Oh, you have to care about who owns the land in order to camp in the wilderness? Bummer.
Downvoted because of the obnoxious tone of your comment. You could have made the same point in a more-engaging way.
I've lived and camped in countries with freedom to roam, and I've lived and camped in the US. I think that freedom to roam is a really cool notion, and also I think it's great that so much of the United States is owned by federal and state governments, rather than by individuals -- 40% according to one source [1].
In the UK, for example, only 8% of land is publicly-owned [2].
[1] https://www.summitpost.org/public-and-private-land-percentag...
[2] https://www.theguardian.com/money/2019/apr/17/who-owns-engla...
I definitely understand the harm that inconsiderate travelers can do. Throughout Latin America ranchers are quite accepting of cyclists crossing their land, but the one thing you hear them complaining about is those cyclists not closing gates behind them.
Not only that, but much of that land is basically uninhabitable; there's a reason it's all managed by the BLM. It's not really a good place for hanging out in nature unless you can haul a LOT of water with you. It's far from civilization, much of it is arid, there isn't much cover if any. Even the roads aren't really fit for riding a bicycle (or even driving a car); you could use a full-suspension mountain bike I suppose, but that's not what bicycle touring is about.
But it is what “bikepacking”[0] is about, a term that over the last decade has started to crowd out “bicycle touring” among younger generations. People are intentionally searching for rough roads, even singletrack and hiking trails, and especially in North America! (But you overestimate the need for suspension.)
Water is indeed something one has to plan around. I have cycled several hundred km of rough roads in the American West and met quite a lot of people living in vehicles on BLM land, just moving every two weeks. They of course were able to haul in all the water they needed for days on end, while a cyclist on rough roads can carry no more than about 15 liters at a time.
You’re an American national?
I like how you take offense to my banter tone (obnoxious) and then bring up a national park squarage comparison out of nowhere. Just embrace the pissing contest.
But that is technically trespassing, and could get you shot or arrested. So you know, if you're going to do that, make sure you assess that risk carefully.