Leslie Weikle
on May 2, 2025
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The Trump administration has dropped charges against a South Dakota ranching family who were accused of stealing federal land.
Charles and Heather Maude were embroiled in a bitter dispute with the Forest Service and the Department of Agriculture (USDA), which claimed the couple had stolen 25 acres of grassland.
They were charged last year under the Biden-headed USDA, which accused them of unlawfully using the plot to graze their cattle.
The couple are fifth generation ranchers whose family had owned the plot since 1910, well beyond the Forest Service's inception. They maintained they had done nothing wrong.
'When this hit, it hit at the heart and soul of this place,' Heather said at a press conference announcing the dismissal of charges.
'When this unnecessary grievance came to our family we knew we were innocent of any wrongdoing and sought to find a resolution and that was not forthcoming from the other side.'
The couple were operating Maude Hog and Cattle without issue until March 29 last year, when they received a complaint about a no hunting sign on their property.
The dispute revealed that a fence was blocking access to Buffalo Gap National Grasslands which led to the couple accepting a USDA survey of their boundaries.
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