land surveyors’ association of washington • washington ... · land surveyors’ association of...

EvErgrEEn StatE

Land SurveyorS’ aSSociation of WaShington • Washington State Section of american congreSS on Surveying & mapping

Volume 32 Number 1 Spring 2008

Surveyor

In this issue:Surveyor of the Year 2008 Conference RECAP 2007 Year in Review

NORTHWEST

SNOHOMISH

SOUTHWEST

LOWER COLUMBIA

NORTHCENTRAL

NORTHEAST

INLAND EMPIRE

NORTH OLYMPIC

SOUTHPUGET

SOUND

NORTHPUGETSOUND

CASCADECOLUMBIA SOUTH

CENTRAL

Success

kukrank_Mar08_wa_ad.ai 138.00 lpi 45.00° 3/25/2008 2:59:02 PMProcess Black

Spring 2008 Evergreen State Surveyor �

President................................................. Ben.PetersenPresident.Elect.......................................Scott.ThomasVice.President.............. Michael.(Mick).Sprouffske,.Jr.

Secretary-Treasurer............................... Bryan.Thorp.Past.President.................................................Jim.MainExecutive.Director................................Anne.Koenen

Cascade Columbia.Richard.L.Wehr.......................................................(509).575-6990Inland Empire.Jon.A.Gordon..........................................................(509).893-2617Lower Columbia.Howard.S.Richardson...........................................(360).695-1385North Central.Shawn.P.Fitzpatrick................................................(509).782-2441Northeast John.M..Shackelford.................................................. 509.925.0941North Olympic.Brad.R.Lymangrover..............................................(360).417-0501

LSAW ChApterS & 2008 preSidentSNorth Puget Sound.Seth.D.O’Hare........................................................(425).483-5355Northwest Adam.J.Nelson.......................................................... 360.671.7387

South Central.Peter.H.Kowatsch..................................................(509).374-4248Snohomish.Phillip.T.Abenroth...................................................(425).869-9448South Puget Sound.Daniel.R.Price.........................................................(253).875-8075Southwest Steven.B.Ivey.............................................................. 360.918.5312

Land Surveyors’ Association of Washington (LSAW)

Address.all.correspondence.for.LSAW.to:.Land Surveyors’ Association of Washington.

424.205th.N.E..•.Sammamish,.WA.98074-6942.Phone:.425/868-0200. Fax:.425/868-1771. e-mail:[email protected].

Homepage:.http://www.lsaw.org

Address.all.material.for.magazine.to:.Editor/Publisher:.Aaron.B..Blaisdell.

Evergreen State Surveyor.PO.Box.110700.•.Tacoma,.WA.98411.

Phone:.253/404-0983. Fax:.253/404-0984.. e-mail:[email protected]

Washington State Section, American Congress on Surveying and Mapping (WSS/ACSM)Chairman:......................................................................Gary.GervelisVice.Chair............................................................................Tim.LeachSecretary:....................................................................... Hugh.Nelson

Treasurer:....................................................................... Julie.MorlandPast.Chair.....................................................................David.George

Address.all.correspondence.for.ASCM.to:WSS/ACSM.

P.O..Box.372.•.Bellevue,.WA.98009-0372.•.www.wss-acsm.org

LSAW AUXILIARYPresident,.Delores.Demeyer..................................... 360-410-1973Vice.President,.Lucille.McGinnis............................... 360-871-3000Secretary,.Donna.Garland.......................................... 253-638-6252

Treasurer,.Maxine.Cray............................................... 360-675-1196Scholarships,.Vicky.Thalacker..................................... 360-378-4578

Opinions.expressed.by.individual.writers.are.not.necessarily.endorsed.by.the.officers.or.board.of.LSAW,.the.officers.or.board.of.WSS/ACSM,.or.the.editor.of.this.publication..Articles.may.be.reprinted.with.due.credit.given.to.the.author.unless.otherwise.indicated.at.the.beginning.of.the.article.

We.request.all.ads.and.material.(graphics,.fonts,.etc.).be.furnished.on.a.CD.or.emailed.in.a..doc,..pdf,..eps.or..tiff.format..We.readily.process.materials.created.in.Adobe.Pagemaker,.Illustrator,.Freehand,.Photoshop,.Microsoft.Publisher,.Microsoft.Word.

Advertising PolicyThe.magazine.is.published.quarterly.by.LSAW.and.accepts.advertising..Ads.should.be.page-ready.copy.for.photo-offset.printing..The.rates.are.as.follows:

Size Yearly Single IssueFull.Page....................... $466.Gray.Scale,.$885.Full.Color. $148.Gray.Scale,.$250.Full.ColorHalf.Page...................... $326.Gray.Scale,.$620.Full.Color. $104.Gray.Scale,.$175.Full.ColorQuarter.Page.............. $163.Gray.Scale,.$310.Full.Color. $52.Gray.Scale,.$88.Full.ColorDeadlines.for.material.and.advertising.are.one.week.after.each.Board.of.Trustees.(BOT).meeting.(see.the.calendar.on.back.cover.for.those.dates)..Running.an.ad.does.not.imply.endorsement.of.the.advertiser.by.LSAW.or.ACSM..The.editor.reserves.the.right.to.not.accept.ads.or.other.material.which.may.be.in.poor.taste.or.conflict.with.the.policies.of.LSAW..Courtesy.copies.are.traded.with.other.state.and.provincial.organizations.

Layout and graphics in this publication are largely from Kellie Ham Type&Graphics, 253-843-9436. Printed by Doyle Printing, 253-531-7087.

Table of Contents

From the President ...........................3

From the Editor ..................................4

Highlights of the LSAW Board of Trustees Meeting March 8, 2008 ............5–7

2008 LSAW Auxiliary Conference Highlights ......................10

2007 LSAW Surveyor & Associate Surveyor of the Year ...........................11

Old Time Survey Campout............... 12–13

Conference 2008 ........................ 14–15

2008 Land Surveyors’ Association of Washington Representatives . 16–17

And Much More…

ABOUT THE COVER:Site of the 2008 ACSM/LSAW Conference City of Spokane aerial view, Loof Carrousel and Riverfront Park - photo courtesy of Alan Bissons and furnished by Spokane Region-al Convention and Visitor’s Bureau

2 Evergreen State Surveyor Spring 2008


IIf we could take the pulse of our association we’d find it beating at a strong and steady pace. Notwithstanding some gradual build

up of political and jurisdictional plaque, we’re in pretty good shape. Thank you very much.

Yes, these are exciting times for LSAW. Much is right.

Surveyors across the state are waking up to the value of LSAW. During just the past two years we have seen a 40% jump in our membership. Is it continuing education? Most of new mem-bers are non-licensed associates. Maybe it’s our offerings of affordable and interesting seminars and conferences? Maybe our members really do appreciate our constant oversight of state and local legislation, and input at the federal level. LSAW is a watchdog for your interests.

Our association is also helping to secure the future of our profession. Satisfyingly, the seeds of our Outreach program are beginning to bear fruit. One of our CORSE-sponsored teachers

from several y e a r s a g o has started a high school g e o m a t i c s program. His students are getting ex-cited about maps, navi-gation and surveying. To make it m o r e f u n and useful, we provided h a n d - h e l d GPS units. T h e k i d s can’t seem to get enough “gee -whiz” e l e c t ro n i c gadgets with t o o s m a l l keys.

T h i s y e a r we’ll be spon-s o r i n g 1 5 teachers to the now re-named TwiST ( Te a c h i n g with Spatial

From thE PrESidEntBy.Ben.Petersen,.President

Technology) program. Thank you for all the chapter donations that are helping to make this possible. Maybe next year we’ll see several high school geomatic programs. Our strategy of “get ‘em while they’re young” seems to working. When they graduate, thanks to Jon Purnell, they’ll have yet another option to continue that interest as South Puget Sound Community College begins it’s new Geomatics program. We are nurturing the help we need and the future of our profession.

To keep the momentum going Phil Abenroth, Jr. has resurrected our Membership Commit-tee. The committee is tasked with recruiting new members and emphasizing our benefits to existing members. They are challenged with taking our message to the many always-hard-to-reach, behind-the scenes technical personnel who may never have heard of LSAW or why they would benefit from membership.

Jim Main, Past-President will be leading the charge on our new Monument Preservation committee. Let’s face it: The current law simply doesn’t work. Survey monuments are disap-pearing at an alarming rate and driving up the cost of resurveys (wait; is that a bad thing?). How did we manage to let government agen-cies delegate their responsibility for preserving monuments to those least knowledgeable and least interested – construction contractors?

To help us make more informed decisions, our new Demographics committee will be polling and collecting data on our members and their opinions. We need to know what you are doing and what you think. You will soon be receiving a monthly summary of LSAW activities and is-sues, and be given the chance to express your views. We want to know.

Your LSAW is moving forward on multiple fronts and opening the lines of communications to our most important asset – YOU. In today’s world of I-Phones, instant messaging and e-mail, it seems like we keep trying to invent ways to avoid talking with each other. Let’s not follow the pack, Tell us what you think; what you want; where you want us to go (be nice!).

It is my honor to be your President this year. I need your help and your input.

� Evergreen State Surveyor Spring 2008

From thE EditorBy.Aaron.Blaisdell,.PLS,.Editor

Whew! Was that the most spectacular conference yet?? From the moment that I stepped foot from the car, I was

overwhelmed. The 2008 Joint Conference of the LSAW and ACSM was, without a doubt, a class act. I applaud the entire group of orga-nizers and “worker bees” that came together at the Spokane Convention Center. Without ever being involved in organizing the speak-ers, celebrations, and overall program, one might think that anyone can do it. Actually, the conference organizers look years ahead to plan and execute right down to the small-est detail. They begin the negotiations and planning well in advance. I believe after last year’s conference (2007), the organizers were planning the next day for the 2008 conference. My hat’s off to the group.

During the past few months, we have been feeling a little tightening of belts. This has been mainly because of the recent housing market downturn. For some, the worst is in the past and for others, it will be here soon. However; those surveyors of who developed a diverse and open marketing plan, will continue to thrive despite any slow down. Surveyors around the country have definitely arrived at

a crossroad. We can continue along the same path or we can diverge from the norm and provide an expertise to markets like never before. Our instrumentation and technology have evolved in past years to now utilize digital photography. We certainly need to utilize these instruments and technology. More importantly though, we need to utilize our expertise and the knowledge that we gain from conferences to better serve our clients and public. We need to take this knowledge and “spread out”. We still need to educate property owners of the practice of land surveying; however, we also need to educate municipalities and those in government to surveying, as well. We need to open our minds and our involvement to the government planning and legislative process. Why now? My answer is quite simply; it’s time. Get involved in the process.

I welcome you to the Spring Issue of the Ever-green State Surveyor. Within these pages, you will read informative articles and learn about the future focus of the LSAW organization. You also will see photos from the recent conference in Spokane. It was at this conference that our own Pat Beehler became the President of our highest national surveying organization; the National So-ciety of Professional Surveyors. Get Involved!

Enjoy!

PLEASE PAY YOUR DUES and JOIN N.S.P.S.


highlightS oF thE lSAW BoArd oF truStEES mEEting mArch 8, 2008Respectfully.submitted.by.Anne.Koenen,.Executive.Director—LSAW

President Ben Petersen called the meeting to order.

Introduction of Special Guests

Installation of New Chapter Presidents: Ben administered the oath of office to the new Chapter Presidents and distributed officer title-bars.

Roll Call – Self Introductions – Sign Consent form: Trustees introduced themselves to the group, and signed the Conflict of Interest/Anti-Trust/Electronic Transmission agreement form.

Approval of Minutes: By MO 2008-03 it was MSP to approve the minutes of the last meet-ing as published.

President’s rePort

Pres. Petersen announced that he intends to forward to all members a monthly one page “What we’re doing”-type newsletter to keep everyone informed.

In conjunction with the monthly newsletter, our new Demographics chair, Vic Banks, will send out a one-question poll via email. We want to find out what our members want and how they feel. Poll results to be published in each Evergreen State Surveyor

A new Membership-Recruiting committee will also investigate ideas on how to pro-mote ourselves to non-members; and how to retain the ones we have. How do we at-tract the unlicensed folks in the surveying

field (CAD-drafters, field personnel etc) and make them want to join LSAW when we don’t have their names? Often the field employees don’t have email at their offices. Would party chief and advanced CAD classes – (not just classes for LSITs) attract them?

Monument Preservation Committee – Ben has appointed Past-President Jim Main to chair a new Monument Preservation Committee. Please email Jim Main if you’d like to be part of this committee. We’d also like to get contractor and utility company perspectives.

oLd BUsiness

Professional Affiliate – Bylaws Regulations proposal: By MO 2008-04 it was unanimously MSP to approve the proposed by-law change as included in the BOT packet.

Railroad abandonment – monumentation issues: Bill Glassey distributed a new report at the meet-ing which contains the newest NSPS Committee approved language. By MO 2008-05 it was MSP that the BOT support NSPS efforts toward Rail-road Monumentation legislation in concept and LSAW will draft a letter of support.

TwiST: Pres. Petersen explained to the Board that for several years we’ve been sending school teachers to Auburn, NY for Council on Remote Sensing Education (CORSE). We are starting to see a return on that investment when Bonney Lake HS set up the first high school geospatial program in WA. As an ex-periment LSAW provided handheld GPS units

(Continued.on.page.6)

“We want to find out what our members want and feel.”

� Evergreen State Surveyor Spring 2008

for the program. The program has since been re-named “Teaching with Spatial Technology” (TwiST). Begin-ning this year Oregon Institute of Technology (OIT) will offer the same program this summer in Salem, OR. LSAW budgeted for 10 teachers in 2008, but has 15 requests from teach-ers who would like to attend. To date five [LC, NPS, NW, SC and SW] chapters have committed money to fund the teachers. We are approxi-mately $6,600 short of sending all 15. Ben appealed to the chapters to provide additional funding. [Note: SNO Chapter donated $1,500.00 just after the conference. NC Chapter do-nated $1,000.00 and challenges the rest of the chapters to meet or beat that amount.] We still need $4,100.00 pledged within 4 weeks - by April 5th. Ben will send out a reminder. As part of the discussion Bryan Thorp offered that LSAW might be able to set up a “bank” of GPS units surplused by government agencies and distribute them as needed.

Standardized Certificate for all LSAW Pro-grams: Action postponed until the State Con-ference Committee has more time to evaluate the items.

neW BUsiness

Fall Seminar Financial Report: By MO 2008 06 it was MSP to approve the Financial report as submitted in meeting packets.

Reconstitute Update Def Committee: Pres. Petersen reported on Motion 2008-02 passed at the Annual Meeting to re-form the Committee and re-titled it the Update Definition Commit-tee. Original members who are reappointed are John Thomas, Pat Beehler, Aaron Blaisdell, Bill Glassey and Chairman Jim Wengler. Pres. Petersen directs the committee to add some additional fresh faces to their group including some devils advocates. He also noted that the White Paper is many years old and will need to

be updated considering what else has happened across the country in the meantime; who were the opponents of our last effort, why they were opposed; and what we are doing to mitigate their concerns etc. We’re aiming to have something ready for the 2009 legislative session. There may not be enough time, for the committee to accomplish all this, but we can try. Depending on the committee’s progress, the LSAW BOT will make the decision to, delay or go forward, at the November BOT meeting. Ben has chal-lenged the committee proponents to convince the committee skeptics of the merits of moving forward with an updated definition.

exComm Actions: X2007-07 – Proposed Verbiage for NSPS Railroad Abandonment – Voted Yes X2007-08 – Approve Lands’ End Business Outfitters program – Voted Yes X2008-01 – Approve signing of 2009 Confer-ence Contract w/Tacoma Hotel Murano (nee Sheraton) Voted Yes: By MO 2008-07 it was MSP to approve the Executive Committee actions listed.

exec. report: In packet. Trustees are re-minded how important it is to report Board activity back to their chapters. Trustees should ALWAYS bring and discuss the quarterly Action List at their chapter meetings to get meaning-ful member opinions.

Highlights (continued)


“…Motion 2008-02 – Reconstitute the Update Definition Committee…passed”


state Conference Committee Financial report: In packet. By MO 2008-08 it was MSP to accept the report as presented.

Correspondence: A letter regarding the Updated Definition was received from member Robert Dean just prior to the BOT meeting. President Petersen directed the Update Definition committee to carefully consider its suggestions.

Good oF tHe order:

Bill Glassey reported that the NSPS Board of Directors, meeting concurrently (upstairs), had approved the Railroad Abandon-ment Monumentation proposed verbiage and it will now be sent to the NSPS Government Affairs committee.

Past-President Main distributed mouse pads as “thank” you gifts to the 2007 trustees and committee chairs.

LSAW Foundation Committee: The Foundation is now incorpo-rated, and has adopted bylaws. Their next step is to apply for and get a 501 (c) 3 designation from IRS. Their elected officers are John Thalacker, Chair; Ken Swindaman Vice-Chair, and Walt Dale Secretary-Treasurer.

The Board congratulated Ben Petersen on his Surveyor of the Year award.

There is preliminary interest and discussion of co-hosting a Tri-State (or even quad state) conference in 2011 possibly with either or both ACSM and WFPS.

South Puget Sound Community College in Olympia is starting up a geomatics program due to open in September 2008. They are looking for a professor for the program.

At 12:52 the meeting was adjourned. .

Highlights (continued)

Member Totals by Chapter


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WhErE And WhEn??lASt iSSuE“Who am I? – Answer: Will Webb and Warren Ferguson at the 1962 LSAW Picnic in Edmonds, WA”

millPointEr, roBErt F. mAy �, ��2�–FEBruAry �8, 2008

Robert F. MILLPOINTER was born and raised in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. Preceded in death by wife Elaine (Kolman). Survived by four children: David Millpointer, Craig Millpointer, Andrea Eastman and Pat Corra; and three grandchildren: Charlie Eastman,

Leah Corra and Carson Corra. Bob served in WWII with the 10th Mtn. Division in the Aleutian Islands and Northern Italy from 1942-1945. Received the purple heart and the bronze star. Bob attended the University Of Wisconsin College Of Agriculture and earned a Bachelor of Science from the University of Washington college of Forestry in 1955. He worked for timber compa-nies as a Logging Engineer until 1965 when he started his own business as a professional land surveyor and worked at that profession until 2007. He was a president of the local chapter of the American Congress of Mapping and Surveying and a life member of the Land Surveyors

Association of Washington. He spent weekends in the foothills and mountains of King, Pierce and Kittitas Counties, retracing the old government cadastral surveys of 1860. His reward was being in the forests of the Northwest and finding and monumenting

lost section corners. He resided in the Bellevue area of King County since 1956. At his request there will be no Memorial Service. Remembrances to the American Cancer Society.

Published in print from 3/2/2008 - 3/3/2008.

�0 Evergreen State Surveyor Spring 2008

The 2008 LSAW and ACSM annual confer-ence was held at the Spokane Conven-tion Center, March 4-9. The Auxiliary

and guests enjoyed several activities including morning “meet and greet” continental break-fasts, a tour of Spokane’s historical district and points of interest, and lunch at the Glover Mansion, as well as a visit to the Museum of Arts and Culture. Our silent auction at the general meeting raised $200 for use in next year’s Auxiliary activities. Mary Tom, from Snowflake, AZ, and Cindy Berselli, from VA, won the door prizes.

The Auxiliary raised approximately $1500 for the 2008 Auxiliary Scholarship Fund by a raffle of a hand-carved wooden old-time surveyor, by artist, Elmar Schultes. The lucky winner of this raffle was Jerry Juarez, from Reno, NV. The Auxiliary presented six $1,150 college

2008 lSAW AuxiliAry conFErEncE highlightSSubmitted.by.Lucille.McGinnis,.Vice-President

scholarships to future Washington surveyors this year.

The following officers were elected to serve on the Auxiliary Board for 2008: President, Delores DeMeyer; Vice President, Lucille McGinnis; Secretary, Donna Garland; Trea-surer, Maxine Cray; Scholarship Chair, Vicky Thalacker.

The 2009 LSAW Conference will be held in Tacoma March 4-7, at the Hotel Murano. The Auxiliary is already planning social activites for that event. Everyone is welcome. Mem-bership in the Auxiliary is not required. We hope and plan for everyone to have fun. If you have any suggestions or ideas for things to do in Tacoma, or questions regarding the LSAW Auxiliary, please contact Delores DeMeyer, (360) 410-1973.

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2008 WA April 3/13/08 2:35 PM Page 1

Spring 2008 Evergreen State Surveyor ��

200� lSAW SurVEyor oF thE yEAr— BEn PEtErSEn, PlS

Ben is a licensed professional land sur-veyor in the State of Washington and Oregon with over 35 years of surveying

and mapping experience in the Pacific North-west. He falsely claims to have started when he was 2 years old.

Beginning with a high school survey class (yes, they actually had one), and some brief stops in forestry and construction, he rose to become the Survey Division Manager for several large surveying/engineering firms where he man-aged the surveying efforts for such notable and technically challenging projects as the West Se-attle Bridge, Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel and numerous dam and tunnel projects.

Ben has been a member of the Land Surveyors’ Association of Washington since 1978. He is a member of the National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS), the LSAW Board of Trustees, and the LSAW Executive Committee and is the current State President-Elect. His meetings as President of the North Puget Sound chapter are fondly remembered as lively, well-attended affairs with interesting presentations, survey contests and This Day in History. His organi-zation of the 2nd Great Pacific Northwest GPS Seminar generated over $16,000 in funding for LSAW and the Renton Technical College surveying program.

Ben has contributed back to his profession with published articles and frequently shares his many unique surveying experiences and ex-

pertise on tunneling, deformation monitoring, survey software, and survey laws at surveying seminars, conferences and chapter meetings. He helped develop and has presented “A Ba-sic Introduction to Surveying” for non-survey groups, and in 2005 presented at the one of the world’s premier tunneling conferences. He has served as an expert on deformation to many public agencies and been actively involved with the deformation surveys branch of the

International Federation of Surveyors (FIG) for years. He instructs annually at the NPS chap-ters’ Career Advancement Program (CAP).

As LSAW’s State Meeting Chairperson, he has applied his extensive business and orga-nizational skills to the benefit of our annual conference, educational seminars and charity events, producing over $250,000 for LSAW and student scholarships in just the past 5 years. His chairmanship of our first State-run annual conference in 2007 set records for attendance, proceeds and accolades. He is working closely with ACSM to make next years’ joint confer-ence in Spokane equally successful.

He is the co-owner and Director of Surveys for PLS, Inc., a busy surveying firm in Issaquah, Washington, and a consistent sponsor of stu-dent scholarship events. For his pro-active leadership role on many survey issues, and continuing contributions to his profession and association, Ben has twice been recognized with LSAWs’ Award of Merit.

200� lSAW ASSociAtE SurVEyor oF thE yEAr—tom ginSBurg

Tom is the LSAW’s South Puget Sound Chapter program chair. He is respon-sible for scheduling, and contacting

speakers for the monthly chapter meetings. He served on the 2007 LSAW conference committee and was in charge of creating the LSAW passport book. During the conference Tom always had a positive attitude and kept the conference committee members laughing. Some of you may have enjoyed his humor while he introduced speakers.

Tom and his wife Bianca live in Tacoma. He

has a BS in Anthropology from the University of Pittsburgh and has completed the two year Land Surveying program at Bates Technical College in Tacoma. He is employed at CES NW INC in Fife. He likes to spend is off time jogging, hiking and kayaking.

Tom’s positive attitude has helped him perse-vere over personal health issues the past two years. Tom is a future bright star for our orga-nization is worthy of recognition as Associate of the Year.


old timE SurVEy cAmPout By.Amanda.Askren,.LSIT.-.Campout.Coordinator

When Gary Letzring took over as president of South Puget Sound Chapter in

2006, he came with the idea to bring the surveying community together, while honoring the history of our past surveyors at the same time. He had a vision to have a weekend where as surveyors we could enjoy each other’s company and be able bring our families along. His vision developed into what we now call Old Time Survey Campout through the support of the volunteers and members of our chapter.

Last year the South Puget Sound Chapter held the 2nd Annual Old Time Survey Campout at the beautiful Alder Lake Group Campsite. Despite the rain and the chilly weather, we had a great turnout.

The majority of the campers showed up Friday night to claim their spot and get the campfires burning. It was a great op-portunity to meet everyone that evening and begin the weekend together. There was much late night discussion around the campfire.

Not everyone is a camper, so there were some who chose to join us on Saturday for the games, BBQ dinner, and fun. We held a Map and Compass competition along with

distance guesstimation competition. The angle turning competition was by far the most popular of the day for the adults. I do have to admit that it was a non-surveyor that won that competition. Prizes were awarded for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in all the competitions. The cribbage tournament also was quite popular and went well into the evening. As for the kids, they were busy all day as well. We created a treasure hunt with clues spread out around the campsite for them to follow. Throwing the Frisbee for all the dogs seemed to occupy the rest of their time in the campsite.


“2008 Old-Time Survey Campout is scheduled for July 18-20”


The South Puget Sound Chapter supplied the BBQ dinner for everyone. And yes, the BBQ grill does look like a train. Everyone ate to their hearts content at the BBQ and the potluck dinner. From the dinner, we then retreated to a fire pit to talk and debate the night away. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and was able to relax, kick up their feet, and have some good conversation. Gary’s Famous Apple Pie was also a big hit with the crowd and it seemed to go down quickly.

On Sunday morning, the South Puget Sound Chap-ter provided a Pancake Breakfast. It was quite a breakfast with eggs, breakfast burritos, sausage, ba-con, hash browns, muffins, and cereal. I would like to thank the people that made that possible. We all needed that breakfast after a night by the campfire. Thank you Desi, Charlie, and Derek for cooking!

We also held a raffle to raise money for our chapter’s scholarship efforts. We could not have been as successful without the support of our donors. We would like to thank the donors from last year’s event: Bianca Beads, Apex Engineer-ing, Baseline Engineering, Gary Letzring, Sitts & Hill Engineers, Papa Murphys, Prizm, Hugh Nelson, Geoline, Dave Berg, LSAW Conference Committee, PPI, and Jeff Webster. The prizes ranged anywhere from a new Garmin Handheld GPS unit, free Papa Murphys pizza, Mariners tick-ets, PPI yo-yo, and assorted camping gear. It was a great haul for everyone that attended! We were able to raise over $1000 throughout the event for the scholarship fund. Our chapter continues to support yearly the Renton Technical College Dave Elser Scholarship, Renton Technical Col-lege Foundation, LSAW Auxiliary Fund, Trig Star, CORS Fund, LSAW Foundation, PPI Scholarship

Fund, while still trying to support local student fees for dinners and conventions. Our chapter budgets over $8,000 per year towards our educa-tion scholarship fund.

During one of the many conversations late into the night around the campfire, we decided to host the 2008 Old Time Survey Campout at Alder Lake Group Campsite again. This year’s campout will take place July 18th through July 20th. There are 20 full hookups, plenty of tent camping, showers, bathrooms, fire pits, and a large picnic shelter. Alder Lake has much to offer as well, such as boating, hiking, site seeing, swimming, bird watching, and of course fishing. We have started the planning for the games, competi-tions, the raffle, and other possible events for the upcoming event. Of course, we will also host a cribbage tournament. This year the South Puget Sound Chapter has paid for the campsite for the weekend out of our general funds. What this means to you, is that the fees will be lower this year. The fee will cover the BBQ meat and all of the rest of money will go towards our fund raising efforts for our Survey Education Fund. With all of that being said, we hope that you will make an effort to attend this year’s Survey Campout either for the whole weekend or just the day. We look forward to seeing you there!

Information and registration forms will be avail-able on our website, www.lsawspsc.org.

If you have any questions about the event, raffle do-nations or wish to reserve your space, please contact Amanda Askren at [email protected] or Desirae Harpel at [email protected].

old time survey Campout (continued)

“We also held a raffle to raise money for our chapter’s scholarship efforts.”

�� Evergreen State Surveyor Spring 2008

Conference 2008Confere


Conference 2008Confere


2008 lAnd SurVEyorS’ ASSociAtion oF WAShington rEPrESEntAtiVES

Ben Petersen, President

Scott Thomas, President-Elect

Mick Sprouffske, Jr., Vice President

Bryan Thorp, Secretary-Tresurer

lSAW chAPtErS & PrESidEntS Howard Richardson

Steven Ivey

Daniel Price

Brad Lymangrover

Phillip Abenroth

Lower Columbia

North Olympic

North Puget Sound

Northwest

Snohomish

South Puget Sound

Southwest

Adam Nelson

Cascade Columbia

North Central

Richard Wehr (not pictured)

Seth D O’Hare (not pictured)


2008 lAnd SurVEyorS’ ASSociAtion oF WAShington rEPrESEntAtiVES

Lower Columbia

Mike Mickiewicz, PLS - State Delegate

Jim Main, Past President

John Gordon

Washington State Section Gary Gervelis, PLS - Chairman

Anne Koenen, Executive Director

Adam Nelson

John Shackelford

Cascade Columbia

Inland Empire

North Central

Northeast

South Central

Richard Wehr (not pictured)Peter Kowatsch

Shawn Fitzpatrick

Seth D O’Hare (not pictured)

R. William “Bill” Glassey, PLS - NSPS Governor


WhAt hAS lSAW donE For you? 200� lSAW AccomPliShmEntSRespectfully.submitted,.Mick.Sprouffske,.PLS.2007.LSAW.Secretary/Treasurer

The members and officers of the Land Surveyor’s Association of Washington have once again worked diligently to

represent and promote the current and future land surveyors’ of Washington State. The fol-lowing is a summary of accomplishments and activities for 2007:

Legislative Watch:

AELC (Architects & Engineers Legislative Council) – Lobbyist: LSAW continues to provide funding for AELC Lobbyist Cliff Webster to keep a watch on proposed legislation pertinent

to land surveyors.

A Commitment to educa-tion & training:

Support of WA College Survey-ing Programs: Our members continue to support and fund surveying programs through-out the state. There are two new Community College programs developed in 2007, Clark College in Vancouver and South Puget Sound Com-munity College in Olympia. Both of these programs were developed with the help of LSAW members.

Survey Career Outreach: Sur-vey Career Outreach Program

is a LSAW Statewide program offering teachers, counselors and school career centers a way to introduce land surveying as a viable career.

LSAW 2007 Refresher Courses: The North Puget Sound, North Olympic and Southwest/South Puget Sound chapters provided Refresher

Courses for their members and employees.

TWIST: TWIST, formerly known as the CORSE pro-gram, continues to get finan-cial support from Chapters throughout the State so Wash-ington teachers can attend and bring back valuable geo-graphic and mapping skills to teach their students via the annual “Teaching With Spa-tial Technology course”.

LSAW Seminars: Chapter

sponsored seminars are available in the spring, summer and fall. One of these seminars is free for LSAW members and an enticement for new members to join LSAW for the cost of the seminar.

LSAW Chapter Mini Seminars: Many chapters hold mini-seminars in conjunction with their monthly meeting, providing interesting and valuable information to their members as well as some entertainment.

TrigStar: LSAW chapters across the State con-tinue to promote and administer this valuable program designed to spark high school student interest in math, surveying and mapping.

Your state LsAW At Work for You:

Evergreen State Surveyor (ESS): 2007 marked the 31st volume of the ESS and a change of Editors. The ESS continues to provide educa-tional, amusing and informative articles to the membership. A big thank you to Editor Aaron Blaisdell for the time he invested and to those members that continue to contribute articles during the year.

LSAW Board of Trustees: Dedicated members from chapters throughout the State volunteer their Saturdays four times a year to plan, dis-cuss and debate issues of concern to Washing-ton State land surveyors.

Membership: Your LSAW membership contin-ues to grow. We are nearing 1,400 members and associates. Congratulations and thank you for joining and participating.

www.LSAW.org – Website: The Website con-tinues to provide our members and the public with vital information about LSAW, upcoming activities, seminars, contacts and choosing a land surveyor.

Annual Conference: The 2007 Licensed To Sur-vey Conference in Tacoma was a first rate confer-ence and the first conference put on by the State Conference Committee. With 968 in attendance this was a record. Congratulations to the State Conference Committee, what a success.

LSAW Reference Manual: Want to keep current with the laws of our state? Laws change and it’s our responsibility to keep current. The latest update is now available to all members and can


“Your LSAW membership continues to grow…”

Spring 2008 Evergreen State Surveyor 2�

be ordered on the State LSAW website. Without the LSAW, who would provide this service?

Honoring our own:

Surveyor and Associate of the Year: For their many years of service and dedication to the profession, the LSAW was proud to honor James Wengler, PLS as Surveyor of the Year and Erin Dunbar as the Associate of the Year.

Your Local Chapters At Work for You:

At monthly meetings throughout the state, chap-ters bring in interesting and educational speak-ers for the benefit of their members, discuss and solicit member feedback regarding many of the current issues affecting the industry, honor their new 25-Yr. and Life members, support survey-ing students throughout Washington, provide educational opportunities for their members, and host LSAW meetings and seminars. They are the backbone of our organization.

dnr survey Advisory Board:

All of the members of the DNR Survey Advisory BOARD are LSAW members. Each Board mem-ber usually serves two five-year terms advising the DNR regarding proposed rules, laws and guidelines for surveyors across the State.

Survey Monument Destruction: DNR staff filed a CR 101 with the Code Revisers Office to propose rule changes to WAC 332-120. The pro-posed changes include updating the Application for “A Permit to Remove or Destroy a Survey Monument” and providing an optional method to the Permit. LSAW continues to assist DNR in raising the level of awareness regarding the need of preservation of survey monuments.

The Spatial Reference Center of Washington (SRCW): The SRCW continues to secure Feder-al funding for CORS (Continuously Operating Remote Stations) and Height Modernization in the State of Washington. Current funding allows for the operation of the SRCW through fiscal year 2009. In February the SRCW con-ducted a one day free seminar, The New Util-ity: Navigation-Location-Timing, in Tumwater. Current precision leveling and CORS efforts by the SRCW and their contractors are taking place in the Southeast part of the State. Without

the dedication of a few members this would not be a reality.

WA Board of registration (Bor):

LSAW representative Jim Wengler, contin-ues to monitor & report on Board activities. Throughout the year LSAW provided valuable input to the Board regarding proposed rules and regulations.

BOR Proposes changes to WAC 196-23: The proposed changes are the elimination of the expiration date from the Seal/Stamp and Seal/Stamp usage.

other Activities:

LSAW Foundation: New in 2007, this is a 501 (c) (3) LSAW scholarship foundation. Some of the purposes of the foundation are: 1) Pro-mote education in the field of surveying. 2) Provide scholarships for the field of surveying. 3) Conduct and support educational programs. 4) Publish or support the publishing of literary works on surveying.

LSAW Auxiliary: Chapters and members through-out the State generously donate items to the Aux-iliary’s annual Student Scholarship Auction held in conjunction with our annual conference.

Walker Cup Golf Tournament: This golf tour-nament is a continual source of scholarship funds for the future professionals of our great profession in the name of George F. Walker Memorial Scholarship Fund.

Preserving Our Past - The LSAW Historical Society:

LSAW continues to promote and financially support the preservation of historical docu-ments and instruments through the Historical Society. Denny De Meyer was elected this year’s Chairman.

Commitment Above And Beyond:

To the many dedicated members who continue to serve not only LSAW but other organizations within our surveying profession for the benefit of all of us, a Big THANK YOU and includes:

Michael Mickiewicz, PLS - Past Chairman of the Western Federation of Professional Surveyors and LSAW Liaison to DNR Survey Advisory Board

Pat Beehler, PLS – President Elect of NSPS.

Tim Kent, PLS - NSPS Area 10 Director

Gwen Roy, PLS – Washington DNR State Sur-vey Manager

William Glassey, PLS – NSPS Governor

Ken Paul, PLS – WCCS President

What Has LsAW done For You? (continued)


in thE ProFESSion

Pat Beehler was recently named President of the National Society of Professional Surveyors at the 2008 ACSM/LSAW Con-

ference in Spokane, WA. Mr. Beehler has over 32 years experience as a Land Surveyor, both in the public and the private sector. He has lived in west Olympia for the past 28 years. He was the President of the Land Surveyors’ Associa-tion of Washington (LSAW) in 1998 serving on its Executive Committee for seven years. He has served as a State Committee Chair every year since rotating off of the Executive Com-mittee. His efforts were absolutely pivotal to LSAW’s three-year drive and final success in getting Continuing Education legislation passed by Washington State in 2006. LSAW honors no more than six individuals annu-ally with Awards of Merit. Mr. Beehler has been selected as a recipient of this prestigious

honor six different times. In addition, Pat has been very active in his local LSAW Chapter, serving as Chapter President twice, Chairman of the Chapter’s annual refresher workshop three times, and helping to host several state workshops & conventions for surveyors. He has served as LSAW’s representative on the NSPS Board of Governors, and as Chairman of the NSPS Board of Governors.

He also has served as a consultant to the State Board of Registration for Engineers and Land Surveyors and continually works to advance the profession of land surveying. Pat is a member and President of the Tumwater Rotary Club, past president of the Olympia Jaycees, and served as both secretary and treasurer of the West Olympia Lions Club..

Fig VicE PrESidEnt ElEctEd to AlBErtA lEgiSlAturE

Ken Allred, one of FIG’s four vice presi-dents was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Alberta

in a general election on March 3, 2008 as a representative of the Alberta Progressive Con-servative Party. The historic election, elected Premier Ed Stelmach and 72 Progressive Con-servative members, out of a total of 83 seats in Alberta’s Legislature, with 9 Liberal members and 2 New Democrats holding the remaining eleven seats.

Ken was elected as a Vice President of the International Federation of Surveyors (FIG) in Athens in 2003 for a four year term which ends on December 31, 2008. He currently serves as the Vice President in charge of FIG’s financial affairs. He was chair of Commission 1 – Profes-sion Practice from 1994-1998 and has served on several FIG Task Forces.

Mr. Allred has a long history of service to the

surveying profession and to his community. He served as President as well as Executive Direc-tor of the Alberta Land Surveyors’ Association and also as President of the Canadian Council of Land Surveyors. He also served as an Alder-man for the City of St. Albert for 15 years and chaired the Edmonton Metropolitan Regional Planning Commission. He has practiced as an Alberta and Canada Lands Surveyor since 1965. More recently he has been involved in adjudi-cation involving land and boundary disputes as well as on native rights, health, insurance and employment tribunals.

The Alberta Legislature is the parliament for the province of Alberta, one of the ten prov-inces in Canada. Albert has a population of 3.5 million people and is growing rapidly as a result of the development of the Athabasca Oil Sands which is becoming one of the worlds leading producers of petroleum.

2� Evergreen State Surveyor Spring 2008

SurVEying EducAtionBy.John.Purnell,.PLS

SOUTH PUGET SOUND COMMUNITY COLLEGE LAND SURVEYING & GEOMATICS TECHNOLOGY

ATA DegreeProGrAM desCriPtion: The Land Surveying & Geomatics Technology Program is designed to meet entry-level field and office skills in a variety of land survey and geomatics occupations. Training will utilize sophisticated high precision electronic surveying instruments, including land survey accuracy Global Positioning System equipment and sophisticated computerized drafting, mapping, design, and analysis software. Completion of this program prepares students for work as Field Survey Technicians and can lead to a career as a Professional Land Surveyor.

ProGrAM oUtCoMes: Students completing the ATA in Land Surveying & Geomatics Technol-ogy will need to develop a broad range of abilities that will not only make them more effective in their professional pursuits but will enhance their capacity to relate well to others in their daily lives. Therefore students who complete ATA degrees will be able to:

• Demonstrate the following specific skills standards specific to Land Surveying & Geomatics Technology:

Adjust and operate surveying instruments such as prisms, theodolites, and electronic distance measuring equipment, including Global Positioning System receivers.

Compile information necessary to stake projects for construction, using engineering plans.

Conduct surveys to ascertain the locations of natural features and man-made structures and monuments on the Earth’s surface, underground, and waterways using conventional and GPS surveying instruments.

Use land-information computer systems, performing tasks such as storing data, making enquiries, and producing plots and reports, and designing data collection protocols.

Prepare topographic and cadastral maps and other relevant charts and drawings of land surveyed showing ground contours, planimetric site features and other relevant information, using coordinate geometry and AutoCAD software.

Extract topographic and geodetic information from maps and from on-line sources.

Assist with interpreting law and legal principles related to land boundaries and the practice of surveying in Washington.

Research public records, write draft land descriptions and compile information neces-sary for performing boundary surveys.

Collect, download, and process field data in support of geospatial mapping activities.

• Gather information about, understand, and explain clearly to others, concepts relevant to successful performance in the field of Land Surveying & Geomatics Technology.

• Think logically and critically and apply these thinking skills to the field of Land Surveying & Geomatics Technology.

• Communicate effectively in oral, written, and graphic form.

• Apply fundamental quantitative and computation skills.

• Understand themselves and others as they interact in a global environment.

• Demonstrate skills in dealing differences and managing interpersonal relationships.

• Understand fundamental ethical issues and their related responsibilities and liabilities.


“The Land Surveying and Geomatics Technology program located at South Puget Sound Community College in Olympia, WA has been officially approved by the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges. The hard work and dedication to the project by everyone involved has brought us to this historic point. ”



ProGrAM inForMAtion/ContACts:

Admission:

Applications for admission and financial aid are available in build-ing 25, Office of Enrollment Services, or call (360) 596-5241.

Length of Program:

Full time students seeking an Associate of Technical Arts Degree typically complete this program in a minimum of six quarters, if basic skills and pre-requisites are complete.

Costs:

Tuition is subject to change by the Washington State Legisla-ture. Detailed tuition information is available in the quarterly class schedule. Tuition and fees do not include the costs of textbooks and supplies.

Additional Costs: Degree seeking students will need to purchase a TI-89 series graphing calculator and clothing and footwear suitable for field work. The Flagger Certification C E 343 is a Community Education course that requires an ad-ditional fee.

Advisors: Division Office (360)-596-5245

special Program notes: Students interested in pursuing a baccalaureate degree in a surveying or geomatics field, a for-mal articulation agreement between SPSCC and the Oregon Institute of Technology in Klamath Falls Oregon is currently being developed. Please consult with advisor for additional academic course requirements regarding this specific educa-tional path.

ProGrAM reQUireMents: An Associate of Technical Arts Degree will be awarded upon successful completion of a minimum of 90 credits in courses numbered 100 or above. All core and general education list requirements must be met, with any additional credits to be selected as electives.

Program Prerequisite: N/A

Basic skills requirements:

English, Reading, or Math may be required based on placement testing. Students are encouraged to complete basic skills at the beginning of their education.

ENGL 097 Basic Writing II 5 creditsREAD 097 Analytical Reading II 5 creditsMATH 098 Elementary Algebra 5 credits

Land surveying and Geomatics technology (continued)

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2� Evergreen State Surveyor Spring 2008

Land surveying and Geomatics technology (continued)Core requirements: 1st Year Surveying Core CoursesSURV 100 Navigating with the Global Positioning System 3 creditsSURV 110 Surveying Measurements 5 creditsSURV 120 Introductory Surveying 5 creditsGIS 101 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems 3 creditsCAD 150 Introduction to CAD 5 creditsMATH 101 Technical Math I 5 creditsMATH 102 Technical Math II 5 creditsENGL& 101 English Composition I 5 creditsENGL&235 Technical Writing 5 creditsCIS 123 Introduction to Windows 3 creditsOR Course Equivalent FAID 153 Basic First Aid 2 creditsORCurrent Card C E 343 Flagger Certification NoneOR Current Certification Card SURV 190 Cooperative Work Experience/Internships 5 credits Total Credits 51 credits

2nd Year surveying Core Courses

CIS 109 Human Dimensions in the Office 3 credits SURV 201 Land Descriptions Systems I 1 creditSURV 202 Land Description Systems II 1 creditSURV 203 Land Description Systems III 1 creditSURV 210 Public Land Survey System I 1 creditSURV 211 Public Land Survey System II 1 creditSURV 212 Public Land Survey System III 1 creditSURV 215 Boundary Law and Legal Principles I 1 creditSURV 216 Boundary Law and Legal Principles II 1 creditSURV 217 Boundary Law and Legal Principles III 1 creditSURV 218 Boundary Law and Legal Principles IV 1 creditSURV 219 Boundary Law and Legal Principles V 1 creditSURV 220 Fundamentals of Geodesy I 1 creditSURV 221 Fundamentals of Geodesy II 1 creditSURV 222 State Plane Coordinate Systems 1 creditSURV 225 Advanced CAD for Surveyors 5 credits SURV 230 Construction Design and Layout 5 creditsSURV 240 Advanced Surveying 5 creditsSURV 245 Geopositioning with the Global Positioning System 5 creditsGIS 201 Mapping with the Global Positioning System 5 creditsSURV 290 Cooperative Work Experience/Internships 10 creditsTotal Credits 52 credits

General education requirements:

Complete a minimum of three credits from each of the four categories: Reading/Writing; Listening/Speaking; Computation; and Human Relations. Unless specific courses are listed below, refer to the General Education List for the Associate of Technical Arts/Associate Degree Nursing/Certificate of Completion.

Specific general education courses required for an ATA in Land Surveying and Geomatics Technology are listed in the first and second year core course requirements.

Cooperative Work experience/internships:

Cooperative Work Experience is the internship program at South Puget Sound Community College and offers students an opportunity to receive college credit for paid or unpaid work experience related to their educational goals. This program gives students an opportunity to apply their skills while still in college.

For more information, contact the Cooperative Work Experi-ence/Internship office at (360) 596-5359 (Bldg 22-204) or at http://www.spscc.ctc.edu/internship/.

diVersitY reQUireMent: South Puget Sound Community College requires all new students seeking an Associate Degree to complete a “diversity” course which meets the college criteria for listing as a diversity course and has been approved for such listing by the college Instructional Council prior to the student enrolling in the class.

eXit AssessMent: South Puget Sound Community College requires all students to complete an exit assessment process as a requirement for graduation. This requirement is in effect for the following student populations: all new students as of summer 2003; and those students who do not maintain con-secutive enrollment under pre-existing catalog requirements. This requirement does not apply to students who are seeking a certificate of completion.

oFFiCe oF CiViL riGHts CoMPLiAnCe stAteMent: South Puget Sound Community College’s equal opportunity policy prohibits discrimination in our services and in employ-ment against any person on the basis of race or ethnicity, creed, color, national origin, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, age religion, Vietnam-era or disabled veteran status, or the presence of any sensory, physical or mental disability except in the case of a bona fide occupation qualification. South Puget Sound Community College is an equal opportunity/affir-mative action employer and complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

effective: 2008-2009 Aca-demic Year

revised: March 27, 2008


Three to two, nine to seven, and twelve to sixteen. O.K., O.K. Stupid joke. Dave Berg I’m not. This is really about what has been happening with

the Survey Career Outreach, Recruitment and Education program over the last year and a half since its inception. Ready for the obligatory flashback? Here it goes.

In the Spring of 2006, Ken Swindaman, then the LSAW State President, asked me if I would be willing to put together a program of school visitation. He came to me because we had worked together several years before on a similar program for the North Puget Sound Chapter. That program had limited success and eventually died out, but not before we learned something about what didn’t work. What obviously didn’t work well was sending letters to the school Principals at the beginning of the school year. I found that out (long after the fact) when Ken arranged a meeting with some teachers from Bonney Lake who had attended the C.O.R.S.E. (now TwiST) program in New York. We discussed the logistics of LSAW and teachers working together to implement a viable visitation program. They told me that teachers themselves have to drive any program of that sort. They said, likely as not, most of our letters to the Principals from our previous attempt ended up in the round file. This was good to know.

Ken put me on the August 2006 B.O.T. agenda to present the program and ask for the B.O.T.’s blessing to proceed. I made my presentation (see Evergreen State Surveyor, Fall 2006 edition) and was given the go ahead. So, I’m standing there thinking, “this looks good on paper, but where do I start?” Two things happened then. The first was that a B.O.T. member gave me a list of 200+ teachers that attended the summer North Cascades and Olympic Science Partnership Academy. And they all had email addresses! The second thing was that another one of the B.O.T. members asked the Board how many were involved with Boy Scouts? Scouts offer a perfect platform to get the word out. They have a Surveying Merit Badge, and these are kids that already like being outside. I’m off and running, (I’m old, so it’s more like a rapid shuffle).

The NCOSP list was text on paper so I had to type the ad-dress into my address book, then I emailed the teachers and told them who we were, what we can do for them, and more importantly, whatever we do for them, we’ll do for free. I started to compile an additional mailing list that I drew from individual school web sites. Slow going. I got some leads from other Surveyors. All in all, I got invita-tions to 11 schools (two of which I visited twice) totaling 28 classroom visits. Not a bad start.

I had to have something to actually present, so I started putting together a Powerpoint presentation that had a little survey background, equipment, U.S. history, local survey, education tracks, duties, pay and various survey disciplines. It started out about 45 minutes, which I found real quick, used up all the class time and didn’t give opportunity for questions. I now have it trimmed to 30 minutes. The presentation is available to anyone. Just send me an email

thE tWiSt uPdAtEBy.Vic.Banks,.LSAW.Coordinator

[email protected].

Boy Scouts were next. I met with the BSA Seattle Council Director and he gave me the name of a Scout Master of a newly formed Troop. I coordinated with Renton Technical College and they volunteered their facilities, equipment and second year students to guide the Scouts through the Merit Badge. Unfortunately, the Troop was small to begin with and the kids either moved out of area or took up other interests. That Troop faded, but I still felt the Boy Scouts was a good target.

I expanded my search for new targets and met with several organizations dealing with kids, but nothing came of that. I searched websites for educational opportunities, careers, technology, anything that might tie into what we’re doing, but nothing came of that. I received a dozen queries regard-ing school visitation, but nothing came of that. A lot of what I did in the first year was just that, “nothing came of that”.

End of obligatory flashback.

O.K. Now into the second year and the stuff that is working. It’s all working concurrently, so I’ll just itemize and not try to create a timeline of events.

Liaisons: I requested a name from each Chapter to act as liaison between me and the Chapter. The liaison receives an email from me once a month with an update on what has been happening. The liaison can act as my voice to the Chapter. If I happen to drop dead, (remember…I’m old) there is a record of what’s been done and someone should be able to step in. Some of the liaisons have already jumped in. Gwen Roy, liaison for the Southwest Chapter organized 3 days of GPS/Geo-caching classes for the Aberdeen schools Spring Outdoor Camp. Dozens of kids tramped through the wilderness, (actually, a tree lined big open field) in search of geo-cache prizes. The schools have invited us back for next year’s camp.

Schools: Our biggest target is still the schools. The problem was getting the word out to them. The solution came from the California Land Surveyor’s Association effort to do the same thing. CLSA hired some professional graphics and video people to put together folders, brochures, handouts, and best of all, a video. CLSA’s intent was to send this mate-rial to every school in California. What CLSA also did was offer to license the DVD and print material to other States. With the purchase of the license, we could have our logo and contact info imprinted, then mass produce the DVD and print material. This took most of the summer, but in early fall we had the material and I started putting together the packets. Now I just needed to mail them out, but first I needed addresses. I got an Excel file of all of the schools in Washington from the State School Board, and I was ready. For ease of use, an Access database was made from this file by Dick Lovering, the liaison from South Puget Sound Chapter. I mailed out 400 packets to all of the regular High


“I mailed out 400 packets to all of the regular High School Career Centers and Career Counselors…”


School Career Centers and Career Counselors (excluding, at this time, institutions and Alternative schools). The mailings were finished in the first two weeks of January and I started getting response by the third week. So far, the mailing has resulted in a day long visit to Woodland High School, invitation to job fairs in Auburn (90 exhibitors) and Walla Walla. Pat Beehler of the Southwest Chapter extended an invitation to the Thurston County area schools job fair. While at that fair, I received an invitation to a job fair in Shelton. I spoke at the Lower Columbia Chapter meeting and learned of a job fair that Clark College was host-ing. I attended that and also sat on a panel with other Surveyors and fielded questions from prospective students abut Survey as a career.

A couple years ago, we funded 3 teachers from Bonney Lake to attend the C.O.R.S.E. (now TwiST) program in New York. One of the teachers was Dr. David Bellamy of Bonney Lake High School. His enthusiasm with what he learned there has resulted in his creating a pilot program involving hands on spatial technology. We supported his program through the purchase of 35 Garmin Legends.

GIT/GIS Now on the Map at Bonney Lake High School

Bonney Lake High School, resting near the northwestern tail of Mt. Ranier, is offering the first course strictly dedicated to geospatial information technology in the state of Washington. The idea for the class emerged from intense courses on ArcView and GIT (CORSE – now TWiST) for a couple of science teachers in the Sumner School District. The trainings were financially supported and solely made possible by the Land Surveyors Association of Washington (LSAW). The relevance and pervasiveness of GIT/GIS in everyday life spurred the proposal and development of the course. Two years after the last training sessions back in New York, David Bellamy – a science instructor at BLHS – finally was able to get the class on the course catalogs, and more importantly, a class of students interested in GIT/GIS. And so it goes… the first course of its kind at the second-ary level in the state and perhaps on the west coast!

The course is designed to introduce students to the technologies and methods used to display information or data by means of visual maps. The course covers basic geography, map projections, map usage, remote sensing, GPS, ArcView, and basic surveying principles. Since this is the first year of the course, the scope of topics will undoubtedly become more refined as the class develops over subsequent years. Students taking GIT/GIS are either juniors or seniors, who have previously taken at least two years of science and math. The program is intended for mid- to upper level academically performing students. Traditionally, these are the students who are most likely to enter a 2-4 year post-secondary or vocational program. Future plans for the course involve expanding from GIT/GIS I and adding an advanced GIT/GIS II, for those students wishing to learn more. Additionally, plans are underway to connect students with potential surveying internships, as well as local Surveying and GIS programs at Bates and Green River CC.

The class already appears to be generating a lot of attention among the students and it is likely to be the fastest growing science course offered at BLHS. Because the field of surveying is growing so rapidly (as is GIT/GIS), it is hoped this course will offer a gateway for students into these professions in the Pacific NW. The instructor and students at BLHS wish to extend a sincere thank you to the LSAW for their generous and continued support. For further questions about the course, please contact Dave Bellamy at [email protected].

We are also supporting Oak Harbor High School with their new Survey program. They wanted to start a Survey class in their Technology Department, so they looked in our direction. R.P. Fakkema outfitted them with the necessary gear, Total Station, tripods, tribrachs, rods, level, etc. We both helped to lay out a course guide and a traverse and leveling course. They could still do with another Total Station, so PPIGroup coordinated with Topcon’s Education group and arranged for purchase of another at a huge discount.

Boy Scouts: Currently, I am working with individual Boy Scout Troops on the Survey Merit Badge. The typical program length is 2-3 evening meetings of 2 hours each, and a Saturday field exercise of 3-4 hours. Anything longer and they lose interest. Or maybe they just lose interest in me. How about it? Any young, former Boy Scout, P.L.S.’s want to jump in on this?

Girl Scouts: The Girl Scouts are more consolidated. They have a 400+ acre ranch in Carnation that is the primary camp for Western Washington. We approached them and told them what we could offer them and it took off from there. They were in dire need of a new compass course and would love to have a geo-caching course. I and Pam Sager and Denise Holcomb (two female P.L.S.’s, to the delight of the Girl Scouts) laid out a new compass course and set permanent monuments at the positions. We also ran a GPS traverse and monumented the new Geo-caching course. To put a little icing on the cake, we purchased 10 Garmin Legends for their use. At our last meeting, they were so appreciative that they are going to sponsor a “Special Survey Event” at the camp in Spring. The importance of the rapport we currently have with the Camp is that now we will have friends that can make contact with the Eastern Washington Girl Scouts.

In summary, those are the areas of concentration for the coming year. It may seem as if I’ve been throwing names around with abandon, but I wanted to il-lustrate that this is not just a one man job. Everyone is welcome to join in. As you can see, the efforts of all of us have had positive results. If you have ideas, or contacts, or want to volunteer, let me know.

the twist Update (continued)


Blm nEWSBy.Mary.J.M..Hartel,.Chief,.Branch.of.Geographic.Sciences,.Bureau.of.Land.Management.–.Oregon.Office

The following public land survey plats for Washington were approved and/or filed during the period of February 2007 through October 2007.

Washington, Willamette MeridianT. 31 N., R. 7 W. Dependent Resurvey & Subdivision of Section 32T. 39 N., R. 33 E. Dependent Resurvey, Subdivision of Section 12, & SurveyT. 19 N., R. 3 W. Dependent Resurvey, Subdivision of Sections, & SurveyT. 28 N., R. 38 E. Dependent Resurvey & Subdivision of Section 36T. 28 N., R. 39 E. Dependent Resurvey & Subdivision of Section 36T. 27 N., R. 38 E. Dependent Resurvey & Subdivision of Section 1T. 27 N., R. 39 E. Dependent Resurvey & Subdivision of Section 6T. 28 N., R. 38 E. Dependent Resurvey, Corner Rehabilitation, Subdivision of Sections 22 &

23, & SurveyT. 21 N., R. 4 W. Dependent Resurvey, Subdivision of Sections, & SurveyT. 3 N., R. 19 E. Dependent Resurvey, Subdivision of Sections, & SurveyT. 33 N., R. 15 W. Dependent Resurvey, Subdivision of Sections, & SurveyT. 33 N., R. 14 W. Dependent Resurvey, Subdivision of Section, & SurveyT. 17 N., R. 10 E. Dependent Resurvey, Metes-and-Bounds, & SurveyT. 21 N., R. 11 W. Dependent Resurvey & Subdivision of SectionsT. 22 N., R. 11 W. Dependent Resurvey & Subdivision of Section 33T. 15 N., R.11 E. Dependent ResurveyT. 23 N., R. 13 W. Dependent Resurvey, Subdivision of Section 3, & SurveyT. 21 N., R. 12 W. Dependent Resurvey & Subdivision of Section 13T. 21 N., R. 13 W. Dependent Resurvey, Subdivision of Section 12, & SurveyT. 11 N., R. 19 E. Dependent Resurvey & SurveyT. 30 N., R. 7 W. Dependent Resurvey, Subdivision of Sections, & Survey


control PointSBy.Warren.Andrews,.PLS

(Editors Note: submitted by Dave Berg as found in February 2008 Issue of Side Shots, newsletter issued by the Professional Land Surveyors of Colorado; thanks to them.)

To me, the fundamentals and history of survey-ing are fascinating. For

example, where do the trigo-nometric tables come from? If you as a surveyor had to start from scratch with nothing but a piece of paper, pencil, and a formula, how would you cal-culate the six functions of an angle? It sounds pretty com-plex but it really isn’t. The six functions are the three primary ones (sine, tangent, and secant) and the three complementary ones or co-functions (cosine, cotangent and cosecant). If you remember, the cosecant is the reciprocal of the sine, the

cotangent is the reciprocal of the tangent, and the secant is the reciprocal of the cosine.

So you’ve already cut your calculating in half if you can come up with the sine, cosine and tangent. But there’s one other combination to remember and that is the tangent is the sine divided by the cosine. So now you’re down to two numbers, the sine and cosine of an angle that you need to calculate from a formula.

Unfortunately, there’s one other gimmick you need to know before you start calculating. The formula needs to have the angle converted from the usual surveyor’s degrees, minutes, and seconds to radians which to a surveyor is a mathemati-cian’s copout and never comes out exact. The conversion is 360 degrees equals 2π radians where π is equal to 3.14159265359 to 11 decimal places.

Here’s an example:

If your angle is say 27 degrees 13 minutes 45 seconds, you need that in decimal degrees which is 45 divided by 60 plus 13 and that result divided by 60 and that added to 27 which is 27.2291666667 to 10 decimals. Divide that by 360 to get what decimal part of a circle it is (0.0756365741) and then multiply that by 2π to get radians (0.475238611).

If you symbolize the angle by the Greek letter theta (θ) then the Taylor’s Series Formula for the sine of theta is sinθ = θ3/3! + θ5/5! – θ7/7! + θ9/9! - …..on out as far as you want to go. If you’ve forgotten, 3! (3 factorial) is 1 times 2 times 3 and 5 factorial is 1 times 2 times 3 times 4 times 5 and so on for 7 factorial and 9 factorial, etc.

To put numbers in the formula if you want to check it out:

Sin 27°13’45” = 0.0475238611 – 0.017888911 + 0.000202012 – 0.000001086 + 0.000000003 = 0.457550629 which checks my HP32S calculator exactly to 9 decimals.

For the cosine of theta, the Taylor’s Series Formula is:

Cos θ = 1 – θ2/2! + θ4/4! – θ6/6! + θ8/8! – θ10/10! + …..

and for cos 27°13’45” = 1 – 0.112925869 + 0.002125375 – 0.000016001 + 0.000000065 – 0.000000001 = 0.889183570 which again checks my HP32S calculator exactly to 9 decimals. From these two numbers you can calculate the other four trig functions. And that’s how it’s actually done and how it’s hard-wired into any calculator. (You didn’t think the calculator stored all those tables internally did you?) Just be glad you don’t have to figure each one of your angles that way.

Congratulations to the 2007 awards recipients: Renton Technical College, Bates Technical College,

Oregon Institute of Technology

Special thanks to the Northern Puget Sound Chapter for their generous gift of $1,500.00.

The PPI Fund is having a logo design contest.

Fax your artistic renderings by June 1st to Paul Rydell at 503-231-4012. If your masterpiece is selected

to be used, you will receive fame, glory and a $500.00 cash prize donated by The PPI Group.


Land Surveyors’ Association of Washington424 205th N.E.Sammamish, WA 98074-6942Phone: 425/868-0200

chANge SeRVIce RequeSted

July August4 Fourth of July18–20 SPS “Old Time

Survey Campout

April May June6 SPS “Night at the

Tacoma Rainiers”2 Spring Seminar,

Port Angeles, WA3 BOT Meeting,

Port Angeles, WA

16 BOT Meeting, Yakima, WA22 LSAW Walker Cup

Golf Tournament

1 Labor Day20 IE Free Seminar

September

lSAW SchEdulE

PRESORTED STD.US POSTAGE

PAidDATABAR

2008 The accuracy of the schedule is based on information submitted to the editor and may not reflect the true date. Check with the actual organizer for a more complete schedule.

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