BURNING MAN FESTIVAL SET TO REPEAT AT LAST YEAR'S SITE

RENO -- Burning Man celebrants will be allowed to return to the same
site on the northern Nevada desert this summer after leaving it clean
last year, federal land managers decided.

But Bureau of Land Management officials are warning participants that
drug laws again will be enforced at the counterculture festival on
the Black Rock Desert 120 miles north of Reno.

Billed as a celebration of art and radical self-expression, the event
is expected to draw about 25,000 people from 45 states and 20
countries to the desert over the Labor Day weekend.

``We beefed up law enforcement last year . . . and we'll take the
same approach this year that we took last year,'' said Les Boni,
assistant field manager of the Bureau of Land Management's Winnemucca
office.

``Personal drug use isn't permitted. Even though they come here for
the festival, they're part of society and accountable under the same
rules. We're required to enforce state and federal law.''

Some participants complained about an excessive law enforcement
presence at last year's festival. More than 125 celebrants were cited
or arrested, many on drug-related charges. Some charges were later
dismissed.

Organizers said it was the most citations and arrests for drugs at
the festival since it began in San Francisco in 1986. It moved to the
Nevada desert in 1990.

To avoid a repeat, organizers are including information on drug laws
in this year's ``Survival Guide'' mailed to all ticket holders.

Their Web site says Burning Man does not promote or condone drug use,
but supports the First Amendment and participants' right to privacy.

``We are committed to following all state and federal laws,'' said
Burning Man spokeswoman Marian Goodell.