[3catsanadog]

And I thought the citizens, who pay taxes for the upkeep of national parks, etc., were the owners.

Boy, is my face red!

[RightWhale]

the citizens, who pay taxes for the upkeep of national parks, etc., were the owners

A common fallacy. The public owns the land. I am not the public. You are not the public. The citizen in the article is not the public. A private citizen in fact has no right to enter on the land, and none to extract resources.

A member of the public is not the public, does not represent the public, and has no right to public land or resources, including public roads. The public person is the entirety, a corporation represented by the incorporated government, and in particular managed by that individual person elected governor, or president, or mayor.

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Probably 98% of the citizens of America don't understand this, and they are all wrong, but that is because the schools don't teach the correct lessons in Civics class.