Community, industry had rallied to support Charles and Heather Maude in land dispute with feds
RAPID CITY, S.D. – The federal government is dropping its pursuit of a West River ranching husband and wife who were indicted last summer on charges they stole federal land.
Federal Judge Camela Theeler signed an order dismissing the indictments against Charles and Heather Maude on Monday. It also exonerated the couple from the conditions of their release from custody while they were awaiting trial. Those conditions had included not being able to communicate with each other about the case.
Officials with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s U.S. Forest Service accused the couple who ranch near Caputa, S.D., of appropriating about 50 acres of federal land by fencing it off. The Maudes ranch on land that has been in the family for more than a hundred years. They operate along the Cheyenne River near the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands.
But supporters of the family say the fence in question had been present there since the 1950s. They also argue that the Cheyenne River has shifted its banks over the years.
“They didn’t just move the fence yesterday,” neighbor and family friend Scott Edoff told The Dakota Scout last year.
Because they were indicted separately, they had to hire separate legal counsel, driving up their costs. And because they couldn’t talk about the case with each other, they had to go through lawyers or Edoff.
The drama started last spring when the couple received notice from the government that there was a problem with the fence. The Maudes met with U.S. Forest Service District Ranger Julie Wheeler to talk about the issue. A Forest Service special agent who initiated the proceeding was also present.
The meeting generated an agreement that they would get a land survey, according to a letter that U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds sent to then USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack.
Special Agent Travis Lunders led a survey crew to the disputed land on May 6. Supporters of the family say the couple was indicted on June 24 before the results of the survey had been completed.
In his letter to Vilsack, Rounds wrote: “I am deeply concerned about how and why this case escalated to a criminal matter, as well as the process USDA and USFS personnel utilized in interaction with Mr. and Mrs. Maude.”
Besides Rounds, the Maudes received support from state lawmakers and other officials. Congressman Dusty Johnson also intervened on their behalf sending his own letter to Vilsack. In January, he followed up with a letter to U.S. Attorney Alison Ramsdell, whose office was prosecuting the case. Johnson was joined on the letter by Reps. Jim Jordan, Bruce Westerman and Harriet Hageman on the letter.
The community held fundraisers to help the Maudes pay for their legal bills. Local and national associations that represent cattle producers and the agriculture industry also threw their weight behind the Maudes.
“I am deeply disgusted by the Forest Service’s persecution of family ranchers Charles and Heather Maude,” said Mark Eisele, a Wyoming rancher and past president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association in a statement. “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. 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.”
Justin Bell, a lawyer with May, Adam, Gerdes & Thompson in Pierre who represented Heather Maude, said the family did not currently have a statement on the matter.
