This message was sent to ##Email##. To advertise in this publication please click here.

June 10, 2020

TOP NEWS

NSPS Foundation - A Message to Our Surveying Colleagues Robert Dahn, NSPSF Trustee The Trustees of National Society of Professional Surveyors Foundation, Inc. (the Foundation) hope this finds you, your families and your associates, safe and healthy. Over the years the surveying community has repeatedly answered the call of brethren in need, and for that the Foundation is truly thankful. We are blessed to be part of such a generous professional community. READ MORE

Streamlined Forgiveness Process for PPP Loans Francis Thousand, Executive Director, Wisconsin Society of Land Surveyors (WSLS) WSLS was ask by the Wisconsin Bankers Association to join them and other state organizations to express concerns about the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) forms. By email vote, the WSLS Board agreed to sign on to the letter which was sent to the US Small Business Administration and the Wisconsin Congressional delegation. A number of other state associations also added their names to the letter. Other state surveying societies are encouraged to contact their representatives as well.

SPONSORED CONTENT Promoted by EngineerSupply • Enter Survey Tripod Giveaway • [NEW PRODUCT] - FlagShooter • Shop Quality Survey Equipment • How To Use a Total Station • How To Track Underwater Pipes

House Democrats Introduce Highway Bill NSPS The Chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Representative Peter DeFazio (D-OR), last week officially introduced the “Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation in America (INVEST in America) Act” during a pro forma session in the House. The INVEST in America Act, a 5-year, nearly $500 billion investment in our Nation’s infrastructure, is a key component of the “Moving Forward Framework” that House Democrats released earlier this year. After Committee leaders unveiled the bill text on Wednesday, June 3, it is expected that markup for this 864 page bill is expected on June 17. Click here for a summary, fact sheet, section-by-section, and Republican response to the bill.

Congression Pushes Critical Minerals Production NSPS Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), chair of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, and Representative Rob Bishop (R-UT), Ranking Republican on the House Committee on Natural Resources, last week led a bicameral letter of 38 lawmakers (11 Senators and 27 Congressmen) to Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt and Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue encouraging them to finalize rulemakings that will modernize and simplify regulations governing the domestic production of locatable minerals. In 2017, President Trump issued Executive Order 13817, outlining a federal strategy for mineral security. The Department of the Interior (DOI) subsequently finalized a list of 35 critical minerals in mid-2018. In June 2019, the Department of Commerce released a strategy report with 61 recommendations to rebuild the United States’ critical minerals supply chain, including recommendations that DOI and the U.S. Department of Agriculture update and make their regulations as consistent as possible. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the United States imported at least 50 percent of its supply of 46 different nonfuel minerals in 2019, including 100 percent of 17 of them. China, in particular, has consolidated control over the supply chains of many minerals and the technologies they are used to manufacture. NSPS has been emphasizing to key Members of Congress the importance of the USGS 3DEP data to this initiative.

Surveyor Says! Podcast NSPS Episode 31 - 6-10-2020 PodBean Link Today's installment of “Future Focus” features our current NSPS Vice President, Amanda Allred. Amanda shares with host Curt Sumner how she found surveying, working in several different states in a male-dominated profession, and her involvement with the New Mexico Professional Surveyors society and NSPS. READ MORE

PRODUCT SHOWCASE Drone Data Processing for Surveyors Linework professionally drafted from your drone data and delivered in CAD format. Deliverables include: Clean topo surface / TIN Contours Planimetric features Orthophoto Point cloud And more! LEARN MORE

NSPS Cosigns Letter Supporting the NTIA 'Stay' Petition on Ligado NSPS NSPS has been active in another new coalition of organizations opposing the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approval of the Ligado Application. This coalition of nearly 60 organizations last week wrote to the FCC supporting the NTIA Stay Petition on Ligado. The letter states, "The Petition satisfies the four-part test established by the Court of Appeals and applied by the Commission. As the Commission has put it, under this test, a stay is warranted 'when a serious legal question is presented, if little harm will befall others if the stay is granted and denial of the stay would inflict serious harm.' The Petition (as well as the numerous petitions for reconsideration filed against the Ligado Order) demonstrates conclusively that the Order presents serious and unresolved legal and factual questions, that grant of the stay will not harm others, and that a stay is necessary to prevent serious harm arising from harmful interference into mission-critical GPS devices and satellite communications. In short, the public interest strongly favors maintaining the status quo during the pendency of NTIA’s petition for reconsideration, and the Commission should grant the Petition."

Senate Commerce Committee Approves New NOAA Leader NSPS Last month, the Senate Commerce Committee backed the nomination of Neil Jacobs to be Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), despite some lingering concerns by some members. On a voice vote, the committee voted to favorably report the nomination of Jacobs as NOAA head and Undersecretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere. Three members of the committee, Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), formally recorded no votes on the nomination. The ranking member of the committee, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), said she would vote in favor of Jacobs’ nomination, but had reservations. Cantwell said she had wanted the committee to wait until the Commerce Department’s inspector general had completed its investigation into actions during Hurricane Dorian last year, including whether the agency leadership had placed political pressure on forecasters to modify forecasts to align with statements by President Donald Trump. Jacobs appeared before the committee for a confirmation hearing in March, where he did face questions from Cantwell about the agency’s scientific integrity policy. That testimony, though, did not address NOAA’s role in operating weather satellites or its plans for a new weather satellite architecture the agency has been studying. NOAA has been without a Senate-confirmed administrator since the beginning of the Trump administration in January 2017.

PRODUCT SHOWCASES

Measuring today to direct the future ABET Accredited, Comprehensive Curriculum, Transfer programs, Distance Learning, Individualized Instruction, Fast Track Master's Degree, Advanced Technology, Diverse employment opportunities, faculty are Licensed Professional Surveyors with real life experience. LEARN MORE Reach Your Prospects Every Week Thousands of industry professionals subscribe to association news briefs, which allows your company to push messaging directly to their inboxes and take advantage of the association's brand affinity. Connect with Highly Defined Buyers and Maximize Your Brand Exposure LEARN MORE

Why Geospatial Technologies Will Be at Forefront as the World Reopens Geospatial World If “lockdown” was one of the top trends on Google in the past few months, it must be the word “reopening” now. After being brought to a grinding halt since March, the world seems to be getting ready to live with the virus, as it takes baby steps towards reopening. The COVID-19 pandemic has infected about 7 million people globally and killed around 400,000 already, including more than 100,000 deaths in the U.S. alone, according to Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center. READ MORE

Lawmakers Slam DHS for Late, Error-Filled PNT Report GPS World Members of Congress were not pleased with the new U.S. Department of Homeland Security report on positioning, navigation and timing, saying the long-delayed report contained numerous errors and failed to address many of the things Congress had required. On the April 8, DHS submitted to Congress the brief, 26-page report on the nation’s PNT requirements. It took more than three years to produce and was delivered more than two years late. READ MORE

Dangermond: 'We Are Ready For A Shared Geospatial Infrastructure' Point of Beginning Thanks to worldwide geographic information systems, we know the physical makeup of our planet better than ever. But if you think there are no more earthly secrets left to reveal, then you’re not Esri founder, president and CEO Jack Dangermond. Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, Esri has gone above and beyond through its Disaster Response Program to support global initiatives helping to prevent the spread of COVID-19. READ MORE

Continent-Spanning Drive Test Demonstrates Lane-Level Positioning Inside GNSS Swift Navigation has completed a 6,600-mile cross-country drive test measuring the efficacy of its Skylark cloud corrections service and demonstrating nationwide lane-level GNSS correction coverage at the accuracy, reliability and availability levels required by its customers. The drive across 26 states began on November 29, 2019 and ended December 19, 2019, logging 116 hours and 14 minutes with 12 drivers taking turns behind the wheel. READ MORE

Become a Certified Survey Technician (CST) 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 www.cstnsps.com for details.

Celebrating World Oceans Day Sensors & Systems June 8, 2020, was World Oceans Day, which aims to raise awareness in protecting and restoring our oceans and its resources. Earth observing satellites continuously watch over the ocean to monitor and protect our environment. Covering more than 70 percent of Earth’s surface, the oceans are what makes this our “Blue Planet.” Our seas influence the climate, produce the oxygen we breathe, serve as a means of transport and a major source of food and resources. READ MORE

An Aerial/Satellite/UAS Image 'Swap Meet?' xyHt Australian firm Soar has been growing an interactive portal that is like a sophisticated Dropbox-eBay-Google Earth mashup where you can buy multi-platform imagery and maps from global and local resources. And, on Soar, you can post your own aerial and UAS images for resale. They’ve just added access to imagery from the SuperView satellites — 50cm resolution tasked images at $10 per km² and archived for $6 per km² . READ MORE

NSPS EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

President, Mark Sargent (NH) Director, Thomas Brooks (AL) President-Elect, Tim Burch (IL) Director, Bob Neathamer (OR) Vice President, Amanda Allred (WA) Director, Danny Martinez (NE) Treasurer, Bob Miller (PA) Director, Matt Morris (MT) Secretary, Craig Amey (MI) Executive Director, Curt Sumner (MD) Immediate Past President, Lisa Van Horn (WI)

SUSTAINING MEMBERS

For Engineers, Surveyors, Planners! @Sincpac-C3D Sincpac-C3D provides 150+ useful tools for Autodesk® Civil-3D. Points, Drafting, & Power modules available. MORE INFO Promoted by Quux Software Level 3 @Level3 Our network services can handle even the most complex demands, easily and affordably. MORE INFO Promoted by Level 3 CenturyLink Business @CenturyLinkEnt CenturyLink is committed to the communication missions of your industry sector. MORE INFO Promoted by CenturyLink

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.

News & Views   Connect with NSPS Colby Horton, EVP, Publishing, 972-402-7001 | Download media kit Dennis Hall, Executive Editor, 469-420-2656 | Contribute news National Society of Professional Surveyors 5119 Pegasus Court, Suite Q | Frederick, MD 21704 | 240-439-4615 | Contact Us Click here to unsubscribe. Learn how to add us to your safe sender list so our emails get to your inbox. ADVERTISE SUBSCRIBE PAST ISSUES 7701 Las Colinas Ridge, Ste. 800, Irving, TX, 75063