RCALF: Why Have Ranchers Been Changed Over Grazing Allotment?

In June, Charles and Heather Maud, ranchers from South Dakota, were individually indicted on charges of theft of government property.  The couple are accused of stealing and modifying a United States Forest Service grazing allotment that consists of about 25 acres.  The Maude has owned and managed this grazing allotment free of infraction or rule violation for over 100 years.  In addition, the couple were charged separately, so they must retain two attorneys and are each facing up to ten years in prison and fines up to $250,000.

According to Bill Bullard, CEO of R-CALF, these indictments are occurring while the government states the Maude family currently maintains their allotment in good standing.  He added what appears to be at issue is that the original fence line boundary of the Maude’s allotment is not perfectly presented on the survey conducted about a century ago.  Bullard noted over the past 50 years, the federal government has worked to make it challenging for ranchers to graze on public lands, despite the many benefits.

“In addition, grazing helps suppress wildfires, provides an environmentally balanced ecosystem, and it enabled the West to become a major producer of life's most important sustenance , meat, grains, and other foods.”

Bullard added because of the change in policy in D.C. since the 1970s, communities across the west have paid the price.

“As a result, rural communities all across the West have been hollowing out, and the reason for this, of course, is that America's politicians forgot, ignored, and neglected their responsibility to responsibly support America's family scale, farming and ranching operations, and all the rural communities that they support," Bullard said.

Bullard went on to question if what’s happening to the Maude’s is a new tactic the government is employing to accelerate the eviction of Western ranchers and their property rights.

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