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FOREST SERVICE MANUAL
JUNEAU, ALASKA
FSM 7100 - ENGINEERING OPERATIONS
Region 10 Supplement No. 7100-92-3
Effective October 8, 1992
POSTING NOTICE. Supplements are numbered consecutively by title and
calendar year. Post by document name. Remove entire document and replace with
this supplement. Retain this transmittal as the first page of this document. The
last supplement to this title was R-10 Supplement 7100-92-2, effective September
30, 1992.
Document Name
Superseded
New
(Number of Pages)
7150
9
Digest:
Corrects clerical error in ordering of coded information.
/s/ Jane H. Hurst
JANE H. HURST
Directives Manager
10
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7151 - LAND SURVEYING
7151.01 - Authority. The Organic Act of 1897, The Multiple Use-Sustained Yield
Act of 1960, the Wilderness Act of 1964, P.L. 88-577; sec.4(a) (1), and each
congressional act designating a special area, including the Alaska National Interest
Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), P.L. 96-487, and the Tongass Timber Reform
Act of November 28, 1990 (TTRA), P.L. 101-626.
7151.02 - Objectives. Provide marked and visible Congressionally Designated Area
(CDA) boundaries which accurately, and to a standard commensurate with site
conditions, place the line in the location intended by the approved written
description. The line shall be legally defensible and permanently marked. A record
of the survey which provides sufficient information to replace and reestablish the
original survey shall be maintained.
7151.03 - Policy.
1. CDA boundaries will be surveyed, marked, and posted to the extent
necessary to manage the resources on each side of the line and to prevent
encroachment into the CDA unit. The boundary shall be located prior to any
resource activity which may affect the line.
2. The use of GPS equipment in the Region will conform to the minimum
requirements laid out in FSH 7109.12 (Interim Directive) and FSH 2409.12.
Any point collection data that will be used to update a GIS database used for
surveying, acreage determination in cruising, or similar application will be
differentially corrected using an approved Region 10 base-station. Other GPS units
may be purchased for general marine or land navigation for use in fire location,
search and rescue, etc., where survey level precision is not necessary.
7151.04 - Responsibilities
1. The Regional Forester coordinates and monitors Forest land survey
programs to ensure compliance with Regional standards and direction.
2. The Forest Supervisor develops and monitors the land survey program on
the Forest by:
a. Providing the necessary technical expertise to accomplish the CDA
boundary survey program.
b.
Assigning a licensed land surveyor to:
(1) Perform work and/or provide technical direction or supervision to
others doing the work;
(2)
Train employees to assist in program accomplishment;
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(3) Assure minimum location and measurement standards comply with
the approved written description and meet site conditions;
(4)
Establish budget request utilizing program priorities;
(5)
Maintain a record system.
3. The Unit Manager is responsible for the accomplishment of the program by
developing and implementing a multiyear CDA boundary line program which
includes:
a. An inventory of boundary lines to provide information on the workload
to be performed as part of planned activities or as necessary to establish
corners and lines.
b. An action plan based on planned resource and land management
activities in accordance with the priorities in FSM 7152.3.
c. Protection of boundary lines and corners to the determined
standards through education and enforcement.
7151.05 - Definitions
21. Congressionally designated boundary. The boundary line between
Congressionally Designated Areas and other National Forest System lands. These
areas include Wilderness, Wild and Scenic Rivers, National Monuments, National
Recreation Areas, and LUD II Management Areas specifically designated by
Congress. These lines are legislatively established and, therefore, have legal
standing. They cannot be treated as an administrative boundary.
22. CDA boundary survey. Any survey made to establish, define, or mark a
CDA boundary. The survey may be original, a resurvey, or investigative.
23. Approved written description. The approved written description consists
of the maps and metes and bounds or aliquot part descriptions contained in the
approved legal boundary description.
24. Global Position System (GPS). A satellite-based positioning system which
transmits positional information via radio signals to earth-based GPS receivers.
With both satellites and receivers being armed with very accurate atomic clocks, the
signals can be timed, revealing measurements to a high degree of accuracy. These
measurements can then be translated into positions, which makes GPS a very
accurate surveying and navigation tool.
25. Selective Availability (SA). The deliberate degrading of the satellite
signal(s), by Department of Defense, for security purposes.
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26. User Range Accuracy (URA). The degree of SA invoked. The higher the
URA number (number of meters), the less accurate the positional reading being
received.
27. Base Station. A GPS receiver placed over a point of known coordinates
(latitude, longitude, and elevation). By knowing its exact location (programmed
with the x, y, z of the point occupied), the receiver measures the difference (in
meters) between the true coordinates and the positional data being transmitted by
the satellites, which is affected by SA.
28. Differential Correction (also known as Relative Positioning). The
determination of relative positions between two or more receivers which are
simultaneously tracking the same radio positioning signals (from GPS). By one of
these receivers being a base station, the positions of all other receivers can be
corrected to the point that all SA is removed.
7151.1 - Standards
1. Location Standard. Each CDA boundary surveyed shall be established on
the ground in the location described in the approved written description. The
surveyed location will have the legal effect of placing the intent of the description on
the ground. Therefore, approximate locations are unacceptable.
The location standard necessary to meet the intent of the written description varies
with site conditions such as: planned resource activities, the sensitivity of the line,
and the controlling features in the written description and site conditions.
2. Measurement Standard. Any survey method which locates the line in the
correct and intended place is acceptable. The positional accuracy required on a
specific line varies with the requirements of the written description and site
conditions.
3. Visibility Standard. Marking and posting of the line shall be class A, B, or
C standard (EM-7150.3) dependent upon management needs, topography,
vegetation, land allocations, and management prescriptions. Signing, brushing,
blazing, and painting shall be in accordance with the standards in FSM 7152,
except that Alaska Region wilderness and LUD II management area boundary signs
shall be used in place of standard National wilderness signs.
4. Monumentation Standard. Boundaries will be monumented with durable
monuments as described in EM-7150-3, Land Surveying Guide. Monuments will be
placed at a maximum interval of one-half mile, at controlling PLSS corners, the
terminus of line segments, and at angle points necessary to facilitate retracement.
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5.
Global Position System (GPS). All GPS equipment purchased in the
Region that will be used to collect data for updating databases or used in
surveying/cruising is to work with one of the Region's approved base-stations.
Equipment will conform to the minimum requirements as specified in FSH 7109.12
(Interim Directive) Section 11.4.
6. Before an office/unit purchases GPS equipment, they will have at least one
person on staff who has been trained in the use of the equipment.
7151.2 - Program Activities
1. Establish a training program to ensure personnel involved in establishing
CDA boundaries are competent in and sensitive to:
a.
Interpretation of legal descriptions.
b.
Survey methods.
c.
Line marking standards.
d.
Records development.
e.
The differing management and field requirements within the area.
2. Establish a record system for permanent retention to include:
a.
Documentation of the survey method used and its expected precision.
b.
Corner, angle, point, and other monument descriptions.
c. The plats, with supplementary maps and photographs, which depict
and describe the boundary.
d.
Documentation of encroachments.
3. CDA boundaries posted to standard shall be documented in the Forest LLL
atlas.
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7152.03 - Policy
1. Legal
a. Employees whose duties include acting as a Contracting Officer's
Representative (COR) for land survey contracts must possess current
registration as a Land Surveyor in the State where the project is situated.
This requirement must be explicitly stated in the employee's job
description.
e.
(1) A written request for cadastral survey shall be completed before any
contract or force account land survey project is initiated. This formality is
necessary to prove that the responsible Forest Service Line Officer
authorized expenditure of funds for the particular survey. The process is
designed to remove the threat of tort actions against the surveyor alleging
action outside of the scope of duties.
Each Forest shall develop a standardized process that meets the objective,
stated above, for obtaining a written Forest Supervisor's request for every
cadastral survey. The completed request shall be permanently retained in
the project folder.
The request shall be signed by the Forest Supervisor, or it may be formally
delegated to a staff position who shall sign "for" the Forest Supervisor.
(2) All land survey plats (including those obtained by contract) to be
entered into the public records shall contain a certification block stating:
"This survey was made at my request for
National Forest Management purposes."
Forest Supervisor
Date
2. Administration
c.
(1) Plats of land surveys performed under State authority by licensed land
surveyors employed by or under contract to the Forest Service shall be
reviewed by the Regional Land Surveyor. To facilitate the review process,
the following policy will be followed:
(a) Submit one paper copy of all survey plats to the Regional Office prior to
filing in the District Recorder's Office. This process will require that the
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cadastral survey COR's secure Regional Office plat review and approval
prior to allowing the contractor to file the plat.
(b) Plats of surveys performed by licensed land surveyors under contract
to the Forest Service shall be reviewed by the Regional Land Surveyor and
returned within 10 working days of receipt. Plats of surveys performed by
licensed land surveyors employed by the Forest Service shall be reviewed
by the Regional Land Surveyor and returned within 30 working days of
receipt. A letter of approval, conditional approval, or disapproval shall
accompany the plat.
(c) Unapproved plats shall not be filed in the Recorder's Office.
(2) The approved plat will be filed with the appropriate District. Fees
normally charged by the Recorder for review and filing will be paid from
project funds.
(3) Forest Supervisors shall determine the distribution policy on Forests,
with the objective of making plats available to field personnel.
(4) Land survey plats shall be permanent records on the Forests.
Retirement or disposal of these records is not permitted.
e. Property Line Visibility. Property lines must be visible to the general
public to identify public lands for recreational and other public uses; to
adjoining landowners to prevent inadvertent encroachment on public
lands; and to Forest Service administrative personnel and their agents to
prevent encroachment of management activities onto private lands.
Another objective of these standards is to mark the boundary line so that
future maintenance of the boundary marking may be performed with little
or no actual surveying, which is the major cost center in the Landline
Location Program. The intensity of marking and the degree of visibility
needed to accomplish these objectives may vary considerably, depending
on the situation.
f.
(1) Use the National Geodetic Network for cadastral project datum
whenever access to the network is reasonable.
(2) When using conventional control techniques, establish new control
stations to a minimum of Federal Geodetic Control Committee (FGCC)
second order, class II standards. When using Global Positioning Systems
(GPS), establish new control stations to the same standard using the
proposed GPS standards dated October 17, l985, until such time as the
FGCC publishes final standards for this system.
(3) Stations will be monumented with standard station tablets cemented
in rock, standard cadastral posts, pipe, or drivable rods. Azimuth marks
are optional.
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(4) Connections from horizontal control stations to cadastral monuments
shall be made a minimum of FGCC third order, class I standards.
(5) Control for photogrammetric cadastral projects shall be connected to
the National Geodetic Control Network and aerotriangulation shall be
adjusted to the State plane coordinate datum whenever access is
reasonable.
(6) Plats for cadastral projects shall provide the State plane coordinate
position for only those corners that meet the standards described in item 4
above. A statement shall be placed on the plat as to the methods used to
determine the position. Indirect ties between cadastral monuments and
geodetic stations shall be shown as a computed inverse. The plat shall
also show the name of the establishing agency, the station name, date
established, and the State plane coordinates of the control station.
7152.3 - Program Priorities. Surveying, marking, and posting priorities will be
determined by the degree to which adjoining land management is compatible with
the CDA classified lands, and in the following descending order of priorities.
1. Inholdings and adjoining private land, giving highest priority to those lands
where activities or occupancies are most likely to encroach on a CDA unit.
2. CDA boundaries adjoining other public lands on which non-compatible
activities threaten possible encroachment.
3. CDA boundaries adjacent to trails, canoe routes, and other transportation
corridors or areas of frequent human use.
7152.6 - Standards
3. Property Boundary Line Marking and Posting.
e.
Property Line Visibility
(1) Line Visibility Standards. Three marking and posting standards are
approved for defining National Forest Property boundaries in the Alaska
Region. Any one or a combination of the three may be used on a given
segment of boundary. These standards will provide the land manager
flexibility in marking boundaries that will meet the objectives most
efficiently.
(a) Laterally Visible. Boundary line is readily visible to a person
approaching the line at or near a right angle from either side, and easily
followed by a person walking the line in either direction. This class shall
be used in areas with intensive resource utilization occurring on either side
of the line, such as timber sales or areas where recreational use is
intensive and the public needs to know the exact location of the boundary.
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This class shall use posts and/or trees with sign 54-2 attached. Signs
would be intervisible if line trees and undergrowth were removed. Posts
with signs shall be placed at all roads, trails, live streams, and other areas
of intensive use. The posts will define the line and will be used to maintain
the line in the future. It is recommended that a supplemental line marker
be placed at some posts to ensure that the line can be relocated if the posts
are removed. Blazes shall be used on all line trees. Clearing of
undergrowth along the line and painting of the line blazes may be
necessary to render the line more visible for specific users.
(b) Longitudinal Visibility. Boundary line is readily obvious to a person
following the line in either direction. This class can be used in areas where
the line is not critical to current resource utilization projects. Recreational
use is permitted the same as on the adjoining private or state lands.
This class shall use posts and/or trees with sign 54-2 attached, spaced no
more than 300 feet apart. Painting and clearing of undergrowth may be
omitted. The posts will define the line and will be used to maintain the
line in the future. A supplemental line marker can be placed at each post
so that the line can be relocated if the post is removed. Signs may be
placed on fences that meet the Forest Service standard for boundary line
locations. When a road overlays the boundary line, signs may be placed on
an offset line or a right-of-way fence line when available.
(c) Subdued Visibility. These lines are marked, but may not be readily
visible. This class shall be used when posts and signs are objectionable to
adjoining landowners or the general public for esthetic reasons and the
lack of visibility of the boundary line does not hinder the management of
the public lands or the public use of those lands. The use of this class
shall be confined to the immediate vicinity of these esthetically sensitive
areas and in most cases, shall not extend beyond the area visible from a
residence or public facility.
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This class shall use line markers instead of posts and can omit any or all
blazing, painting, and signing. Standard line marker monuments with
caps shall be used and their location along the line shall be measured and
recorded in the atlas records to facilitate future maintenance. Referencing
of line markers to other more permanent objects may be desirable in areas
subject to vandalism.