local authorities arrested 58 people on a variety of charges, many of which were drug related.