Eric D. Colburn, PLS

The Professional Land Surveyor Podcast (PLSP)

Shownotes – Episode 1
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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT

President Proposes $1.1 Billion for BLM in Fiscal Year 2011 to Protect Resources and Manage Uses of Public Lands

With a focus on renewable energy development, climate change adaptation, and other key priorities, President Obama today requested $1.1 billion in appropriations for the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management in Fiscal Year 2011. This represents an $8.0 million increase from the BLM’s FY 2010 enacted funding level.  The President’s request reflects his continuing commitment to be prudent with taxpayer dollars while setting priorities for spending.

“Today’s budget proposal will advance the BLM’s mission of protecting the land’s resources while facilitating environmentally sound use of America’s public lands,” said BLM Director Bob Abbey. “Under this proposal, we can and will meet the challenges facing our agency in today’s fast-growing West.” Under the President’s proposed budget, the BLM will focus on the following priorities:

New Energy Frontier

The New Energy Frontier initiative recognizes the value of environmentally sound, scientifically grounded development of both renewable and conventional energy resources on the Nation’s public lands. To encourage and facilitate renewable energy development, the President’s FY 2011 BLM budget proposes a $3.0 million increase that builds on the $16.1 million increase for renewable energy provided in FY 2010. The funds would be used to complete environmental studies for solar energy projects in Nevada and potential wind energy zones in Oregon and Nevada. In the conventional energy program, the BLM will focus on implementing oil and gas leasing reforms put forward by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar while placing continued emphasis on oil and gas inspections, environmental enforcement, and production monitoring activities.  The budget includes a $2.0 million increase in BLM’s Soil, Water, and Air Management program for air quality monitoring that will be targeted to areas with current or anticipated intensive oil and gas development to help BLM ensure that the energy development complies with environmental requirements and minimizes or addresses potential litigation issues.
The Budget maintains BLM’s oil and gas management program capacity at current levels, with a $3.0 million decrease to reflect the completion of specific Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) studies. In addition, the Budget proposes new fees – estimated to generated $10 million annually – to help offset the cost of BLM’s oil and gas inspection and enforcement activities.

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Certified Federal Surveyor Program (CFedS)

Congratulations to the new class of CFedS Graduates!

What is a CFedS?

The Certified Federal Surveyor (CFedS) program will:

• Increase the pool of qualified surveyors to complete the backlog of surveys in Indian Country.
• Ensure surveys on Indian lands comply with regulations and policies decreasing the chance and expense of rework.
• Offer Tribal surveyors the ability to better serve their Tribe with enhanced skills and knowledge.
• Provide opportunities to increase self-determination.
• This site provides an internet home for CFedS surveyors and groups that are requiring the services provided by the CFedS .

This site provides an Internet home for CFedS surveyors and groups that are requiring the services provided by the CFedS. The Certified Federal Surveyor site provides registration and training for licensed land surveyors to register for the CFedS program, monitor their progress through the course work and educational material, and to maintain their CFedS Profile for program users to access their services.

For groups that are using the services of the CFedS Surveyor this site provides tools to locate available CFedS services in their area and to contact potential service providers. Financial and contract arrangements for services will be handled directly by the groups procuring services and the CFedS Surveyor.

This site also provides a mechanism for continuous feedback on the performance of the functions in this site and the ability to contact CFedS Program Managers.

Congratulations to the new class of CFedS Graduates. Read the rest of this entry →

Surveying: Theory and Practice - By James Anderson & Edward Mikhail

Surveying: Theory and Practice

Product Description
This updated edition contains the same breadth and depth as previous editions with pertinent chapter topics divided into two parts. Part A covers elementary topics and Part B covers advanced topics. This innovative design, coupled with the most recent developments in technology, complements first- and second-level courses in surveying without losing its value as a reference textbook.

NationalAtlas.gov The Public Land Survey System (PLSS)

Below is the Public Land Survey System (PLSS) as explained at the National Atlas website. While the PLSS is not a system that I use in my Professional Land Surveying practice, as I work in a “Colonial State”, I would hope that it is a more orderly methodology than the hodgepodge of parcels and deeds that I’m used to working with.

Although, I suspect that like the best of plans made by the smartest of people, any plan, such as the PLSS, is only as good as its weakest links. Limited by methods and equipment error, human error, and times decay, to name a few, the PLSS system originally proposed by Thomas Jefferson still has served this country well – imperfect yet functional.

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