“As far as the BLM goes I have zero connection, we have zero BLM land in our area and very little in the state.”
This is how it should work, what you may not understand is the BLM thinks it owns the 12 Western States, by virtue of the large percentage of land retained in Federal hands at statehood. In some cases, and perhaps all, there is insufficient land in private hands to support a livestock operation when it takes large acreages to support one cow/calf much less a herd. Grazing permits on Federally held lands are in many cases an absolute necessity. The Bundy ranch is a prime example and if my history is correct they are the last ranch standing in their part of Clark County, all others having lost to Federal encroachment. See: http://www.americanlandscouncil.org/
I find it amazing when someone like Dusty presents himself as a Rancher and proceeds to bash other Ranchers who utilize land that is supposed to be managed by the Government. I think he misstated the actual cost Ranchers pay to utilize BLM/Forest Service land. This article states the fee’s were increased in 2015 to $1.69 per AUM. https://wlj.net/article-permalink-11160.html
My family utilizes Forest Service land on a cattle ranch in NE Arizona. We paid $1.85 per head per month last year. To place 800 head of cattle on the Forest it cost $1480.00 per month. This Forest Service land is used for 5 months out of the year so that privately owned winter pastures can be rested in the summer.
Dusty’s comment that you should not lease/use BLM or Forest Service land shows how truly uninformed he is. The article linked above states, “The BLM, a U.S. Department of Interior bureau, manages more land than any other federal agency—more than 245 million surface acres, mostly in 12 western states, including Alaska. The Forest Service, a U.S. Department of Agriculture agency, manages 193 million acres in 44 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.” In the Western states the Government owns the majority of the land and they are always trying to gobble up more of it. These Government agencies have been hijacked by extreme activists who use the animals to lock up the land and kick out the natural resource based industries like ranchers and loggers.