South Dakota couple sentenced to ten years in prison for old fence

It appears that ranchers and the federal government are at loggerheads in South Dakota after a South Dakota couple faces prison time over an old fence.

Both face up to 10 years in prison. This happened after an armed federal agent in full tactical gear showed up at their door. According to Cowboy State Daily, the incident occurred on June 24. Charles and Heather Maude face a hefty sentence for allegedly stealing government property.

“It's both financially and mentally stressful,” Charles told the outlet. “Nobody should have to go through that.” They also face a $250,000 fine. The federal government claims the couple built a fence on federal grassland. However, the South Dakota couple says the fence is old.

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“The Forest Service has long said it wants to be good neighbors, and shooting at easy targets is not being a good neighbor,” Rachel Gabel, deputy editor of The Fence Post, told the newspaper. She said the government had gone “from zero to 120 miles an hour in 87 days.”

The incident dates back to March 29. A hunter complained about a “No Hunting” sign on a post marking government property. They asked the South Dakota couple to remove it. A month later, Forest Service District Forester Julie Wheeler informed the couple that the land needed to be surveyed to determine the property lines between the couple's property and the government's.

South Dakota couple in serious trouble

After the investigation, the federal agent showed up at their door with charges. The government is charging them with an old fence that dates back to 1950. However, the Maude family reportedly had a 60-year agreement with the USFS. The government has recognized the fence every time. The fence predates anything else.

Senator Mike Rounds wrote a letter to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack on the matter.

“This action is in direct contradiction to an agreed-upon plan in which the landowners worked cooperatively with the USFS to resolve the problem,” he told him, according to the Western Livestock Journal (WLJ). “The criminal charges appear unnecessary and are contrary to the USDA's stated good neighborly practices regarding land management.”

The senator described the Forest Service's actions as “overzealous persecution of a ranching family in my state.”

“This case is a prime example of what can happen when federal agencies view ranchers as enemies rather than partners,” PLC President Mark Roeber said, according to WLJ. “I urge the U.S. Forest Service to reconsider its plan to handcuff these hard-working ranchers and instead seek an alternative solution to this problem.”