CAPUTA, SD – A South Dakota ranching couple is facing 10 years in prison over a fence dispute.
Charles and Heather Maude, both 39, of Maude Hog & Cattle have each been charged separately with theft of government property for allegedly placing a fence on federal grassland. U.S. Forest Service (USFS) special agent Travis Lunders arrived at their ranch without warning, armed and in full tactical gear, to serve the couple separate grand jury indictments.
The couple is barred from discussing the case with each other and must each retain their own legal counsel. Each separately faces up to 10 years in prison or a $250,000 fine.
“It’s stressful, financially and mentally,” Charles Maude told Cowboy State Daily. “It’s something nobody should have to go through.”
87 days from notice of conflict to indictment
The dispute began on March 29, when the couple were told to remove a ‘no hunting’ sign from a fencepost between their land and the Buffalo Gap National Grassland after an alleged complaint from a hunter. The Maudes complied, though they say they were not shown proof of a complaint.
Just over a month later, Forest Service district ranger Julie Wheeler and special agent Lunders met with the couple, and it was agreed the USFS would survey the land to determine property lines. Ms. Wheeler said the survey could take up to a year.
A mere five days later and without notice, Mr. Lunders showed up at the Maude ranch with a survey team.
On June 24, Mr. Lunders returned again, this time with indictments.
The Maudes claim they pursued resolution as soon as the issue was raised to them, and provided options to settle the dispute including obtaining a special use permit or making a land trade. They stated they had not been advised of any rule violations and maintained their grazing agreements in good standing.
Permit agreement and fence placement consistently acknowledged since 1960
The Maude family has had an ongoing grazing agreement with the Forest Service for 60 years. The fence was built in 1950, and its placement has been consistently acknowledged at each renewal.
“The criminal indictment appears unnecessary and conflicts with USDA’s stated good neighbor practices with regard to land management practices,” Senator Mike Rounds wrote in an open letter to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack.
He called the Forest Service’s indictments an “overzealous prosecution of a ranching family in my state” and requested Mr. Vilsack review the dispute.
History of conflict between South Dakota ranchers and USFS
There’s been ongoing conflict between ranchers and the Forest Service in the area, now raised to a fever pitch after the Maudes’ indictment.
NCBA VP of government affairs Ethan Lane says the USFS has a long history of harassing ranchers in the area.
“The Forest Service’s deference to the heavy-handed special agent with a long history of abusing permittees is unconscionable,” he wrote in a statement.
Mr. Lane added that escalating a question around a century-old fence to the level of imprisonment is an necessary and heavy-handed overreach that he says has caused alarm in the local ranching community.
Senator, cattle industry groups rally behind the Maude family
“This case is a prime example of what can happen when federal agencies view ranchers as enemies, rather than partners,” said Mark Roeber, president of the Public Lands Council (PLC), in a statement. “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.”
Shad Sullivan, property rights committee chairman at R-CALF, called the indictments both erroneous and “retaliatory.”
“The Forest Service has long said they want to be good neighbors, and taking shots at easy targets isn’t being good neighbors,” Rachel Gabel, the editor of The Fence Post, told the Daily Mail, adding that the case went from ‘zero to 120 mph in 87 days.’
“I’m deeply disgusted by the Forest Service’s persecution of Charles and Heather,” National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) President Mark Eisele said in a statement. “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.”
A GoFundMe to help with legal fees has raised over $41,000 as of this writing. Click here to donate.
“The Maude family has owned the US Forest Service allotment in question since the Forest Service came into existence and has managed that same land since 1913. The family has never been advised it was violating any rules and to this day the family maintains its grazing agreement in good standing,” organizer Katie Dirksen wrote on the fundraising website.
