This message was sent to ##Email##
|
|
|
|
|
NSPS
If you haven't already done so, it is time to begin planning for National Surveyors Week 2019 (March 17-23). Remember, NSW is always celebrated during the week in March following the 3rd Sunday!
A letter has been sent to President Trump requesting that a proclamation be issued recognizing NSW. Readers should reach out to their respective Governors and local juridiction officials requesting a similar proclamation (this is often done through the State Surveying Society).
Stay tuned! NSPS is working on the development of a "theme" for the week. Hopefully, this will become an annual thing. Thanks to NSPS member Bob Banzhoff (MD) for suggesting this!
NSPS
Nos. 11-20
Nos. 1-10
As reported to NSPS by ASPS 12/12/18
At the December 10, 2018 quarterly board meeting of the Arkansas Society of Professional Surveyors (ASPS), it was brought to our attention that DataScout, LLC had recently submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Arkansas Geographic Information Office (AGIO). To obtain more information about this the Board immediately reached out to Shelby Johnson, State Geographic Information Officer for AGIO, via conference call. He reported that the request that was made by an employee of DataScout, LLC was for the entire database of survey plats maintained by AGIO. Mr. Johnson's understanding was that the request had already been fulfilled.
What does this mean? AGIO released the entire database of survey plats without consulting the State Surveyor’s Office, ASPS Board of Directors, or the AGIO Board.
Why are we concerned with this issue? This concerns the ASPS Board for a few reasons.
- The AGIO, ASPS Board, and State Surveyor's Office have together devoted much effort to updating the online plat retrieval system in order to protect against the misuse of plats. This breach of trust is very disheartening to the ASPS Board.
- DataScout, LLC now has 200,091 land surveys and related documents to use as they wish. This could open the door to other companies, realtors, or individuals filing an FOIA request and receiving the entire database free of charge.
Our Board is working with our lobbyists to set up a meeting with the Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor to voice our concerns. We have engaged an attorney to research and protect our interests as a profession. Once we have a handle on our options, we will notify our membership immediately.
Note: NSPS received reports from 15 members of the NSPS Board of Directors regarding how surveying plats of individual parcels are handled within their respective governmental land records agencies!
|
|
NSPS
December 31, 2018 marked the last day of voting in the current cycle of NSPS officer elections. Current NSPS Secretary Tim Burch (IL) was elected as incoming Vice President. Current NSPS Treasurer Bob Miller (PA) and NSPS Secretary nominee Craig Amy (MI) ran unopposed. Thanks to all the candidates!
While all of the NSPS members who volunteer to run for office are extremely well-qualified, experienced, and capable of serving the society and the profession well, it is still perplexing that so few NSPS members vote in elections. It was hoped/expected that going to computer-based elections a few ago would result in higher voter participation, but unfortunately that isn't the case. From among the more than 15,000 NSPS members who were directly notified, and information about voting being posted in this newsletter and on the NSPS website, only about 2000 voted in this election. Sadly, that participation level has held steady for several years.
More about this topic will appear in this publication during 2019!
NSPS
For years, climate prognosticators have warned that human-caused global warming is fueling catastrophic sea-level rise, but now climatologist Judith Curry is rocking their boat. In her latest paper "Sea Level and Climate Change," Ms. Curry found that that there is a human-caused component to the problem of sea level rise, but said it has more to do with the earth sinking than the oceans swelling.
"In most of those cases where they're suing, half of the sea-level rise is really from the land sinking, rather than anything that the ocean is doing," she said. "If you look at Galveston and New Orleans, much more than half is caused by sinking. And this comes from geologic processes, it comes from landfills on wetlands."
She cited groundwater withdrawal in the Chesapeake Bay area, which has also caused sinking. "That's really underappreciated, this whole issue of problems with coastal engineering that we've caused that have made things worse," Ms. Curry said.
The NSPS Joint Government Affairs Committee is studying the need for a national subsidence data collection program and an article on the potential need for such a program, authored by NSPS Government Affairs Consultant John Palatiello, appears in the January 2019 issue of P.O.B. magazine.
|
Screen Replacement
Starting from $299
Trimble - TDS Ranger - Carlson - Allegro - Topcon - Leica
TDS Recon $199
Magnetic Locator Repair
Flat Rate $175
Schonstedt - CST Berger Magnatrak - Dunham & Morrow - Subsurface
Battery Charger, Power Supply & GPS Unit Repair
6 Month Warranty 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
1 Day Turnaround - All Makes and Models Serviced
Ship To: Atlas Electronics, Inc
2737 Irving Blvd Dallas TX 75207
Questions? Call Now 214-631-2901
www.SurveyRepairs.com Read More
|
|
|
|
|
|
A surveyor can set up a freestanding GPS antenna pole or prism pole. Poles attach easily through the open clamp. Poles can be loaded through the top Legs. 1-to-1.25-inch outside diameter.
|
|
|
|
|
NSPS
The latest Get Kids Into Survey! Forestry and Civil posters are now available through NSPS! Posters can be ordered at www.getkidsintosurvey.com.
Contact Trish Milburn if you have any questions.
Nadeau Land Surveyors
Read about: "Status of National Flood Insurance Program;" "We Can Work it Out; Avoiding Disasters;" "It's Time to Ditch the Concept of '100-Year Floods;' " "What Flood Maps Mean to you;" Flood Risk and the U.S. Housing Market; "USGS New England Water Science Center-Maine;" "NFIP Terminology: Encroachments" and more. Click here.
 |
|
Land Survey Party Chief needed for high rise construction projects in the Greater Boston Area. MORE
|
|
NSPS
Almost two years into President Trump's term, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) is getting a new director. Dr. Kelvin Droegemeier was confirmed by the Senate as one of its last acts before the end of the 115th Congress. Droegemeier is a renowned meteorologist specializing in severe weather events such as thunderstorms and tornadoes. He has doctorate and master's degree in atmospheric sciences and a bachelor's in meteorology. Currently the Vice President for Research at the University of Oklahoma, he served on the National Science Board, which oversees the National Science Foundation, from 2004-2016, serving as vice-chair for the last four of those years. His biography notes that he "helped pioneer the science of storm-scale numerical weather forecasting." OSTP is involved in issues of interest to surveyors such as STEM workforce development, climate change, Earth observation, and UAS.
NSPS
We apologize to those who attempted to listen to the NSPS Radio Hour on Monday, Jan. 7. A miscommunication kept Host Curt Sumner and his guests from being heard "on air." Those guests will join Curt again soon.
Due to an unexpected schedule conflict for the host, there will be no "live" broadcast on Jan. 14.
Archives for each show are typically available for listening within a few days after the show airs. Staff at the radio station are working diligently to get the archives up to date. To listen to archives of previous shows, visit americaswebradio.com/nsps-radio-hour.
NSPS
The day a new Congress convenes and members take the oath of office is akin to the first day of school. There are office open house receptions, as well as meet and greet and casual networking activities. NSPS Government Affairs Consultant John Palatiello and Federal Lobbyist John "JB" Byrd were on Capitol Hill last week making numerous visits with returning lawmakers and newly elected members of the House and Senate. Among their stops, they met Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA), sponsor of the Protecting Lands Against Narcotics Trafficking (PLANT) Act, to provide resources to help local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies eradicate illegal marijuana growing on public lands, including "contracting to use commercially available aerial imagery, remote sensing, and geospatial data acquisition services."
NSPS
HB 1649, a bill pre-filed for the 2019 General Assembly session in Virginia, would permit, on a statewide basis, for boundaries between counties to be determined by agreement of the counties using GIS maps. The bill provides a generic process for resolving boundary disputes and anomalies between jurisdictions. It takes a process originally enacted to address a situation in Goochland and Louisa counties and amends it to apply to similar situations across the Commonwealth. The Virginia Association of Surveyors (VAS) is reviewing the bill to determine if establishing boundaries based on GIS puts public health, welfare and safety in jeopardy. Such boundary adjustments could affect individual citizens' taxes, healthcare, voting rights, and other government programs, services and rights and a county Geographic Information System (GIS) is not an authoritative source of boundary data, may not be ground-truthed, or of sufficient accuracy for use as a governmental boundary.
xyHt
An international research team used new UAV and GPR technology to locate a lost U.S. airplane 300 feet below the ice in Greenland. The mission's success can be attributed to two factors: testing new unmanned-aerial-vehicle and ground-penetrating radar research technology and a team of skilled experts.
READ MORE
Inside GNSS
Due to the extended impasse between U.S. Congressional leaders and the White House that has created a partial U.S. government shutdown, the Institute of Navigation has decided to postpone the Cognizant Autonomous Systems for Safety Critical Applications Conference scheduled to take place January 28-29, 2019, at the Hyatt Regency Reston in Reston, Virginia.
READ MORE
 |
|
No matter what the future holds, prepare to meet challenges head on. Future-proof your resume by becoming a Certified Survey Technician (CST). This unique four-level certification program indicates official recognition by NSPS that a person can perform surveying tasks at a specific technical level.
Show what you can do! Decide between the field or office track. Visit http://www.cstnsps.com for details.
|
|
Did you know that the CST program is registered as part of the National Apprenticeship Program of the Department of Labor's Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training?
GPS World
3D measurement and imaging company Faro has joined with UAV provider Stormbee to offer an integrated, cost-effective airborne 3D scanning solution designed to quickly gather large area data for crash scene documentation, security pre-planning and military applications.
READ MORE
Directions Magazine
GAF AG, together with e-GEOS, has been awarded a Framework Contract by the European Union Satellite Centre for the provision of satellite-based digital elevation models to support the validation of innovative geospatial tools for SatCen's exploitation activities. These digital elevation models have a resolution of between 0.5 m and 10 m and are generated using a highly automated multi-source production line.
READ MORE
| President, Kim Leavitt (ID) |
Director, Bob Akins (OH) |
| President-Elect, Lisa Van Horn (WI) |
Director, Danny Martinez (NE) |
| Vice President, Mark Sargent (NH) |
Director, Cotton Jones (WY) |
| Immediate Past President, Jan Fokens (MI) |
Director, Thomas Brooks (AL) |
| Treasurer, Bob Miller (PA) |
Executive Director, Curt Sumner (MD) |
| Secretary, Tim Burch (IL) |
|
| | SUSTAINING/CORPORATE MEMBERS |
|
Note: NSPS members may receive calls from MultiView sales associates regarding advertising opportunities in News & Views. MultiView, a partner of NSPS, produces the News & Views newsbrief each week.
|
|
|
|
|
7701 Las Colinas Ridge, Ste. 800, Irving, TX 75063
|
.jpg){kind=logo}
