What are we surveying?
In the summer of 2010 The United States Forest Service (USFS) decided that it needed remonumentation of approximately 200 sections in the Superior National Forest. The company I work for was awarded a portion of this project.
Why are we surveying it?
According to the original project solicitation, this is part of the Healthy Forest and Fuels Reduction Project. It also states;
"The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service requires the services of a Minnesota licensed land surveyor to provide boundary line surveys of rural class property to recover, restore and mark the property boundary of National Forest land in multiple townships throughout the Superior National Forest in Minnesotlandline boundaries."
Like any land owner, the USFS wants to know where their property rights cease.
Why Now?
To answer that question we need to go back to the origins of the United States. When the United States was just getting established, it was in control of a large amount of land. The country also had a very large war debt. To pay down this debt they needed to sell the land that they had acquired.
Prior to the inception of the United States, land ownership had been based mostly on the lay of the land. People claimed/owned land based that was bounded by physical objects such as streams, roads and other easily identified natural objects. This system developed mainly due to the fact that people had actually knowledge of knew the land the wished to own.
Most of the land the United States now owned was unoccupied and the characteristics of the land were unknown. The new government needed to figure out a efficient way to to sell and inventory this land. They came up with the Public Land Survey System. Surveyors went across the country and "cut" the land up into 1 mile squares called sections and set markers every half mile across the country.
The easiest way to visualize this system is to take a flight over any midwest state. You will see squares of farmland. These squares are sections 1 mile on each side. This flight would make it seem like the original system worked beautifully and all of the original section corners remained.
The system did work beautifully and the vacant land was distributed effectively and efficiently. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the original section corners. In Minnesota, most of the original section corners are now gone.
Once the original section corners were set, it was not clear who should maintain them. So, in many cases, nobody maintained them. They were subsequently destroyed for a variety of reasons. Cows and buffalo would trample them, farmers would plow them over, loggers would destroy them while harvesting the timber or they would simply deteriorate.
Since the corners that were set in the original survey control the boundaries the the USFS lands, we must now determine the location of those original section corners.
How do we do it?
First, we will look to see if we can find the original corners.We will find some, but it is highly unlikely we will find very many.
Next we will look for evidence that perpetuates the position of the original corner. This can come in many forms;
Next we will look for evidence that perpetuates the position of the original corner. This can come in many forms;
- Bearing and line trees
- In the original surveys the surveyors would mark living trees that would tell a surveyor where the section corner monument was located. If the trees are still alive, we can find those markings and re-establish the corner using that marking.
- Other survey monuments set by subsequent surveyors
- Fences
- If they are placed in accordance with the original surveys
- Feature calls
- The original surveyors notes would record when the surveyors would come across streams, forests, swamps and other natural features. If those features still exist, we can use them to re-establish corners.
If we cannot re-establish the position using the above 2 methods, we will then resort to what is called "Lost Methods" in surveying lingo. This method relies on the postions of other original and re-established corners to determine the final position of a section corner. (I'd love to explain, but it is very technical and requires training as a surveyor to understand the details. Since I have already lost 90% of my readers by now, I want to hold onto that last 10%!)
What is the final product?
When we finish this project, we will have set or verified approximately 100 section corners and sixteenth corners. We will be setting durable monuments that will stand up to the conditions in the Superior National Forest. We will also re-establish bearing trees. These monuments and reference trees will control future surveys.
We will also be establishing geographic coordinates so that if these monuments are disturbed, they can be easily re-established in the future. Corner tie sheets will also be provided to make it easier for future surveyor to find the monuments.
Finally, we will give the USFS a paper survey that shows what we found and set.
What is the final product?
When we finish this project, we will have set or verified approximately 100 section corners and sixteenth corners. We will be setting durable monuments that will stand up to the conditions in the Superior National Forest. We will also re-establish bearing trees. These monuments and reference trees will control future surveys.
We will also be establishing geographic coordinates so that if these monuments are disturbed, they can be easily re-established in the future. Corner tie sheets will also be provided to make it easier for future surveyor to find the monuments.
Finally, we will give the USFS a paper survey that shows what we found and set.
