The Oregon Surveyor July/August 2018

25 Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon | www.plso.org Government Relations I n April, PLSO members visited Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, as part of NSPS’s annual legislative conference. In addition to talking about key issues of interest to surveyors, PLSO offered to organize a local “show and tell” for members of Oregon’s Congressional delegation. The first to respond was Congressman Kurt Schrader (D-05), who represents most of the Willamette Valley and parts of the central coast. Congressman Schrader serves on the Energy Sub- committee of the influential House Committee on Energy and Commerce. This committee will be responsible for authorizing millions, perhaps billions, in infrastructure spending when Con- gress moves forward with spending plans. At the national level, NSPS is working to encourage Congress to adopt a single standard (3DEP) of high definition elevated data collection when infrastructure plans are authorized. This will allow both horizontal (across Federal agencies) and verti- cal (Federal, state, local and commercial) sharing of data once it is collected. On Friday, June 1st, Congressman Schrader met with a PLSO delegation that included PLSO President Pat Gaylord, PLSO Ex- ecutive Director Aimee McAuliffe and PLSO Lobbyist Darrell Fuller. A FAA licensed drone pilot with Harper Houf Peterson Righellis, Inc., demonstrated one of the methods 3DEP data is collected. Then, Pat Gaylord showed the Congressman a short video on how data is used in designing projects. The “show and tell” was arranged on the top floor of a TriMet parking structure near the Max station at Clackamas Town Center. HHPR is de- signing the CRC Mobility Improvement Project which includes I-205 Interchange Improvements, roadway improvements, as well as bike and pedestrian improvements with the Clackamas Regional Center. The support of this event by Harper Houf Peterson Righellis Inc. with video’s, equipment and staff was greatly appreciated and PLSO extended their partnership to help make it successful. “We are working closely with our NSPS lobbyist in Washing- ton, DC,” said PLSO President Pat Gaylord. “We want to do our part to move the ball forward on high definition data collec- tion technology.” PLSO lobbyist Darrell Fuller also mentioned that, “it is our goal to demonstrate this technology for Congressman Greg Walden, who Chairs the House Committee on Energy and Com- merce, and for Congressman Peter DeFazio, who is the ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Transportation and In- frastructure. Oregon is in a key position to make a difference in Washington, DC.” Fuller asked that any PLSO member who has an established re- lationship with Congressman Walden or Congressman DeFazio to please contact the PLSO office. You could be helpful in arrang- ing a local “show and tell” for an influential member of Congress. See more pictures on the next page! T