but there are some rural areas where they are the largest employer (large enough to control local politics)
Can you give an example, please. My local BLM is 15 employees (down from 45) for a town of about 25,000. Not rural really, but they don’t control local politics.
When I said they I meant the Federal government - not just BLM. Idaho County (in Idaho obviously) is a good example. Population of 15000 in one of the large counties in America that has 4 national forests within it (I believe two exclusively). Would be safe to say the Forest Service (and retired USFS employees) are probably the biggest group in that county.
The other issue for Western States (like other states) is that politics at the state level are controlled by the big cities/metro areas that promote environmentalism. Washington is controlled by Seattle and the I-5 corridor - Oregon - Portland and same. Colorado politics have been overtaken by metro politics and even Montana is beginning to change. Idaho seems to be solidly red for the time being, but county politics are becoming interesting (look at Moscow, Idaho (university town) and Sandpoint (retirement destination for Californians). If the Boise area continues to grow the politics in that state will shift also. Those are the ones I am most familiar with.
Part of me feels sorry for the Bundy’s (even as I don’t agree with their argument) because they are clinging to a way of life (ranching) that is dependent on government subsidies (government graze is incredibly cheap) that is becoming harder to do each year (much of that because of government at all levels). Agri-business to include ranching is becoming a corporate endeavor - look no further than the Washington State apple industry and wheat farms and what has happened there. Looking at the state budgets of Oregon and Washington for example there is NO WAY the state would give ranchers the same deal on grazing that BLM provides.
It’s been a good run recently with the price of beef and this has allowed many smaller ranchers (like my neighbor who grazes my land) to be profitable, but when the price of beef drops again it will be harder for the little guys in some states to remain profitable. I believe the state of Washington has more regulations than the Fed government for ranchers! The prices for grazing on private land with good grass are far more costly than BLM land. The other trend is that affecting my area - in a county with large city. Property taxes are growing and many folks are selling the farms for nice houses on acreage. Bundy might want to be careful about what he wishes for others because ranchers in Oregon get a better deal from BLM than they would from the state.