Tag Archives: Field Notes
Destiny: I Was Meant to Be a Surveyor
Even though I didn’t realize it at the time, I had two experiences in my youth with direct links to me becoming a surveyor. Were they omens or simply coincidences? There’s no way of knowing, but I like to think they were part of my early survey indoctrination. My father was a high school teacher,...
The Modernized NSRS (A Summary)
Editor’s Note (from Scott Martin): When I learned that NGS and Dru Smith (the NSRS modernization manager for the NGS) had requested to respond to my August Field Notes, I was quite intimidated. However, my fears were quickly quelled. Thank you, Dr. Smith! As mentioned below, a more extensive and informative response on the monumental...
Are HARNs on Death Row?
In the late 1980s, the National Geodetic Survey (NGS) launched a program, in cooperation with State partners, to establish a High Accuracy Reference Network (HARN) across the United States. HARN’s History With the rapidly increasing availability and use of GPS equipment, NGS recognized the need to establish a network of high-accuracy, passive survey monuments with...
The Young Surveyors on the Young Surveyors Network
Note from Editor Scott P. Martin: As I read and absorbed the Young Surveyors Network response (below) to last month’s Field Notes, I realized that I have been ignorant of the perception and perspective young surveyors have of our profession and the old guard. We have contributed greatly to our own demise (I touched on...
Your Local Knowledge Is King
Although the adage, “Your local knowledge is king,” could apply to other professions or even trades, I think it is especially true in our profession. When a surveyor practices in a given area or region, or possibly an entire state, knowledge is gained and lessons learned about many things that determine one’s ability to remain competitive,...
The DPPS Controversy
Why NALS should oppose the direct Point Positioning Survey (DPPS) policy outlined in the letter from NLM director Kornze to the governor of Alaska. (One Nevada surveyor’s opinion.) By Carl C. de Baca Some 86% of Nevada is comprised of Public Lands, and of that 60.8 million acres, according to the BLM’s own website, an...
