Nugs, thanx for chiming in! I very-much admire your take on things lately. You are a good "thinker". Ok, to address your points:
This line of reasoning has been rendered before. I can understand what you are saying. Basically that if someone got told "no" at a desk-jockey level, then ..... theoretically, that person who gave the no, would also .... likewise, have booted you if he had seen you in the field as well. So the "asking" did not bring up a "no" out of thin air. That person felt/feels the same (his interpretation, his authority in the matter, etc...) whether or not someone had "asked" versus if they'd just been seen out there in the field. Right ?
I can see how this would seem true. But in actual application, it's not. There are cases I can cite you of powers-that-be, that ..... at one time, never looked twice or noticed md'rs. It just didn't register. But then lo & behold, someone went and asked "can I?". Now, as you can see, it's taking a conscientious step of providing an answer, and putting this question through various mental channels, that .... perhaps, he'd never have had to stop and think about before. And now, a "yes", can have ripple effects, that having simply seen an md'r, might not have had. You know the subconscious drill "gee, if I say yes, then what's to stop all sorts of other yahoos from tearing our parks up?"
I have a few humorous examples of this very thing happening. But for sake of space, I will spare you. However, if you want some actual cases, I have 2 just in my own personal experience, of this happening. It can be summed up in this: "Sometimes no one cared .... UNTIL you asked". It's a question of getting on their radars with "pressing questions". Sometimes it's not "pressing", until you put it front and center for their approval. And then... presto, the easy answer is the easier answer.