We are fools if we think state control will make everything well. The states will sell off land for development (think Lions Back) if can earn them a buck.
Courts and the voting booth are where changes are made.
Bingo, and I'll raise you public hearings, comment periods and land stewardship.
I'm trying not to paint a with a broad stroke as I've run across some of the most down to earth and generous ranchers out there however I've had a polar experience as well. A few RME'ers and myself had a most colorful run-in with a rancher not far from this situation in Nevada. He was running cattle on public BLM land and was very volitile with us about the fact we decided to camp near where his heard was roaming. We didn't think anything of our decision, it was an obviously well used camping area and on public land, not signed, etc.... and there are cows everywhere. Anyways he come violently driving into our camp at 7AM with all sorts of accusations, violent tones all underscored by the shot gun he had next to his seat (the gun was a non-issue, we had those too). Literally freaking out several members of our group. He made it 100% clear that it was his land and we needed to move on. Further research, it was his grazing allotment... OUR land
I had a second similar run-in with a rancher in Wyoming as we were on the Outlaws Run. We were on a clear county road, marked on maps, historic 100+ year old route, etc. We pulled up to the cattle gaurd, saw the no trespassing signs and assumed they meant for all the land on either side of the road is is extremely common in right-of-way situations and proceeded to drive through. We were just about to exist the parcel on the opposite side when the dude cut-off on his ATV and made us go back the way we came, a 40 mile detour because the county road crossed a ~1 mile section of his ranch. In this case the county calls it open, he disagrees. We left it at that.
I'm by no means saying this is how every rancher or even a small minority of ranchers are BUT they are out there and those ones do treat public lands/roads as if it were their own.
In a similar but opposite case, we were driving the Pony Express Trail from SLC to Lake Tahoe. In the middle of Nevada we pull up to a locked gate with a ranch house just up the way. We grouped at the gate and pulled a map out to verify we were on the right road (surely the historic right-of-way of the PET pre-dates and private land right?) and identify a detour. A quad comes rolling down from the ranch house and I fully expect to get the riot act about people subverting his gate, etc. Nope, he was genuinly interested in our trip and once we told him what we were up to he not only invited us to cross his property along the historic PET but he led us up and over the top to the other gate, let us out and gave us some camping recommendation. Couldn't have asked for a better situation.
