Editing Burning Man (section)

=== Population counts ===
The population count is a stipulation of the Special Recreation Permit (SRP) granted to the Burning Man Project, formerly Black Rock City, LLC (BRC), by the BLM, for the event each year. Originally used to calculate fees, it's now used to ensure that the event does not exceed the maximum authorized population as specified in the SRP. Not everyone at the event is included in the population count. Exempted from the count are government personnel and government contractors; however, this has changed over time.

The population count was originally used to calculate fees owed to the BLM. It was not long until the BLM began considering putting a limit on the number of people that would be allowed to attend the event. This became a point of contention as early as 1998 when the BLM proposed a complicated usage formula, effectively limiting the size of the event to that of the previous year.<ref name=Larry>{{Cite web |url=https://www.trippingly.net/burning-man-musings/larry-harvey-the-numbers-game-blm-permit-1999 |date=February 26, 1999 |title=Larry Harvey – The Numbers Game – BLM Permit 1999 |access-date=March 19, 2023 |archive-date=March 19, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230319074313/https://www.trippingly.net/burning-man-musings/larry-harvey-the-numbers-game-blm-permit-1999 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.trippingly.net/burning-man-musings/burning-man-199899-jack-rabbit-speaks-oct-30-1998-on-pending-permit-issues |date=October 30, 1998 |title=Jack Rabbit Speaks – On Pending Permit Issues |access-date=August 1, 2022 |archive-date=June 30, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630223141/https://www.trippingly.net/burning-man-musings/burning-man-199899-jack-rabbit-speaks-oct-30-1998-on-pending-permit-issues |url-status=live}}</ref>

Starting in 2006, the SRP stipulated that BRC manage "ticket sales in a manner to keep the maximum population of the event from increasing more than 6% above the highest population recorded in a previous year."{{r|SRP 2006|p=1}} Fees were based on the daily population counts of Black Rock City at noon.{{r|SRP 2006|p=12}} This was the first year where fees were explicitly exempted for BRC staff.{{r|SRP 2006|p=12|quote=Any person present at the event who receives monetary compensation from BRC or from a contractor or subcontractor compensated by BRC is exempted from the daily fee counts}}.

In 2011, the fee structure changed to be based on adjusted gross income and was no longer tied to daily population counts.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Burning Man 2011 Special Recreation Permit Stipulations |url=http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/nv/field_offices/winnemucca_field_office/nepa/recreation/0.Par.49008.File.dat/2011%20SRP%20Stips.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120710220043/http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/nv/field_offices/winnemucca_field_office/nepa/recreation/0.Par.49008.File.dat/2011%20SRP%20Stips.pdf |archive-date=July 10, 2012}}</ref>{{rp|5}}

The 2012 SRP further defined who was to be counted in population counts. The term "participant" was introduced, as defined in that year's Environmental Assessment (EA), to include "all attendees of the event, including paid participants and volunteers. The population does not include government personnel, Humboldt General Hospital emergency service providers, vendors and contractors."<ref>{{Cite web |title=BRC Burning Man 2012–2016 Environmental Assessment |url=https://eplanning.blm.gov/public_projects/nepa/33302/39259/41166/Burning_Man_DOI-BLM-NV-W030-2012-0007-Final_EA.pdf |access-date=August 1, 2022 |archive-date=August 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220801012326/https://eplanning.blm.gov/public_projects/nepa/33302/39259/41166/Burning_Man_DOI-BLM-NV-W030-2012-0007-Final_EA.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>{{rp|2-1}} The maximum authorized population now applied to "participants".{{r|SRP 2012|p=1}}

In 2014, volunteers were explicitly exempted from the population count and the population cap was further refined to now apply to "paid participants".{{r|SRP 2014|p=1}}

In 2019, the definition of "population" changed again, this time to include BRC staff and volunteers, now collectively referred to as "attendees".{{r|SRP 2019|p=1}} This coincided with the necessity of a new Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the 2019–2028 SRP application which introduced this change in definition.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://eplanning.blm.gov/public_projects/nepa/93518/175007/212561/Burning_Man_Event_SRP-Final_EIS_Vol1.pdf |title=Burning Man Event Special Recreation Permit Environmental Impact Statement, Volume 1, 2019 |access-date=August 1, 2022 |archive-date=April 19, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230419120949/https://eplanning.blm.gov/public_projects/nepa/93518/175007/212561/Burning_Man_Event_SRP-Final_EIS_Vol1.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>{{rp|ES-1|q=The population, also called bodies on the playa, is all Burning Man Event attendees, including participants and BRC staff and volunteers. The population does not include government personnel or vendors.}}
The Burning Man Project reported a population of 78,850 for that year, an increase of about 8,600 people from the previous year, noting that "everyone" was now being counted in the maximum population count.<ref name=Timeline>"*Now including everyone!"{{Cite web |url=https://burningman.org/timeline/ |title=Timeline {{!}} Burning Man |access-date=July 4, 2018 |archive-date=September 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180912030106/https://burningman.org/timeline/ |url-status=live }}</ref> This roughly correlates with the Burning Man Project's 2019 Form 990 disclosure which states it employs 986 people and has 10,000 volunteers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2019 Form 990 |url=https://burningman.org/wp-content/uploads/BURNING-MAN-PROJECT-2019-990-PDC.pdf |access-date=August 1, 2022 |archive-date=August 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220801012326/https://burningman.org/wp-content/uploads/BURNING-MAN-PROJECT-2019-990-PDC.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>{{rp|1}}

In 2022, an additional restriction on the total number of attendees for the entirety of the event was introduced. "The cumulative maximum authorized population for the 2022 event is 87,000 total attendees." The maximum number of attendees on the playa at any one time remained as it was in 2019 at 80,000.{{r|SRP 2022|p=1|q=The cumulative maximum authorized population for the 2022 event is 87,000 total attendees, including Event participants, Burning Man Project (BMP) staff, and BMP volunteers. The population cap and the cumulative maximum population does not include government personnel or government contractors.}}