Leaders of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the Public Lands Council were not happy about the indictment of Charles and Heather Maude, family ranchers in western South Dakota. The Maude family operates a diversified ranch raising cattle, hogs, and crops.
“I’m deeply disgusted by the Forest Service’s persecution of Charles and Heather,” says NCBA President Mark Eisele. On June 20, 2024, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in South Dakota indicted them on charges of theft of government property related to a small piece of Forest Service land surrounded by the Maude’s private land. The family has stewarded that government land for generations.
“The Forest Service’s deference to the heavy-handed special agent with a long history of abusing permittees is unconscionable,” says NCBA V.P. of Government Affairs Ethan Lane. The groups say the Forest Service has a long and shameful history of confronting ranchers in South Dakota, and their escalation to imprisonment over a century-old fence line has shaken the confidence of every permittee.
“The Maude family are public lands permittees in good standing, and they have always been the first to step forward as constructive partners in federal land management,” says PLC President Mark Roeber, a public lands grazing permittee. “This case is a prime example of what can happen when federal agencies view ranchers as enemies, rather than partners. 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.”
“As active partners with federal agencies, public lands ranchers rely on open, transparent communication with the government. In this case, the U.S. Forest Service apparently decided to abandon decades of collaborative partnership with the Maude family, threatening their family, their ranch, and their land,” says PLC Executive Director Kaitlynn Glover. “This kind of law enforcement behavior should never have been allowed to result in criminal charges. PLC is committed to a resolution to this situation that protects the Maude family and ensures the Forest Service is a good partner to ranchers, not a looming threat over every range management decision.”
The Maude Family was forced to retain separate counsel which has doubled their legal expenses in this case. There is a go-fund-me web-page dedicated to the family at: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-the-maude-family-preserve-their-legacy?utm_campaign=fp_ss_icons_ai&utm_content=amp1v4&utm_medium=customer&utm_source=copy_link&fbclid=IwY2xjawEnGFNleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHYorI6wzRJw3IGEZ8YaEOzoJQWPDoK8vDRqUxjZRp6MRfM-reCKgt_DW3g_aem_38J2tD-gXgPaxnIlIXjlMg
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NAFB, NCBA, PLC
