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Georgia Land Surveyor

Vol 43 No 4 January/February 2006

S u r v e y i n g a n d M a p p i n g S o c i e t y o f G e o r g i a A Proud Affiliate of the

American Congress on Surveying and Mappingand

National Society of Professional Surveyors

2006 Annual Technical SeminarSouthern Polytechnic State University

January 19-21 2006

Vol 43 No 4 Georgia Land Surveyor January/February 2006

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The Georgia Land Surveyor is published six times a year, in the even number months. The articles are not necessarily the position of the society. Articles may be reprinted with due credit. Address all correspondence regarding advertis-ing, letters to the editor, and exchange of newsletters to: Editor, The Georgia Land Surveyor, 14 Queensborough Square, SW; 260 Manning Road, Marietta GA 30064-3025, telephone 770-428-4287, email: [email protected] Ad-dress all other correspondence to: Surveying and Mapping Society of Georgia, Ms. Freddi Hagin, Executive Director, Post Office Box 778, Douglasville, GA 30133-1272; Tele-phone: 770-489-1440, Fax: 770-489-1425, e-mail: [email protected] The Society’s Internet address is: http://www.samsog.org The Society’s e-mail address is: [email protected]

Advertising Full page, 7” x 10” Color $300.00 Full page, 7” x 10” B/W $165.00 Half page, 3.5” x 10” B/W $100.00 Quarter page, 3.5” x 5” B/W $60.00 Business Card $40.00

Advertising must be received in the Editor’s office pre-paid prior to the first of even number months

Surveying and Mapping Society of Georgia

Officers 2005-2006

President Greg Johnson, PE, LS President-Elect Dean Olson, LS

Vice President Josh Lewis, III, LS Secretary-Treasurer Trenholm (Tren) Baker, LS, LA

Past President Rodney (Rod) E. Abney, Jr. National Governor Charles B. (Ben) DeVane, PE, LS

Directors for 2005-2007 Robert Armstrong, LS

Andy Bruner, LS Thomas Hurley, LS, RF

Gary Nevill, LS Roger Purcell, LS

Directors for 2004-2006

John Attaway, LS Jesse Collins, Jr., LS

John Hogan, LS Al Venable, LS Dale Yawn, LS

Chapters

Appalachia ~ Atlanta ~ Augusta ~ Central Coastal ~ Etowah ~ Foothills ~ Golden Isles

Gwinnett ~ Northwest ~ Piedmont ~ South Central Southern Crescent ~ SPSU Student

Standing Committees

Annual Summer Meeting: Education: Greg Johnson

Inter-professional Cooperation: Rod Abney Council of Past Pres: “Andy” Bruner, Chairman

Finance: State Officers Legislative: Trent Turk, Mark Chastain, Josh Lewis

Membership: Dean Olson Public Relations and Publicity/TrigStar: John Hogan, Jim

Anderson Monument Protection: Bert Barrett

State Board of Registration: Tommie Donaldson Survey Standards/State Manual: Robert Armstrong

Special Committees

Newsletter: Trenholm Baker Constitution and By-Laws: Andy Bruner Plat and Mapping Contest: Mark DeVane

Scholarship: Mark DeVane GPS: Donny Dryden

Chapter Development Local Government Affairs: All Chapters.

In This Issue James Cash............................................................................1 Joe Lee Grant .........................................................................1 2005 SAMSOG Seminar at SPSU............................................2 Erosion & Sedimentation........................................................3 Certification Course, Level II...................................................3 Congressional Resolution Honoring Surveyors.......................3 Health Plan.............................................................................4 Car Trip ..................................................................................4 Remember:..............................................................................4 Survey Narrative or Nightmare: ...............................................5 Definitions of Surveying and Associated Terms .....................6 Attracting & Retaining the Very Best People ..........................7 Ye11ow Jackets .....................................................................8 Deter Thieves: Advice to Help Prevent Stolen Equipment...............11 Installing CORS in Georgia...................................................14 The "Task" as a Unit of Land Measure .....................................15 North and South ...................................................................17 Trampling private property rights?...........................................17 Notice of the Survey..............................................................20 Dean McLeod ........................................................................22 Sustaining Members .............................................................24

James Cash James Cash, a 40-year employee (the first) of Rochester & Associates passed away earlier this week. James' funeral is Friday 1:00 PM, Dewbury Church #1. Viewing is Wednesday and Thursday 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm, Little & Davenport Funeral Home, 355 Dawsonville Hwy, Gainesville, GA 30501, Phone # 770-534-5202.

Joe Lee Grant Mr. Joe Lee Grant, Professional Land Surveyor, has passed away December 12, 2005. Joe was one of the most respected land surveyors in the Aiken and Augusta area.

Funeral services for Joe were as follows; Family visitation on Tuesday night from 6:00 pm until 10:00 pm at Steven D. Posey Funeral Home, 1307 Georgia Ave., North Augusta, SC, 1-803-278-1181 Memorial service was at Posey on Wednesday at 10:30 am.

The members of the Aiken Chapter of the South Carolina Society of Professional Land Surveyors and of the Augusta Chapter of The Surveying and Mapping Society of Georgia were Honorary Pall-bearers.

Please contact Mr. Tony Carr, Sr. for more detailed information at 1-803-279-5770. Thank you, Randall Cook


2005 SAMSOG Seminar at SPSU Tentative Agenda Student Center Auditorium

Thursday, January 19, 2006 7:30 am~9:00 am Registration and Exhibitors Booths 8:15~9:00am Welcome/Sustaining Members Introduction 9:00am~5:00pm The Liability Environment for Land Surveyors John Steensland, 6 PDH 5:30 pm~7:30 pm Bar-B-Q Fellowship Sponsored by Allen Precision 7:30 pm~Until SAMSOG Board of Directors Meeting Friday, January 30, 2006 7:30 am~9:00 am Registration and Exhibitors Booths 8:00 am~5:pm Legal Aspects of Easement John Steensland, 4 PDH 6:30 pm~7:30 pm Reception – Wyndham Gardens Sponsored by eGPS Solutions, Inc. 7:30 pm - until Seminar Banquet Saturday, January 21, 2006 7:30 am~9:00 am Registration and Exhibitors Booths 8:30am~5:15pm (outside) Boy Scout Merit Badge Training Josh Stice, Instructor Civil Engineering Center

All day event beginning at 8:30

Concurrent Sessions Student Center Room 215

Resource Training

Thursday, January 19, 2006

9:00 am~10:00 am Advantages of Network RTK Surveying Lonnie Sears, eGPS Solutions, Inc. 1 PDH This training will outline and give specific ex-amples of network Real Time Kinnematic Sur-veying. The advantages categories will include cost, manpower, training, accuracy and preci-sion, job turn-around and overall productivity increases.

10:30 am~12:00 noon Program to be announced Allen Precision Equipment 1.5 PDH

1:30 pm~2:30 pm RHD Services, 1 PDH) What Every Surveyor Should Know about Un-derground Utility Locating!

2:30 pm~3:30 pm

Earl Dudley Associates, Inc., PDH Adam Arrington, Tom Houchens: SmartStation Surveying in the Georgia Reference Network

Learn how to use the world's first GPS Total Station to your benefit within the Georgia Ref-erence Network. No need for control points, long traverses, or resections. Just set up SmartStation and let GPS determine the posi-tion, then surveyor stakeout as needed. Attach the GPS antenna to a rover pole and use it as a Network RTK rover while the Total Station con-tinues to work normally. The session will also focus on the benefits, expanded coverage, and economical subscription options to the Georgia Reference Network available for use with all brands of network RTK capable GPS equip-ment.

4:00 pm~5:00 pm Legg Mason, 1 PDH 401(k), Roth 401(k), Simple IRA

An interactive presentation discussing the most common types of retirement "plans, how they work, and the competitive, personal, employee, and tax benefits of establishing a retirement plan.


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Friday, January 30, 2006 9:00 am~10:00 am

Program to be announced Lonnie Sears, eGPS Solutions, Inc. 1 PDH

11:00 am~12:00 noon Leica GeoSystems HDS, Inc. 1 PDH High Definition Surveying (HDS) for Land Surveyors

Laser Scanning is now becoming a very power-ful tool for today's surveyor and engineer. Join Leica Geosystems HDS for a roundhouse "Myth-Buster" style of discussion about Laser Scanning. Bring your questions and ask Leica about any or all of your concerns about Laser Scanning. Typical topics covered will be the dif-ference between Time of Flight scanners and Phase Scanners, scan speeds, accuracies, tar-get methodology and more.

1:30 pm~2:30 pm RHD Services, Inc. What Every Surveyor Should Know about Un-derground Utility Locating! Robert H. Davis, PE and Joel Davis, EIT, 1 PDH

The value of knowing where underground utili-ties are located, when you need to know it, is without question a valued commodity for Sur-veyors, Developers, Contractors, Facility Man-agers, and Others. It IS valuable information during the design process. This presentation will cover the following topics: Underground Utilities Locating - Techniques, capabilities and limitations; ASCE Standard CI/38-02 - Guide-line of the Collection and Depiction of Existing Subsurface Utility Data; Revised Georgia's Dig Law - Rules and regulations.

Erosion & Sedimentation

Certification Course, Level II SPSU Burruss Auditorium

Separate registration, Schedule runs concurrent with Regular Programming

Friday, January 30/Saturday, January 21 Roger Purcell, Instructor, 14 PDH Topics included:

The Georgia Erosion and Sedimentation Act and Guiding Principles NPDES Permit Requirements Requirements for Stream Buffers and Stream Impacts

Checklist Procedures for Designers and Re-viewers Soils Vegetative Measures for E &S Control Structural Measures for E & S Control Elements of an Effective Plan with Hydrology Sample Plan Review

Congressional Resolution Honoring Surveyors We need your help to push H Res. 518, a Con-gressional Resolution honoring surveyors, through Congress.

ACSM was able to get a resolution introduced in Congress, which honors surveyors and calls on the President of the United States to make a Presidential Proclamation each year honoring sur-veyors during National Surveyor’s Week.

The resolution was introduced by Representative Adam Putnam (R-FL) and is co-sponsored by Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) on October 26 and is now in the House Government Reform Committee. We need your help to show Congress that this resolution is important to the surveying commu-nity.

We are asking everyone to fax a letter on your company letterhead to every member of the House Government Reform Committee asking them to support H. Res. 518 when it comes up for consid-eration in the committee, and to continually sup-port it as it works through Congress.

Attached to this e-mail is a copy of H. Res. 518, a sample letter which you can use as a guide when you write your own letter and an excel document with the names of each Member, their staff con-tact, their address, phone and fax numbers and e-mail for the staff contact.

Here are some hints when writing your letter:

--- Make it personal to you.

--- There is no need to write individual letters to each Member, a general “Dear Representative” will suffice.

--- Fax the letter, don’t mail it.

It is important to fax your letter as soon as possi-ble. We don’t know when the resolution will come up for consideration.

Thanks for your help!


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Health Plan The Surveying and Mapping Society of Georgia (SAMSOG) is pleased to announce an Association sponsored now available to our members!

As the cost of providing quality insurance benefits to employees becomes more difficult for small and large businesses to afford, it is more important than ever that SAMSOG provide its member firms with an affordable benefits program option.

SAMSOG has been working closely with Southern Medical Insurance Plans, Inc. (SMIP) to develop a broad-based benefits program for our member firms. SMIP is a proven leader in program and product development for associations, specializing in the employee benefits arena.

It is through this partnership with SMIP that we are now able to offer both ‘major’ and ‘limited’ medical plans to our member base, with addi-tional programs to include dental, life, disability and voluntary insurance benefit options. Fiserv Health, in accord with Trustmark Life Insurance Company, has been identified as a strong partner well suited to meet our members’ health care needs.

Fiserv Health is the one of the largest administra-tors of health benefits in the world, generating over $3 billion in annual revenues in 2004. For over 25 years, Fiserv has administered medical plans insured by Trustmark Life. Trustmark is a secure, highly rated insurance company offering flexible benefit plans to its members. They have a long history of successful programs with associa-tion and affinity organizations, and possess a strong understanding of the importance of provid-ing comprehensive employer benefit packages at affordable rates.

Fiserv Health has a large selection of preferred provider organizations to choose from, ensuring that our member firms will have an adequate net-work of doctors and hospitals available for em-ployees and their dependents. Together, we are confident that this partnership represents a viable option that is superior to many of those tradition-ally available in Georgia. These options are avail-able immediately, and are exclusively designed for SAMSOG members only.

There are five easy steps involved in the review and implementation process of this benefits pro-gram.

A member firm contacts SMIP and requests a benefit consultation; SMIP will provide the group

with the forms needed to receive a competitive quote.

SMIP will produce and review a quote with the employer and determine whether benefit changes are necessary.

Once a plan of benefits is selected, the group will complete enrollment applications for purposes of medical underwriting. The insurance carrier will then review the applications and adjust rates if necessary.

The group accepts the final rates and completes any additional forms required for policy issuance by Trustmark.

The group receives a copy of the master policy and each employee receives a certificate, benefit book-let, and ID card (two if dependent coverage is se-lected).

To begin the quoting process, please call Sam Fink: (404) 273-0596. Within 48 hours, Sam will provide you the paperwork needed to get started!

Car Trip While on a car trip, an elderly couple stopped at a roadside restaurant for lunch. After finishing their meal, the elderly woman left her glasses on the table, but she didn't miss them until they were back on the highway. By then, they had to travel quite a distance before they could find a place to turn around.

The elderly man fussed and complained all the way back to the restaurant. He called his wife every bad name he could think of. When they fi-nally arrived at the restaurant, and the woman got out of the car to retrieve her glasses, the man yelled to her:

‘And while you're in there, you might as well get my hat, too.’

Remember: If you do settle in the South and bear children, don't think we will accept them as Southerners. After all, if the cat had kittens in the oven, we wouldn't call 'em biscuits. Show this to four people that ain't related to you, and reckon your life will turn into a country music song 'fore you know. Have a good day!


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The Oregon Surveyor August/September 2003 Survey Narrative or Nightmare: By: Alicia Glassford, PIS, Oregon

Writing a survey narrative is a difficult task consid-ering what the surveyor is trying to accomplish. In one writing assignment, the surveyor is addressing a multitude of audiences, conveying several key messages, and attempting to assert a professional tone. Could this be the ultimate English composi-tion nightmare?

Let's break the task down. The key to any good piece of writing is knowing your audience and writ-ing for them. The audience for a survey narrative may be your client, a neighbor, an attorney, a judge, the County Surveyor, and another surveyor. But, how do you describe your survey to audiences with such wide levels of expertise and knowledge?

First of all, consider that among your multiple au-diences, one could be primary. If your survey shows that the deeded property line varies from the line of occupation, and the neighboring landowners are highly contentious, your primary audience might be an opposing attorney or an expert witness hired by that attorney. If you are performing a sur-vey to create a family cemetery, perhaps the family members are your primary audience. Identify the audience, and picture them as you write. It V\1n help you select an appropriate level of technical expression.

In addressing your audiences, consider yourself fortunate that you have another tool at your dis-posal—the accompanying map. Perhaps your nar-rative could communicate your message to the less technical audience while the map and margin notes display the technical detail that only another sur-veyor would understand. The key point is that you should have a plan for how to communicate your messages. The time~ proven survey advice "If in doubt, draw a sketch" applies to writing as well. Diagram your audiences and the means you will use to communicate information about your sur-vey.

Regardless of your audience, the survey narrative will need to meet requirements of [in this case] Ore-gon Revised Statutes Chapter 209.250(2) which states "The narrative shall explain the purpose of the survey and how tile boundary line or other lines were established or reestablished and shall state which deed records, deed elements, survey records,

found survey monuments, plat records, road records or any other pertinent data were controlling When establishing or reestablishing the lines." These re-quirements apply to narratives for property bound-ary surveys, which include partitions and subdivi-sions as referenced in ORS Chapter 92.050.

The statutes appear to break the narrative writing job into three pieces. First, you are to explain the purpose of the survey. As you write this portion of the narrative, think about your client's instructions when you started the project and think about your role as a surveyor. The client may have asked to have the east line of their property located. How-ever, your role as a surveyor is to establish the east property line location as interpreted from the deed. Other unwritten rights might influence the actual property line location. Spend some time developing your purpose statement. If you are clear from the beginning on your client's instructions and the purpose of the survey, your narrative, will be built upon a solid foundation"

After the purpose comes the requirement to explain how the boundary line or other lines were estal-ished or reestablished. This step might be accom-plished by a summary of your approach" This is your opportunity to indicate that your approach is consistent with accepted surveying practices, case law, and common sense. The following sentence might be an example of how to begin this segment of your narrative:

I located the parcel boundaries by noting that the parcel has junior status to the parcels on the east and, south, senior status to the parcel on the north, and is bounded by a County Road right-of-way on the west.

With this approach, you can give your reader in-sight into how you solved the problem before mov-ing into the detailed analysis.

The detailed analysis gives you the opportunity to state how deed records, deed elements, survey re-cords, found survey monuments, plat records, road records, or any other pertinent data controlled your boundary location. Returning to the previous ex-ample, here's how this segment of the narrative might begin:

Because my client's parcel was junior to Smith’s parcel to the east, I found and accepted monu-ments along Smith's east line and located his west line parallel with and 100.00 feet westerly, giving Smith full measure as indicated in wiis


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deed 97,00357. This established my client's east line. I determined the junior/senior status of these two parcels from deed 6400876. This deed indicates that the Smith parcel was created from a larger parcel that left my client's property as the remainder with junior status.

By the time you have arrived at this phase of the narrative, your fingers should be flying across the keyboard. Here is where you reap the benefits of your painstaking courthouse research and detailed search for survey monuments.

You have now met the basic requirements of the survey narrative as contained in the statutes. But, you may still have something more to say. This would be a good place to describe differences be-tween the deeded boundary location and the lines of occupation as observed on the ground. You might also use this portion of the narrative to de-scribe why you did not use an alternative approach to locating one or more of the boundaries. This is your opportunity to communicate with your audi-ence.

After a thorough workout, your fingers now come to rest at the keyboard. If you think you are done, re-consider. Surveying requires redundant measure-ments to reduce the error. Good Writing requires the same redundancy. Every time you review your writing, you will improve the product, especially if you return another day with fresh eyes Each re' view will simplify and improve the clarity of your writing. As Mark Twain once wrote, "I would have written a shorter letter, but I ran out of time."

Finally, ask someone else to review your writing. Find a reviewer who matches your audience. Ask you reviewer to consider the professionalism pro-jected by your writing. Does the organization and content of your narrative convey a confident yet factual tone? Does the information flow from one paragraph to the next? Is your well-phrased narra-tive plagued by typographical errors? A reviewer can give you feedback on these questions, which is essential as your familiarity with the writing clouds your objectivity.

If you have made it this far, your English composi-tion nightmare should be over and your survey narrative should be complete.

As seen in the First State Surveyor Summer 2005

New Revised Edition!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Definitions of Surveying and Associ-ated Terms Published by the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping (ACSM)

The American Congress on Surveying and Map-ping (ACSM) announces the release of the 2005 revised edition of its “surveyor’s Bible.”

Long has this best-selling book been a staple in the arsenal of practically every surveyor in Amer-ica, whether studying for the licensing exams, or looking for the proper context of a word or term.

Now it has been updated to incorporate over 500 new definitions and modify approximately 150 others. These changes are reflective of the fact the book had not been updated since 1978.

The 2005 revised edition contains over 100 more pages than its predecessor but is still compact and easy to handle.

A colorful jacket has been chosen for the book, so as to give it a distinctive look from earlier editions.

Definitions of Surveying and Associated Terms, 2005 revised edition can be purchased through the ACSM eStore found at www.acsm.net, or by mailing orders to ACSM 6 Montgomery Village Avenue, Suite 403, Gaithersburg, MD 20879, via email at [email protected], or by fax at 240-632-1321.

Members of ACSM Member Organizations $22.00 Non-Members: $27.00


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The Ontario Land Surveyor Vol. 47, No.2, Spring 2004.

Attracting & Retaining the Very Best People By Mike Stones OLS, OLIP

Many employers complain about the difficulty of au attracting and retaining quality people. When considering this challenge, we must look at what makes people leave their jobs. Profiles Interna-tional recently completed a survey asking this very question. Here are the six main reasons:

30% were unhappy with management and the way that they were managed

25% felt they received no recognition for good work

20% complained of limited opportunities for ad-vancement

15% cited inadequate salary and benefits

5% were bored with the job

5% noted other reasons such as retirement, sab-batical or travel

Are you surprised by the answers? The prevalent theme in these statistics is that people tend to leave people, not jobs. So what do you do? First, identify and provide training and people informa-tion to managers and supervisors who struggle to manage their people in a way that encourages pro-ductivity and retention. Good management is a key to retention. There are a number of avenues available to improve management skills including formal training, mentoring, and constant feedback on what they are doing well and what they could improve.

Second, seek out opportunities for positive recog-nition. Look for ways in which your people per-form above and beyond the call of duty. Give as many people as possible an opportunity to bask in the glow of positive recognition for a job well done. But be aware that a recognition culture cannot be created from nothing—it requires a healthy work-ing environment to thrive. Let all of your people know where the organization is going, how it plans to get there, how their jobs play a part in the grand scheme of things, and why they are a key to your success. Spread information liberally throughout your organization; give your people an "I'm on the inside" feeling—it's hard to leave some-

thing that has you on the inside. Create an at-mosphere where management expects the best of its team members and they'll respond. Trust is one of the key sources of recognition-no one is more flattered than when they are trusted implic-itly.

Previous generations of workers could aspire to promotions within multi-layered, hierarchical companies. In these days of lean, flat-structured organizations, workers rarely have this option. This doesn't mean that employers have to accept losing staff because they cannot offer a corporate ladder. Today's job seekers want the opportunity to develop themselves to be all that they can pos-sibly be-to continually polish their skills, abilities and experience so that their value continually rises. If they can do this without the uncertainty of job-hopping, so much the better.

You need a clear, ongoing development path—a way that each of your people can advance their skills and value so that they realize their full po-tential. This means some investment in training and development. Don't be boxed in to limiting the training to those skills specific to an individual's current job. Remember that you are not simply training for job-effectiveness, but are also offering your people the development opportunities that make them feel good enough about the pace of their personal advancement that they don't feel the need to look for greener grass elsewhere.

After following 360,000 people through their ca-reers during a 20-year period, Harvard Business Review published a major study. It demonstrated that a key ingredient in retaining people is to en-sure that they are matched to their jobs in terms of their abilities, interests and personalities. The study found that when you put people in jobs where the demands matched their abilities, where the stimulation offered by the job matched their interests, and where the cultural demands of the position matched their personalities, staff turn-over decreased significantly and productivity in-creased dramatically. If you can implement the above steps, you will address 75% of the reasons why people leave their jobs. And you haven't added a cent to salaries!

Mike Stones, OLS, OLIP currently operates Onset Business Solutions. He can be reached through the company Web site at: www.OnsetforBusiness.com.

As seen in The Nevada Traverse Vol. 32, No.1, 2005


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TBM - The NHLSA Newsletter November 2005

Ye11ow Jackets By: Robert B. Todd

This is a story about the challenge of working in the forest during September and October. This is when our attitude changes from one of complete enjoyment of natural beauty and the yearning to encounter wildlife to alarm and fear that we will step on, or near, a yellow jacket nest and bear a stinging pain. This experience is not unique to land surveyors, ail the other folks who spend most of their working day in the woods can tell the same story. Foresters, soil scientists, loggers, wildlife biologists, and geologists, to name a few, are all distracted during the fall season by a wari-ness they develop to avoid yellow jacket attacks.

Although I do not spend as much time in the for-est as I once did, I have vivid memories of many unpleasant occasions when the little demons tried to drive me out of the forest. I often thought, after being stung several times, that the devil must have placed every yellow jacket nest on the lines that I was surveying. This had to be, I thought, because the random chance of stepping on these "land mines" was less than being struck by light-ening, or winning the lottery. Often, it seemed that my own assistant also assisted the devil by driving a stake in the ground over which I was to set up my transit. Driving the stake with a hammer is to a yellow jacket what the bell starting round one is to a prizefighter. My assistant completed his task and moved not knowing he had set me up to the delight of the devil.

Some encounters caused me to chuckle; others caused me to fear, not for myself, but for others with me. Early in my career as a surveyor, I often took my son along to help. Even at the age of 10 he enjoyed being with me and I treasure those memories. One day in mid-October, Robby was holding the range pole on a point to be surveyed and as he stood a yellow jacket nailed him on the ear. He screamed, but did not run, by the time I reached his side there were dozens of yellow jack-ets circling for a bombing run. I quickly put my jacket over his head, took his hand and slowly re-treated. At a safe distance we stopped and I as-sessed the damage, he and I had each been stung three times. His ear had swollen grotesquely, but he bravely held back the urge to cry as I consoled him. We decided to call it a day and went home.

On another day, several years later, I was working with an employee that had a history of severe al-

lergic reactions to bee stings and he always car-ried an emergency sting kit that contained a pre-scription of adrenalin ready for injection. Not until that day had I realized the seriousness of being allergic to wasp venom. He did get stung and as I wincingly watched he administered the medicine and calmly explained that without the injection he would likely go into sudden shock and possibly pass out. I was very happy that he had not left his kit in the truck that morning.

There is one sting avoidance technique that I have learned through repeated incidents similar to the above. Instead of slapping at the insects and thrashing my arms about, I would stand still and carefully put my hands over my face; a sting near the eye is sure to close it by the swelling that comes on fast. After standing still for a moment, until the defending army settled down, I would back away from the nest and take another route. Or, I would wait a long while and slowly retrieve the transit and other equipment I had left near the nest. However, this did not work every time.

When I did get stung immediately after arousing the stinging workers, I usually would be stung several times in quick succession. This was my clue that standing motionless was not the right response. The alternative; run! Expert sources say that venom released in the first sting incites other wasps to attack because the venom releases into the air an "attack pheromone" which is a signal to other wasps to attack whomever and whatever gets in their way.

Surveyors and other people who spend a lot of time in the forest during the fall months predis-pose themselves to wasp attack. I have always worn a bright (fluorescent) orange vest and usu-ally a cap or hardhat of the same color while working in the forest. This is standard apparel for safety purposes and for visually tracking other workers on the crew. Guess what, the experts say that bright colors help attacking yellow jackets spot their target zones. In the fall we apply to our skin insect repellent to deter other pesky insects; deer flies and mosquitoes among them surpris-ingly, these repellents actually arouse wasps and help them find us in their frenzied attacks.

Often, we wonder why the wasps are so boldly ag-gressive and antagonistic in the fall when other insects, annoying in other seasons, are diminish-ing. Yellow jacket biology, I have learned, is the reason for this behavior. The pregnant queens are the only individuals that leave the nest and over-winter in a safe refuge, all the other adults in the nest die when they have served their


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purpose of feeding the queen and all of the larvae that have emerged from her continuous egg-laying all summer.

The population of the nest increases exponentially and by mid-October has reached maximum nest capacity of 1000 to 3000 insects. I suspect that the drive to nurture the reproductive adults and get them fit to survive the winter and start a new nest the following spring is what brings on the be-havior that so drastically affects our lives in the forest.

It is during September and October that the in-sects change their diet from high protein sources to high carbohydrate sources. The protein diet, taken during the early parts of their life cycle, is from the insects they prey upon.

By preying on numerous flies and caterpillars harmful to plants, the yellow jackets have en-deared themselves to agriculturists and horticul-turists who are much benefited by this predatory behavior. However, families who take late summer picnics in the park are particularly annoyed by yellow jackets that have changed to a high carb diet. How many times have you had these insects land on your cake just as you were inserting it into your mouth? The diet switch is to build up the fat reserves in the reproductive queens so that they can survive the winter.

The talk in the office during the morning briefing is not about the biology of this highly social insect, but how they can avoid the pain. Some of the so-lutions bring laughter to the sessions. Ben says that we should provide suits of armor to the crewmembers. Ken says standard equipment should include flamethrowers to "burn" out the soldier wasps like the US Army used them during WWII to clear enemy bunkers and machine gun nests. Rick, after being hit the day before while wearing shorts in the forest, offers the thought of using high explosives to neutralize the nests. I suggested placing a cyanide pill in the entrance hole and in ten minutes they will all be dead. Re-membering the words of my college entomology professor as he handed out the cyanide killing bottles we were to use in gathering our insect col-lections, I reminded all that this approach may be lethal to the crew as well as to the insects.

I try to wrap up the morning discussions by reminding my staff that yellow jackets are a part of a healthy environment and must be tolerated, much as with blackflies, ticks, and mosquitoes. To rationalize further, I said that they should be thankful that yellow jackets are not as dangerous

as rattlesnakes, tarantulas, and black widow spi-ders encountered by surveyors in other parts of the country. Lastly, I cautioned those who persist in wearing shorts to put on long pants, long sleeved shirts, a hat, and no after-shave lotion. As they listened, I suggested that if they do get stung they should apply Adolph's Meat Tenderizer liber-ally to the sting and rub it in. This treatment breaks down the components of the venom and reduces pain and swelling. Lastly, I asked them to remember to walk away from a nest quietly and slowly.

I have to admit that after the staff leaves for the field each morning, I feel a little relieved to have office work to keep me busy all day. On reflection, I think these morning talks instill a great deal of respect for the life forces these little insects pos-sess and for the role they play in the circle of life. There is also some twisted humor in observing the humiliating experience of someone being "whipped” by an insect only ¾ of an inch long.

From: Stacy Carroll mailto:[email protected] To: Sent: Monday, November 07, 2005 10:58 AM Subject: Recording plats As some of you may already know, I was having a problem with the Hart County Clerk of Court refusing to record a plat without approval from the county administrator. A letter from the Attorney General's office regarding the duties and responsibilities of the clerk was published twice in the Georgia Land Surveyor. According to the letter, unless we are trying to record a "plat of subdivision”, no ap-proval is needed prior to recording. In the letter, they described in detail what a "plat of subdivision" is. Many counties insist that ANY division of property is a subdivision. According to the Attorney General's office, this is NOT true. If anyone needs a copy of the letter, I'll be glad to fax or email it. We made a copy for the Clerk but it was ig-nored. After the second attempt I retained an attorney to assist me. After several calls and faxes, it appeared that we were headed to court. I received a call from my attorney this morning with some good news. The Hart County attorney sent a letter advising us that we could take the plat directly to the Clerk of Court for recording. They gave no indication of what made them change their mind. I know of several others that have pushed the issue and I hope there will be more.


The Florida Surveyor August/September 2005

Deter Thieves: Advice to Help Prevent Stolen Equipment Earl Soeder of GPServ, Inc. and Ralph Lengemann of Lengemann of Florida submitted these suggestions re-garding the stolen equipment situations that have hap-pened recently: 1. Have your crews be aware of their surroundings. In some cases thieves followed crews until they got their chance to take items. If they notice the same vehicle at different job sites beware. In one case in Miami, a white truck came to a job site. Two individuals got out dressed in tan pants and white shirt looking like utility workers. When the instrument person was only 20 feet from the gun, one person started their truck while the other grabbed the instrument, threw it in their truck and sped off dragging recon behind. 2. Park trucks in a fenced and locked parking area, garage or in low crime areas, have employees drive trucks home. Remove equipment at night from trucks. 3. Label all instruments and cases with marker: Dame of business and an after hours phone number, preferably the party chief's cell phone. The world is full of honest peo-ple who may find it and call you. Labels can be ripped off and engraving is good, but it can be changed and will af-fect the value of your equipment if you want to trade it in. Place your ID between the tribrach and instrument. A thief will not know to look there. 4. If an instrument is stolen and police stop a vehicle that has six instruments in the back, they do not have prob-able cause to search. However, if they pull a vehicle over that has six instruments in the back from six different companies they now have probable cause to search and can call to verify if it is stolen or not. Unfortunately this will probably happen after hours. Also if a pawn shop has your stolen instrument, I believe by Florida Law you have to buy it back from the pawn shop at the price they paid for it; however, if your name is on the case and an attempt was not made to verify if it was not stolen or not, I believe you do not have to pay. 5. In the glove box of each vehicle, where the registration and insurance papers are, should be a list of each instru-ment the vehicle carries. The list should have manufac-turer name, model and serial numbers. This will help the police as well as your own office personnel in the event of a theft. Have pictures of all your equipment easily available. 6. Whenever the crew stops for non-work related matters, one person should always stay with the truck. If possible, park vehicle by the equipment. If the entire crew leaves, place non-used instruments in cab behind seats out of sight. In July a survey crew was at a job site, in the con-tractor's trailer getting plans, when someone stole their

robot. The thief leaned over the radios and did not take them rendering the robot useless. The thieves only know to take the gun cases not accessories. 7. If you have an extended cab, crew cab or camper top, go to Home Depot or Lowe's and buy tint for the windows. Tint helps reduce the m visibility of the content. They will still break in, but why make it easy? Plus, they do not have much time. Also, install a double locking system for truck toppers. 8. Install electric locks on your trucks so all doors can be locked easily and all the time. 9. Buy a backpack for your instrument. I used these up north is where you had to walk with your instrument a lot. They are priced at y about $500, but it is still cheaper than a $10,000 instrument. I believe le the thieves do not know what they are stealing they only look for e gun cases. The backpacks come in different colors and sit the instrument upright nicely behind a seat. 10. If the crew is in the field and are using a collector, have them e always keep the collector. Even it they just walk a few feet away, disconnect and take it. It is bad enough to have you equipment stolen but to lose data is worse, espe-cially if you cannot resurvey it. 11. Make sure crews understand not to fight back—this is why we II pay insurance. With the human resource 12. Make sure your insurance covers rental and leased equipment problem we already have e in this profession we cannot afford to lose people. 13. You can buy instruments that have removable face-plates, which can fit in a shirt pocket. This will render the instrument useless and we would match serial numbers if anyone would try to replace it. Yes, they will discard the instrument but at least you know they) could not sell it or use it. 14. Push eBay and others for a requirement that all equipment c serial numbers be displayed with the picture of the item. A large r part of the equipment on the web has been damaged or is of questionable origin. 15. All equipment comes with a case; no case is a guaran-tee it is stolen. Ask the legislature to require that pawn-shops purchase equipment with cases. We get calls all the time for cases from people who are not in the industry. Remember, equipment can be replaced, a life can't. FSMS would like to recognize the commitment and perse-verance of the following firms in raising awareness of the growing number of survey equipment thefts. Allen Precision Equipment Lengemann of Florida FLT Ecosystems GPServ, Inc. Southern Laser


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Installing CORS in Georgia By Lonnie Sears, RLS

The field Installation of CORS (continuously oper-ating base station) requires a skill set foreign to most Land Surveyors. Most of it is hard labor, which is not foreign to most field surveyors. The other skills include those of Internet Installers, Electricians, Roofers, Equipment operators, Car-

penters, Iron Workers, and Geodesists. This story is about installing CORS in Georgia and some lessons learned over the last year while constructing them for eGPS Solutions, Inc. of

Norcross.

So what qualifies me to take on such tasks as these? I was a laborer/carpenter in my Father’s construction/renovation business while in high school and on college breaks. I had no idea that the skills he tried so hard to teach me would be as valuable to me as a Land Surveyor. Couple that with an interest in geodesy and the opportunity to build a network of CORS and, here I am. I enjoy building these CORS sites throughout Georgia. Upon Co-founding eGPS Solutions, Inc in June 2004 and building a network of base stations since, I have seen a great deal of Georgia. I have surveyed in Georgia for 15 years, but didn’t see as much of this beautiful state in the first 13 as I have these last 2. I probably have been on more roofs than the average bird has.

I build these antenna monuments by the standards set forth by the National Geodetic Survey (NGS), which has recently updated its construction require-ments for CORS to be entered into their Coop-erative and National programs. These re-quirements are very hard to attain due to the high expense of building them. The in-tent is to build a monument that will not move at all, not even a little bit, not even a smidgen, not

even over the course of 5 years. I have tried to maintain the high standard they set, however not all of the CORS I have built have met every stated requirement in their document. The intent being

met, I am proud of the stations I have built. My software and that of the NGS finds that they are not moving.

The best part of building these CORS is seeing the Georgia countryside. The people I

encounter at the hardware stores, restaurants, airports, and courthouses are warm and friendly. They are normally very interested in GPS and how it works. Frequently conversations arise and I find that the public is very much aware of GPS and its varied uses in our society. As I explain my survey use and its centimeter accuracy they are normally very impressed but have no use for that level of accuracy and precision.

The many lessons to be learned while attempting a task like building a CORS include; 1- you don’t mess with a man’s roof. 2- The internet is a good thing. 3- Augers were made to save backs, 4- Elec-tricity is hot, 5- Mapquest is unreliable. 6- There is a hardware store somewhere within a 30-mile radius of every town in Georgia, and 7- prepara-tion is good but it is no replacement for innova-tio

Lonnie is President of eGPS Solutions, Inc 4317 Park Drive, Suite 400; Norcross, Georgia 30093; (770) 695-3361, Office, (678) 878-6610, Cell; [email protected]; www.egps.net


The following is a slightly revised version of an ar-ticle that first appeared in the Spring 2005 issue of Backsights, the periodical of the Surveyors His-torical Society; and that later appeared in the Sep-tember 2005 issue of The Carolina Benchmark, the newsletter of the South Carolina Society of Profes-sional Land Surveyors.

The "Task" as a Unit of Land Measure By Farris Cadle

Among African-Americans living along the Georgia and South Carolina coast one often hears the term "task" used with reference to land meas-ure. Deeds for land in the region sometime state land areas and distances as so many "tasks." This local meaning of the word originated as the result of the labor system employed when African-Americans were held in slave-bondage. To provide an incentive for slaves to complete a certain amount of work each day, the overseer or owner parceled practically all the chores of the farm or plantation into units of labor called "tasks" (Mor-gan, "Work and Culture," 578-79; Rosengarten, 80). The method was also used to some extent in assigning and apportioning work for white inden-tured servants during colonial times (Gray, 1:98). The task system was used to varying degrees wherever slavery existed, but it was most perva-sive and reached its greatest refinement on the tidewater and coastal island plantations of Geor-gia and South Carolina.

Generally, each task required less than a day to complete if the slave worked diligently at it. Upon completing the day's task in a satisfactory manner the slave was allowed the remainder of the day to do as he or she pleased. They might spend this free time working their private plots or engaging in recreation. The master might offer cash bonuses or other incentives for exceeding a task, or for doing additional plantation work after completing a task, but it was then usually at the option of the slave as to whether he or she ac-cepted or declined the offer (Armstrong, 435-36; Morgan, "Work and Culture," 579; Wood, 20).

Some typical tasks (that is, a day's chore) that might be assigned a slave, as gathered from plan-tation documents, included the following: in cut-ting wood, one cord, each log being four feet long; in splitting rails, each twelve feet long, one-hundred; in laying out worm fences, one-hundred panels for a man and woman; in setting up post and rail fences, four slaves were required to place 35 to 40 panels; in digging rice ditches, moving about 600 to 700 cubic feet of earth; in breaking up light rice land with the hoe, one-quarter of an

acre; in trenching rice land, one-half to three-quarters of an acre; in sowing rice, nine quarter-acres; in hoeing rice, one-half acre; in harvesting rice, one-half acre; in threshing rice, ten bushels or 600 sheaves for a man or 500 sheaves for a woman; in sorting sea-island cotton in the seed, 150 to 200 pounds; in ginning sea-island cotton in the seed, twenty to thirty pounds; cutting one-hundred barrel hoops; or constructing three rice barrels (Gray, 1:553-54).

Though the specifics of the system varied somewhat from plantation to plantation, and probably no two plantations did it the same, in general slaves were classified as full hands, three-quarter hands, half-hands, or quarter hands, ac-cording to their strength. The classification was usually made once a year. Ideally, each morning the owner or overseer was supposed to assign a certain task to be performed by each slave, care-fully adjusting the task to the strength of the slave and making due allowance for special circum-stances that rendered the task more difficult or less difficult. In practice, certain features of the system tended to become stereotyped. In the rice regions along the coast the usual custom of irriga-tion resulted in the division of the fields by ditches into rectangles varying in size from a quarter of an acre to one acre. Sea-island cotton fields were staked off into divisions of about a quarter of an acre. Field tasks were assigned as fractions or multiples of these units. For example, in many regions of South Carolina two tasks of one-quarter acre each were considered a day's work for a full hand (Gray, 1:552-53).

The same piece of ground was often assigned permanently to a given slave to work. This in-stilled him or her with a feeling of "quasi-proprietorship" for that piece of ground with the resulting sense of responsibility for maintaining it in a state of maximum productivity. So deeply ingrained did the task system become in defining the work-relation between master and slave that a slave assigned a permanent piece of ground "was not to be called away from his task: this would be tantamount to an invasion of his 'customary privi-leges'" (Gray 1:553; Morgan, "Ownership of Prop-erty," 401).

Nineteenth century observers recorded that slaves sometimes finished their tasks by noon, more often around two o'clock to mid-afternoon, but sometimes did not finish until six o'clock (Gray, 1:556, 59; Morgan, "The Ownership of Property," 399-400; Morgan, "Work and Culture," 586; Wood, 20-21). (It must be remembered that the workday usually began shortly after dawn). A writer in 1806 observed that "once a slave has


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completed his task, his master feels no right to call on him" (Lockley, 58; Morgan, "Work and Cul-ture," 575, 583; Wood, 20). One former slave re-ported that he sometimes did two tasks in one day so as to have the whole of the next day "to him-self" (Morgan, "The Ownership of Property," 399-400; Morgan, "Work and Culture," 586).

On most plantations each slave family was al-lowed a private field for planting crops and raising livestock for their personal use and profit. The slaves did not plant or raise livestock in their per-sonal fields for subsistence because their masters gave them sufficient clothes and provisions from the produce of the plantation. This provided fur-ther incentive for the slaves to finish their tasks, because, once finished, they could work their pri-vate plots, and any production made from them might be sold to the master or traded for extra clothes, pipes, knives, or other items. A traveler in South Carolina about 1773 wrote that these private plots consisted of about five or six acres each and that "the industrious among them make a great deal" (Morgan, "Work and Culture," 579; Rosengarten, 80).

Although the amount of work that constituted a task varied in both its nature and quantity, one-quarter-acre field divisions were found a conven-ient unit for apportioning the field work for most purposes (Cate, 81; Morgan, "Work and Culture," 575, 581; Rosengarten, 80; Stewart, 128-29) . This passed into the culture of the region and sur-vived long after slavery became a dead-letter. To-day, for a significant proportion of African-Americans in rural coastal Georgia and South Carolina, the term "task" has four specific mean-ings in addition to its more broadly accepted signi-fication: it is used to refer to the chores for the day; it is used to refer to a specific plot of land that is to be worked; it is commonly used as a measure of land area consisting of one-quarter of an acre; and it can mean a distance of one side of a square task, or about 105 feet. The author has observed that some natives have a readier concept of the amount of land that constitutes a task than the amount that constitutes an acre.

Deeds in coastal Georgia and South Carolina sometimes give distances in tasks, sometimes state land areas in terms of so many tasks and might also give the acreage equivalent for the benefit of the uninitiated. Some examples are in order. In Deed Book S, page 871 in the Liberty County courthouse in Hinesville, Georgia an 1879 deed describes the land as containing ten acres and bounded on the north by a certain road and

on the west "by avenue of W. C. Stevens, extend-ing five tasks along public road & Eight tasks from head of public road along avenue of Wm C. Ste-vens." An "avenue" in this sense was a pathway through private property lined on either side by trees, usually live oak, and leading to the home of the owner. Immediately preceding this deed is an 1873 deed for the same land that provides a simi-lar description in tasks. In Deed Book 78, pages 282-94 in the McIntosh County courthouse in Darien, Georgia are four 1976 deeds, each of which conveys a partial interest in a parcel of land on Sapelo Island. Each of the deeds describes the parcel as "containing One Fourth (1/4) of an acre, more or less, (locally called or known as One Task)."

The author has never encountered any survey plat that gave areas or distances in tasks. The results of the task system can be plainly observed in aerial photographs and satellite imagery of the region, especially infrared. Where rice was once grown, the landscape is impressed with a distinc-tive rectilinear pattern of long-abandoned dams, dikes, and canals. Each "square" in these pat-terns was once a rice field measured off into task units.

The author would like to hear of additional experiences by surveyors regarding the use of tasks as a unit land measure. He can be reached at [email protected]

References:

Armstrong, Thomas F. "From Task Labor to Free Labor: The Transition Along Georgia's Rice Coast, 1820-1880." Georgia Historical Quarterly 64, no. 4 (Winter 1980): 432-47.

Cate, Margaret Davis. Early Days of Coastal Geor-gia. 6th edition. Saint Simons Island, Ga.: Fort Frederica Association, 1970.

Gray, Lewis Cecil. History of Agriculture in the Southern United States to 1860. 2 volumes. Wash-ington, D.C.: Carnegie Institution of Washington, Publication No. 430, Contributions to American Economic History no. 7, 1933. Reprint with an introductory note by Henry Charles Taylor. New York: Peter Smith, 1941. Reprint. Gloucester, Mass.: P. Smith, 1958.

Hudson, Larry E., Jr. To Have and to Hold: Slave Work and Family Life in Antebellum South Caro-lina. Athens, Ga.: University of Georgia Press, 1997.


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Lockley, Timothy James. Lines in the Sand: Race and Class in Lowcountry Georgia, 1750-1860. Ath-ens, Ga.: University of Georgia Press, 2001.

Morgan, Philip David. "The Ownership of Property by Slaves in the Mid-nineteenth Century Low-country." Journal of Southern History, 49, no. 3 (August 1983): 399-420.

---. "Task and Gang Systems: The Organization of Labor on New World Plantations." In Work and Labor in Early America, edited by Stephen Innes, 189-220. Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina Press, 1988.

---. "Work and Culture: The Task System and the World of Lowcountry Blacks, 1700 to 1880." Wil-liam and Mary Quarterly 3d series, 39, no. 4 (Oc-tober 1982): 563-99.

Rosengarten, Theodore. Tombee: Portrait of a Cot-ton Planter With the Journal of Thomas B. Chaplin (1822-1890). New York: William Morrow and Co., 1986.

Smith, Julia Floyd. Slavery and Rice Culture in Low Country Georgia, 1750-1860. Knoxville, Tenn.: University of Tennessee Press, 1985.

Stewart, Mart Allen. "What Nature Suffers to Groe": Life, Labor, and Landscape on the Georgia Coast, 1680-1920. Athens, Ga.: University of Georgia Press, 1996.

Wood, Betty. Women's Work, Men's Work: The In-formal Slave Economics of Lowcountry

North and South The North has coffee houses, The South has Waffle Houses. The North has dating services, The South has family reunions. The North has double last names; The South has double first names. The North has Indy car races; The South has stock car races. The North has Cream of Wheat, The South has grits. The North has green salads, The South has collard greens. The North has lobsters, The South has crawfish. The North has the rust belt; The South has the Bible Belt.

POB Magazine October 2005 Traversing the Law Trampling private property rights? Jeffery N. Lucas, PLS, Esq

In June, the United States Supreme Court rendered a decision in Kelo v. City of New London, Connecticut1 on the issues of private property rights, eminent domain and the Constitution.

Since the decision came down on June 23, 2005, much has been said and written about this case—some good information, some misinformation and some plain bad information. For the benefit of our readers, I will attempt to make some sense out of this decision and what, if anything, it means to surveyors. First, some basic information about the case is nec-essary before we can analyze the decision in light of any implications it may have for the surveyor. *

Basic Facts The city of New London, Conn., is, by anyone’s defini-tion, an economically distressed community. The city “sits at the junction of the Thames River and the Long Island Sound in southeastern Connecticut. Decades of economic decline led a state agency in 1990 to des-ignate the city a ‘distressed municipality.’ In 1996, the federal government closed the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, which had been located in the Fort Trumbull area of the city and had employed over 1,500 people. In 1998, the city’s unemployment rate was nearly double that of the state, and its popula-tion of just under 24,000 residents was at its lowest since 1920. These conditions prompted state and lo-cal officials to target New London, and particularly its Fort Trumbull area, for economic revitalization.”2

Pursuant to this goal, the city reactivated the New London Development Corporation (NLDC), a private, nonprofit corporation established some years earlier, to be its agent in implementing and carrying out a revitalization plan of action. The NLDC went to work developing plans, conducting neighborhood meetings, courting private developers and industry, and seeking state input and approvals. These activities took sev-eral years. The city eventually asked NLDC to formal-ize its plans and submit them for city approval. In 2000, the city approved a plan of redevelopment submitted by NLDC. The plan focused on 90 acres within the city that included 115 privately owned parcels.


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“The city council approved the plan in January 2000, and designated the NLDC as its develop-ment agent in charge of implementation. The city council also authorized the NLDC to purchase property or to acquire property by exercising emi-nent domain in the city’s name. The NLDC suc-cessfully negotiated the purchase of most of the real estate in the 90-acre area, but its negotiations with petitioners [Kelo, et al.] failed. As a conse-quence, in November 2000, the NLDC initiated the condemnation proceedings that gave rise to this case.”3 Kelo and the other plaintiffs in the case were private property owners within the 90-acre tract identified by NLDC in its development plan. Kelo, et al., did not want to sell their property, and ultimately became the target of NLDC’s eminent domain powers, conferred upon it by the city through the application of state law.

After fighting it out in the lower courts, the parties took their case to the Connecticut Supreme Court for a ruling on the state’s eminent domain law and the constitutional question presented: is the application of Connecticut’s eminent domain law a violation of the “public use” clause of the federal Constitution? The Connecticut Supreme Court ruled, over one dis-sent, that:

…all of the city’s proposed takings were valid. [The Connecticut Supreme Court] began by upholding the lower court’s determination that the takings were authorized by chapter 132, the state’s mu-nicipal development statute. That statute ex-presses a legislative determination that the taking of land, even developed land, as part of an eco-nomic development project is a “public use” and in the “public interest.” Next, relying on cases such as Hawaii Housing Authority v. Midkiff (1984) and Berman v. Parker (1954), the court held that such economic development qualified as a valid public use under both the federal and state constitu-tions. Finally, adhering to its precedents, the court went on to determine, first, whether the takings of the particular properties at issue were “reasonably necessary” to achieving the city’s intended public use, and, second, whether the takings were for “reasonably foreseeable needs.” The court … agree [d] with the city that the intended use of this land was sufficiently definite and had been given “rea-sonable attention” during the planning process.4

The case was appealed to the United States Supreme Court, (hereinafter simply referred to as the “Supreme Court,” not to be confused with the Connecticut Su-preme Court), on the constitutional ground that the taking was a violation the “public use” clause of the Fifth Amendment.

Your Constitutional Right to Own Property You have no constitutional right to own property. As this case so clearly illustrates, there is no “right” to own property found in our Constitution. Many people seem to be angered at the Supreme Court or even the federal government over this “taking” of private prop-erty. The “taking,” however, was perpetuated by the state of Connecticut, not the Supreme Court nor the federal government. The only federal issue involved in this case, and the only reason this property case left state court and entered federal court, was the consti-tutional issue of “public use.” The vast majority of all private property rights and the right to own property come from state law, not federal.

If we search the Constitution for our property rights we will only find them in two places and very limited in scope: the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. The Fifth Amendment states, in part:

No person… shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.5

This is where we find the “public use” clause that is at issue and makes this a federal case. The Fifth Amendment, however, is a prohibition against federal takings, not state. But Justice Kennedy, who deliv-ered the opinion in Kelo v. New London, explained how the Fifth Amendment applies to the states as well: “‘[N] or shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.’ U.S. Const., Amdt. 5. That clause is made applicable to the states by the Fourteenth Amendment.”6

So what does the Fourteenth Amendment have to say about the states and private property rights?

No state shall make or enforce any law, which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.7

As the court stated above, the Fifth Amendment is made applicable to the states by way of the Four-teenth Amendment. Nowhere in either of these amendments, however, nor anywhere else in our Constitution, do we find the right to own property or any of the other various property rights that follow suit. The right to own property and the right to take it away come from the state. If anyone trampled on Kelo’s property rights, it was the state that conferred them in the first place. The state giveth and the state taketh away.

State Law vs. Federal Law


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This case is also important because it gives us an il-lustration of the interaction between state and federal law. As did the Connecticut Supreme Court in this case, state courts (with competent jurisdiction) will rule on federal constitutional issues when they are presented in a case involving, primarily, state issues. That was exactly the case with Kelo v. New London. The primary issue was the state’s eminent domain law, but the Connecticut Supreme Court also ruled on the federal constitutional issue of “public use.” In the vast majority of cases of this type, these federal constitutional issues will be decided in state court applying federal law. The Supreme Court will hear only a small fraction of the massive volume of cases that present a federal issue.

By the same token, when a state case comes to the Supreme Court on some federal issue (e.g., Kelo v. New London and “public use”), the Supreme Court will apply state law on the property issue and federal law on the federal issue. As was done in this case, Connecticut state property law was applied to the eminent domain question by the Supreme Court. The basic ruling of the Court was that the state law did not violate the “public use” clause of the Fifth Amendment. It can’t be overemphasized that the state of Connecticut took Kelo’s property, not the Su-preme Court nor the federal government. The federal judiciary has no power to change state law on this, or almost any other property issue. That power remains with the state and, ultimately, with the people.

What This Means for Surveyors What this means for private practice surveyors who perform boundary surveys is that your practice, by and large, is governed by state law, not federal. As an example, unless your state has adopted or codified the 1973 BLM Manual of Instructions (the Manual) in some form or another, it has no applicability to the disposition of private property rights or the way you practice (or should practice) in making boundary de-terminations. Some states have adopted whole sec-tions of the Manual, thereby making it very applica-ble, but many have not. In either case, there are no federal laws that apply to private property rights, save those discussed above.8 Therefore, if your practice includes the determination of private property boundaries, state law applies, not federal. If, however, your state has adopted sections of the Manual, then those adopted sections have become state law and should be applied in your practice just as they will be applied by a court of competent jurisdiction should your boundary determination be tested against the law and in equity.

As private practice surveyors who have to deal with property rights and their associated issues, it’s fun-

damental to know where those rights come from and how they are enforced and protected. Kelo v. New London helps us to remember that the vast majority of private property rights come from the state and are protected by state law. This is true whether the issue is eminent domain, the Manual, restoration of lost and obliterated corners, subdivision of sections, chain of title, notice, adverse possession, prescription, ac-quiescence, estoppel, or any and every other right and remedy related to private property. And this ex-cludes those few and itemized issues as found in the Constitution. Specifically, these items include that your property cannot be taken away from you with-out “due process,” the taking has to be for a “public use” and you must receive “just compensation.”

If you didn’t like the outcome in Kelo v. New London, and I think it’s safe to say that many people were quite disturbed by the ruling, don’t bother writing Congress or even hanging Supreme Court Justices in effigy. Talk to your state representative. That’s where the power over private property rights exists.

*Note: Capitalization has been standardized and internal case citations have been omitted in all quotations. Neither the author nor POB intends this column to be a source of legal advice for surveyors or their clients. The law changes and differs in important respects for different jurisdictions. If you have a specific legal problem, the best source of advice is an attorney admitted to the bar of your jurisdiction. About the Author: Jeffery Lucas is a seasoned profes-sional land surveyor licensed in five southeastern states and has more than 28 years of surveying experience. He is a member of the Alabama State Bar, has written many articles on the subject of land surveying and leads con-tinuing education seminars for land surveyors. He is in private practice in Bessemer, Ala. References 1Kelo v. City of New London, Connecticut, WL 1469529 (US 2005). At the time of this writing, this case has not yet been published in the Federal Reporters. The citation given is the WestLaw citation of the Thomson/West Com-pany. 2Kelo v. City of New London, Connecticut, 2005 WL 1469529, 3 (US 2005). 3Ibid., at 4. 4Ibid. 5U.S. Const. Amend. V. 6Kelo v. City of New London, at 2 (Footnote 1). 7U.S. Const. Amend. XIV, Sec. 1. 8This is assuming that your private property is not adjoin-ing or adjacent to federal lands. 43 U.S.C. Section 52 states, in part, that the Secretary of the Interior “shall cause to be surveyed all private land-claims after they have been confirmed by authority of Congress, so far as they may be necessary to complete the survey of the pub-lic lands.” In such a case, you may have a federal issue on your hands. Reprinted with permission, POB magazine, October 2005


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Notice of the Survey By Knud E. Hermansen PLS, PE, PhD, Esq

Notice of the survey is simply an announcement sent to the neighbor (adjoiner) or other parties (e.g., utilities) of the pending surveying services. Notice can be accomplished by visiting, calling, or writing. This article will focus on written notice to the neighbor.

Written notice has two advantages over other forms of notice. First, the written form stands as a historical record of the message contents and evi-dence of its communication. Second, it provides a more reliable method of communicating with the recipient that is not always possible with phone calls or on-site visits since many landowners are at work during the time period when the surveyor will likely call or visit.

Providing notice of pending surveying services has several benefits. Most importantly, ordinary and reasonable courtesy suggests the surveyor notify landowners of possible entry upon their property. Second, notice could prevent the crew from being idle while the party chief is talking to the neighbor explaining the crew's presence in the neighbor-hood and on the neighbor's property. Third, it is not uncommon for the response to a letter to re-veal there is a heated dispute between the client and neighbor that the client has failed to mention to the surveyor. (It is far more beneficial to hear a neighbor vent their displeasure with the sur-veyor's client over the phone than at the site where there is expensive equipment within reach.) Fourth, notice could cause the neighbor to ser-vices from the surveyor while they are nearby. Fifth, aid from the neighbor in the form of unre-corded documents, historical information, and monument locations are often encouraged with a friendly written notice. Sixth and finally, notice provides a means to educate the neighbor about the surveying services (traverse markings, need to enter property to survey, etc.)

Some states require notice to a landowner before a surveyor can enter property without fear of prose-cution for trespass. Civil and criminal law will or-dinarily hold the surveyor liable for trespass when there is intrusion on property without the permis-sion of the landowner. For example, recent pas-sage of the surveyor's right of entry law in Maine permits surveyors, for the performance of survey-ing services, to enter upon property without per-mission of the landowner so long as the surveyor made a good faith effort to notify the landowner.

Consider the following example letter that is meant to be sent to a neighboring landowner.

June 3,2004

On or after -[date], our firm will be surveying the property of -[client's name], which is lo-cated- [nearby road, stream, physical feature], -[municipality], -[county]. Tax assessment re-cords indicate that you share a common boundary with -[client's name].

To insure a complete and accurate survey, our firm Would appreciate a copy of any unre-corded documents such as plats, old deeds, survey notes, reports, and similar documents that are in your possession and would help re-establish the common boundary you share with -[client's name]. This firm will reimburse you for any reasonable costs. A meeting at a date and time convenient to you can be arranged, if you would like to show us any boundary mark-ers or other objects that may be hidden from view or are not easily identified as a comer or boundary marker.

During the survey, wooden stakes and nails will be used to mark temporary survey points. These should not be confused with the actual corner or line monuments we will eventually use to mark the common boundary you share with -[client's name]. Any survey points and ribbon our firm uses will more than likely ~ be placed on the boundary or represent a common corner. All corners will eventually be monu-mented by capped 5/8th inch diameter rein-forcing rods inscribed with the name and li-cense number of the surveyor (if not already monumented).

From time to time, employees from our firm may have to enter upon your property to gather information and measure from your corners and points on your property. Measuring on your side of the boundary is often necessary to insure that all information, from both sides of the boundary, is considered before marking the common boundary. Please do not hesitate to call this firm if you object to our employees en-tering your property and using information on your side of the boundary to help reestablish the common boundary you share with- [client ' s name].

Should you have any questions or information, please call or write using the address listed in the letterhead. Your help is appreciated.


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The first part of the sample letter informs the landowner of the pending surveying services and identifies the location of the survey. A detailed lo-cation of the survey is important where the neighboring landowner has vast tracts of land (e.g., logging companies) and is unfamiliar with the name of neighboring owners. The next part seeks pertinent documents the landowner may have that will aid the surveyor. This part also ex-tends a willingness to meet and identify corners where the landowner believes monuments reside. If the landowner provides some help (or believes they have), the landowner will more likely believe the surveyor's opinion is unbiased. The third part of the example letter educates the landowner on the surveyor's markings to prevent confusion be-tween traverse stations or ribbons used to mark evidence and the actual corner or boundary loca-tion. The fourth part of the example letter informs the landowner of the surveyor's entry on their property. Tact and good public relations suggest the letter be sent and tacit permission be sought to enter the property. If entry is expressly men-tioned as necessary to locate the common bound-ary using the adjoining landowner's corners, few adjoining landowners would likely object to the surveyor's entry on their property. Common sense

suggests the adjoining landowner would want the surveyor to use their corners to reestablish the common boundary.

Some surveyors also include in the notice an offer to survey the neighbor's property for a favorable rate, at the same time.

Because your neighbor has requested our surveying services, we are in a position to offer surveying services for your property at a re-duced rate. If you call our firm for surveying services in the future, please mention that we have previously surveyed your neighbor's prop-erty.

(Warning: Prudence strongly suggests that the fee for neighbor's services not be relatively less than the client's fee or you will have an irate former cli-ent demanding equity.)

The name and address of the adjoining landowner can be obtained from the tax records. Many jurisdictions now have tax information on line.

With the advent of computers and easy access to the information, it is relatively fast and easy to prepare a letter within ten minutes. If a surveyor isn't using a written notice of survey, it is worth a try.

Vol 43 No 3 Georgia Land Surveyor November/December 2005

Dean McLeod

Your gift of a memory will be greatly appreciated


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Sustaining Members Mike Nixon

ADVANCE PRECISION PRODUCTS 530 Interchange Drive

Atlanta GA 30336 404-505-8181 ~ 866-882-8100

FAX 404-505-7151 Email: [email protected]

Jimmie Allen ~ Warner Allen

Terry Nutt ~ Craig Martin ALLEN PRECISION EQUIPMENT, INC.

1550 Boggs Road Duluth GA 30096

770-279-7171~FAX 770-279-7335 Email: [email protected]

Jolie Fournier ~ Ray Odell

APPLIED SOFTWARE 1908 Cliff Valley Way, NE

Atlanta GA 30329 404-564-1863


Allen L. Baughman

BAUGHMAN INSTRUMENT COMPANY 615 Hembree Pkwy, Ste 500

Roswell GA 30076 678-393-0203

FAX 678-393-6303

Terry L. Beckom, Sr. BECKOM AERIAL MAPPING

55a Jefferson Parkway Newnan, GA. 30263

770-252-7710 FAX 770-252-7761

Email: [email protected]

William Carruth, Jr ~ Trish Faucher CARRUTH WOOD PRODUCTS, INC.

PO Box 609; 814 Hwy 92 Hiram GA 30141

770-943-3602~FAX 770-943-0175 800-331-0411


H. Jim McNeil CONTINENTAL AERIAL SURVEYS

3356 Regal Drive Alcoa TN 37701 865-970-3115

FAX 865-984-7367 www.conaers.com

Charles C. Corbin, III KECK& WOOD, INC,

2425 Commerce Avenue Bldg Suite 300

Duluth GA 30096

Michael Harvey LEICA GEOSYSTEMS, HDS 9737 Valley Springs Drive

Brentwood TN 37027 615-776-7869


John Dudley ~ Royce Bain ~ Tim Houchens

EARL DUDLEY ASSOCIATES, INC 6140E Northbelt Parkway

Atlanta GA 30071 770-849-9604 ~ 800-226-0193


Scott Forrest – Jerry Hooker

FLT GEOSYSTEMS 3543 W Beaver Street Jacksonville FL 32073

904-388-3093 FAX 904-388-5708


Jane G. Kenna TECHNICAL SEARCHES, INC.

Courthouse Research 404-312-6734

FAX 404-325-5935

Nicholas R. MacNab LEGG MASON

Monarch Plaza, Suite 1100 3414 Peachtree Road, NE

Atlanta GA 30326

Gerald L. Ray KUCERA INTERNATIONAL, INC.

2 Cabin Branch Drive Clayton, NC 28720

919-219-8808~FAX 919-553-2885 Email [email protected]

www.kucerainternational.com

Patricia Hughes ~ Wanda Gunn MACON PRINTS & INSTRUMENTS

655 North Ave.~Baconsfield Center Macon, GA 31211

478-746-3331 FAX 478-746-3315


Jeannine Hightower NAVIGATION ELECTRONICS, INC. 7094 Peachtree Industrial Blvd

Suite 245 Norcross GA 30071


Howard Grant ~ Pete Dachuck ~ P.V. Rice

OPTICAL ENGINEERING CO., INC. 710 Davis Circle, SW Marietta GA 30008

770-427-3116 800-282-7989FAX 770-424-3488


Richard Arlan Scruggs PHOENIX ENVIRONMENTAL

SOLUTIONS, INC. 2309 Highway 81, South, Ste B

Loganville GA 30052 770-466-0466~FAX 770-466-0471


Jeff Simmons – Allen Brock PHOTO SCIENCE, INC. 2025 Cooper Lake Rd Smyrna, GA 30080

770-435-2241 FAX 770-435-3017


Ray Howard ~ Bob Bush Ron Sherwood

REPRO PRUDUCTS, INC. 4485 Atlanta Road Smyrna GA 30080


Robert H. Davis ~ Joel Davis RHD SERVICES, INC. 630 Tenth Street, NW

Atlanta GA 30318 404-874-8585


Mike Robert Kelley SURVCON, INC.

875 Gettysburg trail, NE, Suite 210 Kennesaw GA 30144

770-516-2507 FAX 770-516-2807

Email [email protected]

Chris Woolson TRINITY CAPITAL CORPORATION

475 Sansome Street 19th floor

San Francisco CA 94111 800-841-4433~FAX 415-956-5187 Email: [email protected]


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Georgia Land Surveyor Surveying and Mapping Society of Georgia PO Box 778 Douglasville GA 30133

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