A U.S. senator and cattle industry groups are rallying behind South Dakota ranchers Charles and Heather Maude, who were indicted in June for theft of federal property.
The indictment involves approximately 50 acres of land on the Buffalo Gap National Grassland, managed by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), on which the Maude family has operated a grazing permit for 60 years.
Dispute background
According to a July 7 letter from Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, on March 29, USDA notified the Maudes of a complaint about a fence between their land and the Buffalo Gap National Grassland. The complaint claimed the fence was blocking access to the grasslands. On May 1, the Maudes met with USFS district ranger Julie Wheeler and special agent Travis Lunders to discuss the boundary issue. During the meeting, all parties agreed that a survey should be conducted. Wheeler mentioned the survey could take several months to a year.
Rounds’ letter continues that five days later, on May 6, Lunders escorted a crew to survey the land, but the Maudes did not participate. As of July 7, the date of Rounds’ letter, the Maudes had not received the survey results.
On June 24, the Maudes were unexpectedly served with a summons to appear in a district court, indicted for theft of government property.
“This action represents a direct conflict to an agreed-upon plan, wherein the landowners were working cooperatively with the USFS to resolve the issue,” Rounds wrote.
Rounds said the Maude family has had permit agreements with USFS for nearly 60 years, during which the agency consistently acknowledged the fence placement each time the lease was renewed. Rounds also included a USDA/USFS “fence report” from September 1991, which documented the existence of a “Cornfield BDY Fence” constructed in 1950, prior to the Maudes’ permit agreements.
Rounds wrote in his letter, “The criminal indictment appears unnecessary and conflicts with USDA’s stated good neighbor practices with regard to land management practices.”
Rounds cited the expansion of the Small Tracts Act under the Farm Bill of 2018, which grants USFS the authority to sell, exchange or interchange small parcels of land that are 40 acres or less and that are physically isolated, inaccessible or lack national forest characteristics. Additionally, the amendments empower the agency to convey 10 acres or less parcels of land where landowners have made permanent, habitable improvements, provided the encroachment was neither intentional nor negligent.
“The events the Maude family has encountered are inconsistent with this intent,” Rounds wrote.
Rounds said the agency’s actions are “overzealous prosecution of a ranching family in my state” and asked for Vilsack’s involvement and review of the issue.
Reactions
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and Public Lands Council (PLC) issued a statement saying they were appalled by the actions of USFS and the Department of Justice.
“The Maude family has been ranching in South Dakota for five generations and Charles and Heather have spent their lives protecting natural resources, investing in their land, and raising their children,” said NCBA President Mark Eisele. “The U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Attorney’s Office have maliciously targeted and prosecuted these family ranchers, and it’s clear that if this can happen in South Dakota, government overreach can happen anywhere.”
NCBA Vice President of Government Affairs Ethan Lane criticized USFS for its long-standing history of conflict with South Dakota ranchers, noting that escalating the issue to the point of imprisonment over a century-old fence line has caused widespread concern among permit holders. Lane emphasized the need for immediate intervention by Vilsack and the White House to address the actions of the USFS and the Department of Justice.
“This case is a prime example of what can happen when federal agencies view ranchers as enemies, rather than partners,” PLC President Mark Roeber said. “I urge the U.S. Forest Service to rethink their plan to slap handcuffs on these hardworking ranchers and instead pursue an alternative resolution to this issue.”
Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund (R-CALF) USA Property Rights Committee Chairman Shad Sullivan and President Brett Kenzy addressed Vilsack in a joint letter. They expressed concerns about USFS’ actions, highlighting the agency’s apparent disregard for the fact that outdated and primitive survey boundaries are often inaccurate. The letter also criticized the lack of communication from USFS employees and condemned the “nefarious” manner in which the indictments were delivered.
“The abuse of power exerted by the USFS in their sealed indictments for theft of government property against Charles and Heather Maude is not only erroneous but retaliatory in nature,” Sullivan said. “These actions must be reined in immediately.”
If found guilty, the penalty could include a fine of up to $250,000, imprisonment for up to 10 years, or both. A GoFundMe account has been set up to help the family with legal expenses.
Family history
According to the family’s website, Maude Hog and Cattle was founded in 1907 when Thomas Maude bought land on the Cheyenne River in Custer County, SD. His son, Bill, homesteaded nearby in 1917. After WWII, Walter Maude, one of Bill’s sons, returned to Scenic, SD, and eventually purchased the original Maude land from his father in 1963. Walter and his wife, Gen, raised their family there, running a diverse farming operation. In 2002, Walter sold the original Maude place to his grandson, Charles, who later purchased the rest of Walter’s operation after his passing in 2003.
Today, Charles and Heather Maude’s farm and ranch includes a commercial Simmental/Angus cow herd, along with irrigated and non-irrigated hay and small grain crops. They also run a farrow-to-finish hog operation and added a feedlot in 2011 to feed both owned and outside cattle. Additionally, they offer grain-finished beef alongside pork every Saturday at the Black Hills Farmers Market. — Charles Wallace, WLJ contributing editor
