The Department of Labor has issued proposed rule changes that will include surveying under the Davis-Bacon Act. John Palatiello, NSPS Legislative Consultant, joined a recent Surveyor Says podcast to discuss the issue. He shared the history of the Davis-Bacon Act and why including surveying under rules typically established for labor is a negative for the profession. John talks about how NSPS, state affiliates, and our membership can help oppose these proposed changes so our profession will not be subject to these proposed rules.

The Board met on April 30th. It passed a motion to approve and execute the Memorandum of Understanding to join the National Society of Professional Surveyors. The term is for six months, beginning July 1st. CLSA’s contribution will be half the annual amount, and is charged for Corporate members only.

The MOU is renewable annually, and will require Board approval – including any modifications.

The Board also approved President Warren Smith’s committee and liaison appointments.

A motion to join with the Nevada Association of Land Surveyors at the 2023 conference at the Silver Legacy in Reno was passed. The Executive Committee was authorized to negotiate the MOU with NALS.

The Executive Committee was also authorized to prepare and send a letter in opposition to land surveyors being reclassified as laborers and mechanics by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Steve Martin presented an update on the GPS on Benchmarks program. The deadline is December 31st to be included in the transformation for the upcoming Datum.

David Wooley asked Directors to take the issue of project labor agreements back to their chapters for review and input.

Hancock Associates, a leading local provider of land surveying, civil engineering and wetland science services, is pleased to announce that Jared Johnson, a Project Surveyor at the firm, passed the State Surveyor Jurisprudence Exam and is now a registered Professional Land Surveyor (PLS) in Massachusetts.

Jared joined Hancock Associates in 2018 and previously held positions as Surveyor in Training, and Party Chief at several local well-respected land surveying firms. Jared is based in Hancock’s Chelmsford office and lives in Pelham, New Hampshire.

“I am really excited to see Jared’s growth,” said President Wayne Jalbert. “Jared is the epitome of the modern Surveyor, with skills that utilize today’s technology to embrace and execute the art, science, theoretical and legal aspects of land surveying. Jared has a bright future here at Hancock.”

The “Jared” article goes on to describe and pitch Hancock Associates. What does just this portion of the article say about the firm? I see publicity for the firm to potential clients, recognition of employee achievement, the employee’s history, and excitement and praise from the company president. This translates not only to employee retention: “Jared has a bright future here” but also to new employee attraction: Some “Surveyor in Training,” or “Party Chief at” another firm is thinking “Jared came to Hancock from elsewhere, had visible growth at Hancock, and now is Registered. Can I do the same?”

Congratulations to QK, formerly Quad Knopf, as they celebrate 50 years of service to clients in California. QK provides Land Surveying, GIS, Civil Engineering, Urban Design, Land Use Planning, Biology and Environmental, Landscape Architecture and Construction Management to a diverse client base, QK has six offices in the Central Valley in Merced, Porterville, Visalia, Clovis, Bakersfield and Hanford.

MarketsandResearch.biz, through its comprehensive report Global Land Survey Equipment Market from 2022 to 2028, provides an in-depth study of the current state and significant drivers of the given industry. The detailed summary of the global Land Survey Equipment market report offers a compressed list of Land Survey Equipment industry drivers, challenges, opportunities, and market trends. 

A team of Ferris State University Surveying Engineering students won the National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS) 2022 Student Competition sponsored by the Young Surveyors Network. The event was part of the NSPS Spring Business Meeting held in Washington, D.C., Thursday, March 30 and Friday, April 1.

Penn State Wilkes-Barre hosted a high school trigonometry competition on campus April 8, welcoming 80 students from eight local schools to campus.

Sponsored by the National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS), Trig-Star is a competition that recognizes and rewards high school students who excel in mathematics, particularly trigonometry, and their teachers. The program’s goal is to show students practical uses for mathematics and bring greater awareness of the surveying profession.

The event at Penn State Wilkes-Barre was the regional level of competition, with winners advancing to the state level. State winners go on to compete at the national competition. Winners in the regional competition were as follows: first place, Gavin Nichols, 11th grade, Wilkes-Barre Area STEM Academy; second place, Amir Samadian, 11th grade, Wilkes-Barre Area STEM Academy; and third place, Jaka Mao, 11th grade, Holy Redeemer High School.

There are more than 180 properties in an approximately six-mile-long path between Kaufman County and Henderson County that are currently in limbo, thanks to a land agreement made more than 100 years ago.

On March 3, the Northwest Chapter of the Pennsylvania Society of Land Surveyors (PSLS) met at Bent Run Brewery in Warren for the election of chapter officers, professional networking, and to briefly discuss the revised “Standards of Practice for Professional Land Surveyors in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania” as was recently adopted by PSLS on November 19, 2021. Surveyors also discussed the upcoming National Surveyor’s Week and the importance of this week to shed light on the Profession of Land Surveying. Land Surveyor’s Week (March 20-26, 2022) was recently recognized by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, by Governor’s Office Proclamation.

Flood in the Desert tells the story of the St. Francis Dam disaster, which not only destroyed hundreds of lives and millions of dollars’ worth of property; it also washed away the reputation of William Mulholland, the father of modern Los Angeles, jeopardized larger plans to transform the West and forced the creation of a civil engineering licensing board which today is the Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors and Geologists.

This is a great article to educate the public, although it has some state specific info. Bullet points are:

This article by Philip Hastings and Nickolas Arnold is titled Land Surveyors: A necessary step in real estate transactions. It discusses the role of the land surveyor primarily with respect to boundary.