Yellowstone was established by Congress as the world’s first national park on March 1, 1872, following three expeditions to the region (the Folsom-Cook-Peterson Expedition of 1869; the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition of 1870; and the official, government sponsored Hayden Expedition of 1871). The expeditions were seeking the truth to the numerous rumors about the area that was described as “smoking with the vapor from boiling springs; and burning with gasses . . . “ (Joe Meek, fur trapper, 1829). What the men of these expeditions saw astounded and inspired them. The unique geology of the area galvanized them to petition Congress to set the area aside as a “public pleasureing-ground” protecting from “injury or spoliation” the “timber, mineral deposits, natural curiosities or wonders within said park, and their retention in their natural condition.”

Near midnight on August 4th, 1984, the M/V Wellwood, a 400-foot steel-hulled freighter, struck Molasses Reef in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. This wasn’t good for the Wellwood, and it was disastrous for Molasses Reef; 1,280 square meters of coral reef habitat was Molasses Reef / Wellwood Restoration Site Monument utterly destroyed, reduced to pulverized coral rubble.

In June of 1989, a team of eight men ─ formally called The 1989 Mt. McKinley Global Positioning Expedition ─ set out from a base camp to perform one of the most unusual survey projects the world has ever seen. Their mission was to verify, by the most sophisticated satellite positioning methods, the true summit elevation and position of the highest mountain peak on the North American continent, Denali. [Mt. McKinley was renamed with its original name, Denali, in 2015]. The project involved hundreds of hours of planning, thousands of dollars in costs, the use of the most up to date global positioning equipment to track several special military communication satellites orbiting the earth . . . and one Berntsen Survey Monument, which was placed precisely at the summit.

At the beginning of nearly every autumn season, I set out on vacation, hoping to see new places and learn new things. I often seek out new territory as I did this year, but I also found myself trekking back to a much favored area in Utah: Zion National Park. Although I’ve been there in the past for sightseeing and hiking its impressive rock trails, it is always a joy to visit. And this time, I’d like to especially thank Leo Snow.

National Surveyor’s Week is an opportunity to highlight the many benefits of a career in surveying and to celebrate the accomplishments of the surveying community.  Over the past year, I’ve been highlighting the work of colonial surveyors, from John Morton to Thomas Jefferson. These early surveyor’s contributions extend far beyond surveying boundaries – their background helped them to literally lay the foundation of our nation.

Berntsen International, the leader in infrastructure marking solutions, announces that it has earned the Esri Release Ready Specialty status. This designation recognizes companies, products and solutions that integrate with Esri technology and are created by partners with expertise in leveraging Esri solutions and software.

As a surveyor, did you ever have the opportunity to be part of a historic project? Jack Savlan, now of Milwaukee, did. He was one of the surveyors on the original Cadastral Survey of the Navajo Nation that began on June 21, 1982 at the corner of the sections 35 and 36, T24N, R14W, New Mexico Principal Meridian. Jack’s going to take over the blog for today and share this incredible experience.

In 1632, Maryland (governed by the Calvert family) was granted “that part of the Bay of Delaware which Lieth under the Fortieth Degree of North Latitude”. Unfortunately, the fortieth parallel ran right through the middle of Philadelphia, cutting it off from its only harbor. Pennsylvania (governed by the Penn family), didn’t think this was fair, and the case dragged out in English courts for decades. By 1750, a boundary was agreed upon - on paper.

I was on the back ridge of maples where a large 30” hemlock stands; the branches were covered with snow – it looked like a Christmas card! Birds were chirping and the tracks of deer, fox and snowshoe rabbits were outlined in the pristine, crunchy snow. An eagle made a slow, silent arc overhead. I couldn’t think of anywhere in the world I’d rather be than on this plot of land in the forest.

As any surveyor knows, our nation was built on surveying, with many of our early leaders getting their start as surveyors (Washington, Lincoln and Jefferson, to name a few). Early surveyors laid the essential groundwork for land records that have served us well for many years. Unfortunately, land records in many states are based on original surveys done in the 1800s or even earlier. That’s fine when land remains unchanged for decades . . .