I read a post on Facebook from his daughter. The grazing rights in that allotment were his exclusively. His grandfather first purchased them in 1887 and they have been in the family ever since. They were allowed to make improvements build fences, drill wells, and all the normal things associated with a long term lease or ownership. BLM tried to buy the current guy out at a fraction of the market rate. He refused to be bought out like his everyone else around had been. He wanted to ranch. So, failing to buy him out, BLM started trying to run him out and started doing things that actually interfered with his ranching and making it more difficult. He quit paying when they did that. Then they tried the endangered species route.
This is just an episode in a long history of the BLM trying to get rid of ranching in the area. He played into their hands by not paying his fees, but one can understand the frustration.
