There are plenty of similar stories out there apparently.
I used to think that I wanted to buy a place that backed up to a NF. Now? Not so much.
The North Western states have become dominated by tree hugging, activist environmentalists.
BTW, our farm adjoins a federal wetlands. You wouldn’t believe the regulations.
My dad had 30 acres in Washington that had a drainage creek along the back fence. It had been there since the 1920's when the local farmer/ranchers banded together to "drain the swamp".
EPA and Fish&Wildlife visited one day and demanded access. They ran some water tests and surveyed the area and declared it a tributary to the Chehalis River.
From that time forward he couldn't even harvest firewood from the 4 acres along the "tributary" and had to fence off his few steers from accessing the forested part.
Dad and I built the fence for about $1,500 in materials and 3 days work.
Then sold immediately.
Effin' commies.
I can't wait for the day when we can hang them legally.
Years ago there was an article about some landowners, whose property backup up to a fence on Forestry land. They found something that indicated there had been a pre-Indian copper foundry there and called in the local college profs. Speculation ran all over the map, from Phoenicians to Vikings, etc. as there were some unknown writing on some of the stones.
The next week the people returned, only to find someone had moved the forestry fence 100 yards into their land and a government bulldozer was busily tearing out every trace of the find. Evidently it didn't fit in with the "Native Americans" being here first and the site had to go. They never got their 100 yards back either as it was too expensive to fight the government and if they moved it, the government threatened to come down on them..