SOUTH DAKOTA FAMILY
Continued from page 1
individual lawyers, preventing them from talking about the case, and creating a risk that they may lose their children if they were sent to prison. None of that is acceptable. Law-abiding family ranchers like the Maudes should never have faced those threats.”
With the future of their ranch and their family on the line, the Maude family needed all the support they could get. The local community rallied around them at home, while organizations like NCBA and PLC worked on their behalf in Washington, D. C.
The groups began by contacting the South Dakota congressional delegation representing the Maudes, and U. S. Senator Mike Rounds was quick to act. When the indictment was issued, President Joe Biden and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack were both still in office, so Senator Rounds sent a letter to Secretary Vilsack to intervene in the case. When the Biden administration failed to respond, NCBA and PLC went public.
Last August, both organizations released a blistering statement attacking the Biden administration for their persecution of the Maude family. The media attention NCBA and PLC brought to this case helped keep the Maude family’ s story in the press, and it captured the attention of the Trump administration once President Trump won the election. NCBA and PLC continued to meet with members of Congress on the Maude’ s behalf and briefed the White House and incoming Trump administration officials to seek a resolution.
Thankfully, President Trump and current Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins heard these calls for justice.
At the end of April, Charles, Heather and their children flew to Washington, D. C., for a press conference on the front steps of USDA where Secretary Rollins, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, and several state and federal officials announced the criminal charges against the Maudes would be dropped.
“ President Trump is directing his cabinet to ensure no citizen of this country is unfairly targeted on politically motivated witch hunts. That is what happened to the Maudes, and I am working to ensure no farmer, rancher or customer who works with USDA will ever endure baseless political persecution,” said Secretary Rollins in a statement on the decision.
During the press conference, the Secretary echoed famous words from Thomas Jefferson, calling this situation a“ fire bell in the night,” or an alarming moment where leaders need to step up and act.
Speaking to a crowd of reporters, Charles and Heather thanked the groups who supported them including NCBA, PLC, agricultural news outlets, and their dedicated friends, family and neighbors. News of their case even made its way up to President Trump, where Secretary Rollins told the Maude’ s story during a
Photo courtesy of USDA.
Photo courtesy of USDA.
cabinet meeting, sitting alongside the president and the rest of his cabinet secretaries. Following these events, the Maude family visited NCBA’ s Washington, D. C., office.
Because the Maude family held a federal grazing permit, the partnership between PLC and NCBA became especially important during their case.
“ The Public Lands Council is a national member and partner of NCBA, and we advocate for public lands ranchers, western ranchers who hold permits to graze their cattle and sheep on federal lands,” said PLC President and Colorado grazing permittee Tim Canterbury.“ The Forest Service’ s decision to throw the book at grazing permittees in good standing sent a chill down the spine of every federal lands rancher across the West.”
Public lands ranching in the U. S. is unique, but the issues these western ranchers face are connected to the challenges facing every farmer and rancher across the country. The current system of public lands grazing came about because much of the land in the West is too steep, arid or rocky for traditional crop farming and was not homesteaded. Instead, these lands remained in the hands of state or federal agencies, who identified that the best use of the land is for livestock grazing. In 1976, Congress passed the Federal Land Policy and Management Act which required the nation’ s public lands to be held for“ multiple use,” meaning the government needed to balance grazing with timber, mining, energy development and recreation, with the goal of balancing stewardship of the land with productive activities.
By serving as permittees, western ranchers“ lease” grazing land from the federal government, requiring these producers to work closely with federal agencies like the Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management.
According to Canterbury, federal lands ranchers are the first to face problems, but the rest of the cattle industry is never far behind.
“ Whether it’ s issues with endangered species, radical activists who think ranching shouldn’ t exist, or heavy-handed regulations, these problems often hit federal lands ranchers first but sooner or later they come for everyone,” Canterbury said.
Even those living far from the West are not immune. While western ranchers are familiar with the safety risks posed by Endangered Species Act( ESA) protection for large predators like bears or wolves, even listings of smaller species like the monarch butterfly could disrupt agricultural production throughout the rest of the U. S. Similarly, anti-agriculture sentiment is on the rise, and both animal liberation and radical environmental activists are at work throughout the country to target animal agriculture.
“ It could be federal agents coming on to your private property, ESA listings preventing you from grazing your cattle, land designations, control of your water, activists seeking to shut
8 JUNE 2025 www. NCBA. org