> Couldn't you easily (try to) argue this for essentially any industry? Yes you can and some do. Harvest trees on national forest land? Permit required. Grazin

> Couldn't you easily (try to) argue this for essentially any industry? Yes you can and some do. Harvest trees on national forest land? Permit required. Grazing cattle on BLM land? Gotta pay grazing fees. Of course, those fees haven't been increased in decades. In the case of grazing fees, the fee is lower than in 1981. https://www.hcn.org/articles/south-public-lands-whats-getting-more-expensive-everything-but-grazing-fees https://www.hcn.org/articles/south-public-lands-whats-gettin... I see another comment asserting that low fees ensure the system "doesn't discriminate against small businesses and even individuals", but ignores the true barriers to entry, meaning that in practice the only folks who pay these fees are companies for which the expense amounts to proverbial pocket change. Sure, I could file a mining claim for $225 and afford the $165/annually, pretty much as long as I live. Would I ever be able to do anything with my claim? Unlikely. Best I could hope for is that a global mining conglomerate would offer to buy it off me.