In the United States, the federal government has been systematically taking over the west, and the land grab looks bleak and tyrannical.

It doesn't take a genius to realize that when the government declares ownership over land, they also dictate what others may do with said land, often burying the economy in burdensome paperwork and regulations.  And based on the map above, Nevadans have it the worst. Today, the federal government claims to "own" or hold approximately 640 million acres of land or 28 percent of the 2.27 billion acres of land in the United States. Around 92 percent of all the federally owned acres are in the West. According to shocking statistics published by Ballotpedia, the federal government collectively owns 47 percent of all land in 12 western states. Interestingly enough though, states East of the Mississippi River are, for the most part, less controlled by the feds, with only 4 percent of all land owned by the government.