I’ve had this conversation too. The “rancher” was sorely mistaken about the meaning of free range. You can fence your place as much and whenever you want, but if you don’t, he’s right that his cows can have the run of it. He argued further that if we didn’t put a cattle guard on our highway access that we were liable when his cows became traffic fatalities. I was fine with a wire gate and a sign, but he buffaloed the neighbors into installing a cattle guard.
In return for his stewardship of the public lands, I try to thin out those jackrabbits eating “his” grass.
Bigger problem was two yahoos who pulled up beside the house in the dark, sat there on private property watching the BLM, even after they were asked to leave. Eventually leaned out and shot a cow elk, drove out and picked it up, all gone but the gutpile by the time the warden showed up.
Sister was there alone. She knows to get the license number now.
