Urban flooding results in more than $9 billion in damages annually, while federal funding to support stormwater maintenance/upgrades averages about $250 million annually. It’s not surprising that stormwater infrastructure is in bad shape and has earned a grade of “D” from the ASCE.

The United Nations passed a resolution creating this day to celebrate the creative economy, which actually makes a lot of sense, considering the entire world is just beginning to come out of a pandemic that really forced us all to get creative just to do our jobs.

Fortunately, surveyors have made creativity a way of life. It seems like we have a pretty straightforward job – use our tools to verify property lines, monitor structures for movement over time, lay out the lines for construction, etc.

In the US, everybody knows a little bit about the Declaration of Independence. This document was the formal announcement of the split between the Colonies and the British Crown – ultimately creating the United States of America.

Berntsen International, the leader in infrastructure marking solutions, announces that it has earned the Esri Release Ready Specialty status. This designation recognizes companies, products and solutions that integrate with Esri technology and are created by partners with expertise in leveraging Esri solutions and software.

As a surveyor, did you ever have the opportunity to be part of a historic project? Jack Savlan, now of Milwaukee, did. He was one of the surveyors on the original Cadastral Survey of the Navajo Nation that began on June 21, 1982 at the corner of the sections 35 and 36, T24N, R14W, New Mexico Principal Meridian. Jack’s going to take over the blog for today and share this incredible experience.

Just in time for National “Women in Construction Week”, Bertsen’s own Emily Pierce, PLS, CFedS, was asked by Point of Beginning (POB) to provide her response to the question “Is Land Surveying Still a Man’s World?”

Today (February 23) is the festival of Terminalia, named after the Roman god of boundaries, Terminus. Terminus is likely one of the older Roman gods, reportedly introduced by Romulus himself at the founding of Rome.

According to legend, the last king of Rome, Tarquin, AKA Lucius Tarquinius Superbus (534-509 B.C.), sought to leave a legacy to his “superb-ness”, so he decided to reshape Rome with a large-scale building campaign. A key part of this effort was the reconstruction of the Temple of Jupiter on Capitol Hill.

It’s well-known that a number of our presidents were surveyors – Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and even Roosevelt (kind of).

Did you ever wonder how the early surveyors learned how to survey? Many biographies say these men were “self-taught” . . . for Washington and Jefferson, this means they got a copy of “Geodaesia,” the first surveying book created for the New World surveyor.

In 1632, Maryland (governed by the Calvert family) was granted “that part of the Bay of Delaware which Lieth under the Fortieth Degree of North Latitude”. Unfortunately, the fortieth parallel ran right through the middle of Philadelphia, cutting it off from its only harbor. Pennsylvania (governed by the Penn family), didn’t think this was fair, and the case dragged out in English courts for decades. By 1750, a boundary was agreed upon - on paper.

Georg wasn’t always a business owner. Back in 1996, he was working for a company that sold construction products and had the opportunity to see the problems surveyors faced on construction sites, particularly issues with Finished Floor Level (FFL).

He says “Back in early 1996, I visited a good customer on a construction site and observed him scraping off plaster from the wall to search for a pencil line that marked the Finished Floor Level.

I was on the back ridge of maples where a large 30” hemlock stands; the branches were covered with snow – it looked like a Christmas card! Birds were chirping and the tracks of deer, fox and snowshoe rabbits were outlined in the pristine, crunchy snow. An eagle made a slow, silent arc overhead. I couldn’t think of anywhere in the world I’d rather be than on this plot of land in the forest.

Looking back at the start of our nation, there are those that stand out for their singular contributions that laid the foundations of democracy. Surveyors, including Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln, literally set the boundaries of our country and its ideals. Other surveyors made significant and lasting contributions, including Benjamin Bannaker.

Little did I know that dusty old geography would become the one of the most interesting (and explosively-growing) fields in science. Today Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is shaking up the world of geography – and statistics, data analysis, spatial data, modeling, geostatistics, cartography, data integration, GPS – and on and on.­

As any surveyor knows, our nation was built on surveying, with many of our early leaders getting their start as surveyors (Washington, Lincoln and Jefferson, to name a few). Early surveyors laid the essential groundwork for land records that have served us well for many years. Unfortunately, land records in many states are based on original surveys done in the 1800s or even earlier. That’s fine when land remains unchanged for decades . . .

As a member of the Point of Beginning (POB) Advisory Board, I have a unique opportunity to reach out to a larger audience about surveying and geomatics subjects that are of great importance.

One of the most important subjects to me (and to the surveying profession) is letting young people know about our exciting and fulfilling profession.

It’s been a busy fall and I was shocked to see that Thanksgiving is coming up soon – and I am NOT ready!

I was clued into the upcoming holiday season when I received the order form for nuts, popcorn & cheese from the company gift vendor. Everybody likes snacks, but sometimes it’s better to give something less fleeting.

Berntsen International, the leader in infrastructure marking solutions, announced that it has partnered with CHA Integrated Solutions (formerly NovaraGeo Solutions) to provide it’s InfraMarker RFID capability within the Corrivo mobile software platform, delivering Traceable, Verifiable and Complete (TVC) field asset data.

I was chatting the other day with a colleague from my surveying days, Bob Beilfuss, a surveyor from Germantown, Wisconsin. Since I’m now working for Berntsen, Bob shared some of his favorite stories about the Berntsen products he uses. It was an interesting and informative chat, so I asked him to share his stories with you.

More than anyone, surveyors understand the importance of location. We master many types of tools to generate the specific data required for boundary lines, construction grids, laying out developments, creating 3D models of buildings and topography and more.

When I saw “It’s National School Success Month” highlighted in my feed, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

I have kids in high school and elementary school, so normally September is packed with activity to get them set in their routines of getting to class, playing their sports, doing homework and visiting with friends.