I "cut" locks off gates for the BLM in the 80s as a part-time wilderness technician. There were always a few BLM ranchers who would lock public access gates every year and our district manager (big boss) decided to have me go cut them off DURING the season Vs. sending letters (that came too late AFTER hunting season was over). Most BLM ranchers were great people BTW... it was just the 80/20 rule at play.
I had two 5 ft long bolt cutters, thick gloves and face protection I used... and a map with the "usual offfenders" gates marked. I cut about 10 locks (or chains) off each year for a few years back then. The ranchers also got to see a posting I left explaining the fine they would receive if they locked it again without a reason (and with needed prior permission to do so).
Another "trick" a few ranchers would use was a chain with about 6-8 locks on it showing to the front of the gate- but that easily "unhooked" from the back side. That was cleaver and worked.
Now... although I worked for the BLM in college, I came from ranch owners who paid 10 times as much to operate as a BLM "allotee". I believed 100% in our right to private land ownership and locking our gates. Some hunters ALSO cut our locks off of to get into our ranches to hunt illegally back then too- I caught a few over the years. I made one group "rewire" my fence they just cut and drove through when I found them in the back of our 34,000 acre ranch back then. They didn't expect to see anyone back there (much less a 16 year old kid on a motorcycle drive up beside them and "pull them over"). It always ended well enough though thankfully.
The BEST story I have is when hunting Barbary sheep in 1980 on the back of this same ranch and catching my HIGH SCHOOL principle trespassing on our land-- same guy who pulled the bible out on me in his office (*a few times)-- BEFORE then. He never looked at me after that (I let him go that day because he was hunting with one of the coolest coaches we had back then too-- otherwise I would have thrown the "good" book BACK at him