"The dispute between Bundy and the federal government dates to 1993, when land managers cited concern for the federally protected tortoise and capped his herd at 150 animals on a 250-square-mile rangeland allotment."
There is is in a nutshell. They changed the rules and still demanded payment.
It was never about rent. It was about the greenies trying to run him off of the land. Why is it acceptable for 150 Cows to stomp on tortoises but not 151 or 240 or 500 or 1000?
The Gub'ment didn't revoke his rights in 1993 they instead just changed the rules to make his approved usage of the land worthless to him.
If you don’t think saying ‘this is my land, you must enter into a contract and pay a fee to graze on it’ is asserting a claim to ownership of property, then we’ll have to respectfully agree to disagree.
As you said, the 1993 change capped Bundy’s herd at 150 cattle on the Bunkeville allotment. That made Bundy’s approved usage of the land much less valuable, but not “worthless to him.” The 1998 ‘no-graze’ declaration made the land worthless to him.