Flooding can be a destructive force in other places but it's a good thing on the Black Rock Playa according to those who know the area. As it evaporates, flood water leaves sediment and a good platform for vehicle traffic, land sailing, rocket launching, effigy burning and other recreation.
Floods also support the playa ecosytem by hatching tiny creatures at the bottom of the food chain.
The playa floods to some extent each winter and spring but this year's flood is greater than normal according to Michael Myers, Executive Director of the Friends of Black Rock High Rock in Gerlach.
“This year we do have more moisture than usual,” he said. “It is quite a bit more moisture than the last few years when we were experiencing extreme drought conditions.”
Wind and water create a flat, durable surface ideal for fast cars, pyrotechnics and surrealistic art.
“Wind moves around the moisture and smooths and firms the surface,” Myers explained. “Once the playa is fully dried, the surface can withstand a variety of recreational activities.”
Kayakers recently took advantage of the flood and recreation has increased mostly in the dry season, Myers said. The Bureau of Land Management attempts to control activities to minimize impacts.
“Burning Man and other permitted events have specific protocols to follow to lessen the impacts their events have on the playa surface,” he said. “As long as those protocols and procedures are followed, the long term effects of those events should be minimal. We ask that all users recreate responsibly so that access can be continued for current and future generations.”
Scientists believe human activities impact dormant eggs laid in the playa dirt by fairy and tadpole shrimp, water fleas and other aquatic species. The eggs hatch when the playa floods and the critters are eaten by birds and animals. In 2010, Desert Research Institute geologist Ken Adams and biologist Donald Sada released a report after studying the playa physical processes and aquatic species. The scientists counted the number of intact eggs along heavily traveled roads and compared “the egg density in Black Rock City roads and camping areas before and following the Burning Man Festival.”
“Lower intact egg density in areas affected by human use is believed to indicate that these activities may reduce the number of viable eggs and detrimentally affect branchiopod reproductive success and population size,” Adams and Sada wrote in their report.
Adams later told a reporter that flooding mitigates playa erosion and the impacts of human activities.
“Because this spot is flooded every few years or so, it counteracts the effects of Burning Man,” Adams told Reno Gazette-Journal reporter Jeff DeLong in 2010. “Flooding is a good thing for the playa.”
BLM Acting Black Rock Field Manager Mark Hall, who's in charge of this year's Burning Man permit, said at this point he believes the Black Rock Playa will be dry in time for the festival's opening day on August 27. However, he has advised a rocket club to cancel their launch scheduled for the end of April.
“In terms of this year's (Burning Man) event, I'm not worried yet about the playa not drying out in time for the event,” he said. “The evaporation rate in the Black Rock desert ranges from 150 to 250 millimeters/month (based on data available from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). Since 2000, the largest inundation of the playa was just over 59,3000 acres in 2005. In that year it dried out by July. 250 millimeters is about 10 inches.”
Burning Man will impact about three percent or more of the 200 square mile Black Rock Playa. The festival is scheduled for eight days but there will be weeks of set up time and the massive “leave no trace” playa clean up project after the event as required by the BLM special recreation permit. The permit also requires plans for crowd control or evacuation if the playa is inundated during the event.
“As part of Burning Man's Annual Plan of Operations, they do have a plan for severe weather events covering topics such as shelter in place, how the release of participants would occur depending on playa driving conditions, securing art, etc,” Hall said last week.
If the playa is still flooded by mid-July, BLM and BRC officials “would have meetings to collaborate and determine what activities can and cannot be permitted for the 2017 Burning Man event,” Hall said.
“The current permit does not have specific conditions on how firm the playa needs to be nor its surface integrity,” he said. “Black Rock City, organizers of the event, are firm believers and practitioners of Leave No Trace principles. The Black Rock desert is a special place for them and they go to great lengths to minimize their impact on the playa. They are also aware it is part of a National Conservation Area.”
In his experience, Myers said the entire Black Rock Playa never stayed flooded throughout the summer months although some sections of the ancient lake bed have remained covered with water year round.
“I haven't heard any stories of the whole playa staying flooded in water for the whole year. But that doesn't mean it hasn't happened,” he said. “Every year during the summer there are times when the playa is covered in water for days. So, it's not that uncommon for playa conditions to affect summer events especially in late spring or early fall.”
Burning Man tickets sales are underway and organizers seem confident summer weather will dry the playa in time for the gates to open. BRC officials won't comment on their back up plan if there is one. The organization owns the 4,000 acre Fly Ranch and other private land north of the public land site.
“The playa floods nearly every year at this time and it's not uncommon for it to remain wet to some degree into July,” said BRC spokesman Jim Graham. “While we are keeping an eye on the weather, the event is five months out. We've had heavy rains during build month and even during the event itself.”
“In 30 years, the Man has always burned,” he said.
