Government, as George Washington pointed out, is like fire — a dangerous servant and a fearful master. That pearl of wisdom from two and a half centuries ago is certainly not lost on Charles and Heather Maude, a farming and ranching couple working long-held family land in western South Dakota, who are now suffering under an indictment from the Department of Agriculture over their use of land to which the Maudes have long held a grazing allotment.
Charles and Heather Maude, a western South Dakota farm and ranch couple, have been indicted for theft of federal property. The summons, served June 24, 2024, charged that the Maudes, “Beginning at a time unknown, but no later than December, 2020…did knowingly steal, purloin and convert to their own use National Grasslands managed by the United States Department of Agriculture, a department and agency of the United States, namely,…
