The Next Edition of the Manual of Surveying Instructions and the Modern Cadastre Presented by: Mary Hartel, Chief Cadastral Surveyor Oregon/Washington State Office, Portland, OR. Bob Dahl, Cadastral Surveyor BLM Lands and Realty Group, Washington, D.C. Land Surveyors of Washington/Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon 2006 Annual Conference Vancouver, WA March 1, 3 and 4, 2006

Cadastre – Cadastral – Cadastral Survey What is the Manual of Surveying Instructions? Why is the Manual relevant to the County and Private Surveyors in Oregon and Washington? Agenda

Scope of the project – Technical project nested in a web of administration What is the process? How are we going about it? Where are we to date? Agenda

OHA → ↑ IBLA IBIA IBCA

Bureau of Land Management

Cadastral Presence At the DOI level – BLM is 1 of 15 Bureaus and Offices Within BLM – Cadastral is one of nearly 60 programs

What is the Manual of Instructions for the Survey of the Public Lands of the United States? (Manual) Whom/What is affected?

Why is the Manual Relevant to the County and Private Surveyor in Oregon and Washington?

REVISED CODE OF WASHINGTON Title 58. Boundaries and Plats Chapter State Agency for Surveys and Maps RCW § Official agency designated. Department of Natural Resources official agency for surveys and maps. RCW § DNR Powers – Standards. Set up standards of accuracy and methods of procedures

Title 332. Natural Resources, Board and Department of Chapter 130. Minimum Standards for Land Boundary Surveys and Geodetic Control Surveys and Guidelines for the Preparation of Land Descriptions WASHINGTON ADMINISTRATIVE CODE

WAC § Land subdivision and corner restoration standards. (1) Reestablishment of lost GLO or BLM corners and subdividing of sections shall be done according to applicable GLO or BLM plats and field notes and in compliance with the Manual (4) Monuments shall include cap stamped as defined in the Manual Departures from these requirements shall be explained &/or shown on the map

SUPREME COURT OF WASHINGTON Hale v. Ball, 70 Wash 435 (1912) A court will decree the establishment of a lost corner under the rule prevailing in the U.S. Land Department

COURT OF APPEALS OF WASHINGTON San Juan County v. Ayer, 24 Wn App 852 (1979) 1) Washington courts and surveyors are required to follow the Manual 2) The Manual must be relied upon for resolving issue of lost or obliterated PLSS corner Campbell v. Reed, 96 Wn App 1017 (1999) Proper surveying procedure is set out in the Manual

OREGON REVISED STATUTES Title 10. Property Rights and Transactions Chapter 105. Property Rights Action to Establish Boundary ORS § Procedure for determining location of public land survey corner. Shall establish and monument the true location of the corner in accordance with the current Manual

OREGON REVISED STATUTES Title 20. Counties and County Officers Chapter 209. County Surveyors ORS § Duties in respect to surveys. The county surveyor shall: (4) Make all surveys of legal subdivisions with reference to the current Manual. ORS § (1). RPLS shall comply with ORS (4).

OREGON REVISED STATUTES Title 20. Counties and County Officers Chapter 209. County Surveyors ORS § Resurvey of government- surveyed lands. County Surveyor or RPLS shall observe the following rules: (1) Original corners approved by BLM must stand (2) They must be reestablished at identical spot (3) They must be reestablished with reference to current Manual current Manual

COURT OF APPEALS OF OREGON Voelz v. Board of Engineering Examiners, 586 P.2d 807 (1978); Petitions for Review Denied by Supreme Court, 590 P.2d 235 (1979) 1) Procedures for the resurvey of the PLSS must follow Manual 2) A complete disregard for ORS and the BLM Manual of Surveying Instructions and the property rights of other individuals constitutes gross negligence

COURT OF APPEALS OF OREGON Hambleton v. Board of Engineering Examiners, 594 P2d 416 (1979) Board found petitioner used procedures that were contrary to BLM Manual: 1) Petitioner’s wilful indifference to the standards and procedures is gross negligence 2) Petitioner’s failure to conduct surveys in accordance with the Manual demonstrates incompetence

UNITED STATES CODE Title 43 Public Lands § 2 The Secretary of the Interior or such officer as he may designate (BLM) shall perform all executive duties appertaining to the surveying and sale of the public lands of the United States

UNITED STATES CODE Title 25 Indians § 176 Whenever it becomes necessary to survey any Indian lands, the same shall be surveyed under the direction and control of the BLM And as nearly as may be in conformity to the rules and regulations under which other public lands are surveyed

It is settled law that the United States may survey what it owns and thereby establish and reestablish boundaries, but what the government does in this regard is for its own information and cannot affect the rights of owners on the other side of an existing boundary. United States v. State Investment Co., 264 U.S. 206, 212 (1924), citing Lane v. Darlington, 249 U.S. 331, 333 (1919). United States Supreme Court

The Manual of Surveying Instructions describes how cadastral surveys of the public lands are made in conformance to statutory law and its judicial interpretation. (1973 Manual § 1-1.) It is within the province of the Director to determine what are public lands, what lands have been surveyed, what are to be surveyed, what have been disposed of, what remains to be disposed of, and what are reserved. (1973 Manual § 1-11.) MANUAL

By fundamental law, upon the issuance of a patent for land by the Federal government; it is just as if the monuments, survey plat and field notes, and the laws, regulations and rules governing how to survey the land described in the patent, are stapled to the face of the patent. The survey rules are spelled out in the manuals, circulars, instructions and regulations issued by the GLO and later by the BLM.

Is there still a need for the Manual?

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