The Oregon March/April 2022 A publication of the Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon Right of Entry............................................. pg 8 Staking The Ochoco Dam...................pg 16
The Oregon Surveyor | Vol. 45, No. 2
Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon Executive Secretary PO Box 230548 Tigard, OR 97281 503-303-1472 Toll-free: 844-284-5496 execdirector@plso.org www.plso.org © 2022 LLM Publications Vol. 45, No. 2 March/April 2022 A publication of the Published by LLM Publications 503-445-2220 • 800-647-1511 www.llmpubs.com Advertising Ronnie Jacko, ronnie@llmpubs.com Design Benjamin Caulder, ben@llmpubs.com Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon Editor Vanessa Salvia Publications Committee Tim Kent, Interim Chair Pat Gaylord Samantha Tanner Editorials From the PLSO Chair, by Jeremy Sherer, PLS 2 4 From the Publications Committee, by Tim Kent, PLS 6 Featured Articles 2022 Annual Conference Photo Contest 10 Staking the Ochoco Dam, by Dick Bryant, PLS (ret.) 16 PCC’s New AAS Degrees, by Christina Friedle and Tara Nelson 19 Here’s What Gets Lost When We Rely On GPS, by M.R. O’Connor 22 An Introduction to the PLSO Legislative Committee Chair, by James Hepler, PLS 23 Columns OrYSN Corner, 8 Member Spotlight, by Vanessa Salvia 12 Surveyors in the News, by Pat Gaylord, PLS 20 The Lost Surveyor, by Pat Gaylord, PLS 26 On the Cover Russel Dodge took the winning photo of the 2022 PLSO conference photo contest with his This pipe is 9 feet in diameter and diverts part of the Clackamas River to provide electricity to extensive damages to the controlling facilities. This gave Dodge and his team the opportunity to traverse into and through the pipe and collect data on damages that have happened in previous years. This particular section was deformed by a landslide. Dodge noted that all safety precautions were taken for the team to enter the pipe. Contents The Oregon Surveyor is a publication of the Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon (PLSO). It is provided as a medium for the expression of individual opinions concerning topics relating to the Land Surveying profession. Address changes & business for changes of address, membership inquiries, and PLSO business correspondence should be directed to Tigard, OR 97281; 503-303-1472; execdirector@plso.org. Editorial matters & contributions of material The Oregon Surveyor welcomes your articles, comments, and photos for publication. PLSO assumes no responsibility for statements expressed in this publication. Editorial matters should be directed to Vanessa Salvia, vsalvia@gmail.com. Advertising policy Advertising content and materials are subject to approval of the PLSO Board and LLM Publications. The publisher reserves the right to reject any advertising that simulates copy; material must be clearly marked as “Advertisement.” For advertising, contact: Ronnie Jacko, ronnie@llmpubs.com; 503-445-2234, 800-647-1511 x2234. @ORLandSurveyors The Oregon
2 The Oregon Surveyor | Vol. 45, No. 2 From the PLSO Chair MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR Choosing Leadership Our organization’s emerging leaders must be exposed to good leadership fundamentals by learning from our history, our role as surveyors in society, and how to lead others toward a vision. In the September/October 2020 issue of The Oregon Surveyor, my column gave an example of leadership from the past by drawing on the iconic United States Marine Corps Lieutenant General Lewis “Chesty” Puller during the battle for the Chosin Reservoir in Korea. Today, leaders are emerging in the Russian-Ukraine war, including a Ukrainian Marine who sacrificed himself so that Russian tanks could not advance across a bridge (search Vitaly Skakun Volodymyrovych for this hero’s story). Some may wonder, how is it that any human is capable of self-sacrifice? Whenever we make a self-sacrificing decision, we don’t do it blindly. We know the risks and yet make it anyway. Regardless of whether one is a soldier, there is unquestionably some instinct in each of us to protect the people we love. Whether fighting an uphill battle or in the face of danger, self-sacrifice is a character trait of good leadership that inspires others to do the same. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky knew that Russia would advance and that Kyiv would fall. Yet, hismessage to Russian President Vladimir Putin was that the Russian Army “will see our face, not our backs.” While some leaders facing a situation like this would hide out or run away, good leaders face the challenge and lead by inspiring confidence through credentials, character, charisma, and competency. Leaders have a strong sense of faith in others and a duty to a cause, country, or vision. They exhibit courage and self-sacrifice. The previous column explained three facets of leadership: advancing toward good leadership, barriers to leadership, and the path to leadership. Like President Zelensky, PLSO will face our leadership challenges and not turn away. Turning our face to the challenge is the first step on the path to leadership. The path toward good leadership requires self-sacrifice and love for our profession, organization, and people. Good leadership can be an inherent ability. But for most people, it must be taught and nurtured. Good leadership is practiced and learned. Good leaders are good learners. They learn from the past, understand the present, and prepare for the future. President Zelensky is leading his people toward a path of independence, moving his people from under the shadow of Russia toward sovereignty as an indigenous people of Ukraine. Zelensky understood his nation’s history and the present situation and prepared a vision for Ukraine as best as he could. Like Zelensky, our organization’s emerging leadersmust beexposed to good leadership fundamentals by learning fromour history, understanding our roles Our organization’s emerging leaders must be exposed to good leadership fundamentals by learning from our history, understanding our roles as surveyors in society, and learning how to lead others toward a vision. Jeremy Sherer, PLS PLSO Board Chair
3 Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon | www.plso.org From the PLSO Chair as surveyors in society, and learning how to lead others toward a vision. PLSO is looking for future leaders. For the last few years, PLSO has developed a program for a leadership academy. The academy includes emerging leaders, managerial (operational/deliverable) leadership, and strategic leadership. Our Practices Committee has decided to begin an Emerging Leaders program. This program will help the rising generation of surveyors through a mentor who is accountable to the chapter. The program will be administratively supported by the Professional Practice Committee in cooperation with other committees. Emerging leaders will be exposed to the past, present, and future of surveying by their mentor and chapter. They will learn through instruction, example, experience, andstudy. Currently, the committee is at the development stage and has identified the types of curricula needed. Another accomplishment is that the program developed a performancematrix addressing the past (our history), the present (our practice), and the future (our vision). Each learning objective includes a proficiency standard for each principle and practice learned. For instance, under the matrix heading “Past,” mentees will be exposed to general Oregon and county survey history. They will also learn about the history, structure, mission, and goals of PLSO. This program needs the efforts of every seasonedmember who is willing to volunteer. The future of our profession needs us to choose the path of leadership. Our young surveyors are looking for someone to lead and to show themtheway toward a higher purpose. Our profession’s problems will not magically go away, so we must be willing to sacrifice some of our time and energy to achieve our purpose. I am asking you, the ruling generation, to turn your face to the challenge. We need a ground force armed with knowledge, experience, skill, and time. We are looking for surveyors with various backgrounds, including survey history, law, communication, and leadership. We have to train the next generation toward a vision of excellence in our profession and as a leader. I believe in our organization and its members. Our duty as professionals is to train thenext generation towardgood leadership. Please email or call our corporate office if you are ready to face the challenge. I will contact you to volunteer for the Practices Committee and help develop curricula for the Emerging Leaders program. x How to Send Us Your Work Please email the editor Vanessa Salvia with submissions. vsalvia@gmail.com Your submission should be in .doc format. Please send images separately (not embedded in the document) and at the highest file size available (MB size range versus KB size range—larger sizes are encouraged). Please include the author’s name and email address or phone number for contact.
4 The Oregon Surveyor | Vol. 45, No. 2 The Continued Importance of Community From the PLSO Office Aimee McAuliffe PLSO Exec. Secretary Last month, PLSO had a meeting of the Nominating Committee to begin searching for the 2022 chair-elect. We have started much earlier this year for two reasons. It is often left to the last minute the past few years, which did not give anyone time to ask in-depth questions and genuinely think about it. As a result, this often led to the answer “no.” What happens when nobody agrees to step up to be the chair of the board? Just like with other responsibilities that have to get done, the same generous people continue to volunteer in order for PLSO to keep running without a hitch. On one hand, this can be helpful because it offers institutional knowledge during board meeting discussions. On the other hand, thinking of what we’ve already done oftenmakes it hard to try new ideas without being hindered with fears or expectations of what happened before. Currently, the steps one needs to take to become the chair of the board is to first serve as a chapter president. Each chapter has two representatives on the state board—the president and president-elect—making a total of 18 positions to potentially be filled (the 2022 board has 16 board reps, plus the chair and chairelect). Chapter officers coordinate their chapter meetings and communication autonomously from the PLSO office as well as function within the PLSO construct on the board of directors. This means, if both positions are filled, that area of the state has two votes for every proposed motion to represent their wishes. If that chapter (or geographic area) only has one chapter officer, they get one vote. If they have zero chapter officers, they get no votes. All past chapter presidents are eligible to be nominated as chair-elect. This position serves on the executive committee with the chair and past-chair and attends board meetings throughout the year (many are via teleconference). It is a good time for the chair-elect to start thinking about a signature project they would like to see PLSO accomplish during their time as chair (or get it started as chair-elect). The following year, the chair-elect moves into the chair position to work on the executive committee with the past-chair and newly nominated chair-elect. The chair oversees the board of directors and works with the executive secretary on matters relevant to running the organization. Why would one want to volunteer to be a Chapter President and serve on the board? Yes, yes, I get it. You’re busy. Work is insane. You have a baby. Your dog needs walking. The lawn won’t mow itself. I often say and feel those things, too. (Except change “baby” to “temperamental teenage student athlete who doesn’t have her license yet.”) Much like membership in PLSO, volunteer roles are as big or small as you want to make them. While having someone do the bare minimum isn’t necessarily ideal, it can be a good step for some people to understand how they can make an impact simply by saying “yes.” “Yes” does not always have to be life-altering. “Yes” can mean, “I have 10 minutes a day I can spare for you while I’m in the Starbucks drive-up line.” Making sure your local colleagues are staying connected is a big impact and serving on the board is about running the organization and making decisions that can directly affect the profession in Oregon. This, in turn, affects you. As chapters began looking for their officers this year, think about stepping up and letting them know how much time you can give. Because I know you will get a lot back.
5 Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon | www.plso.org From the PLSO Office A recent example is a meeting the board had in February, giving OSBEELS direct feedback on their current suggestions for pathways to licensure. Future meetings will include two possible changes to the by-laws that will continue to be discussed during chapter meetings until the board is ready to vote on the matter. Last year’s impact was voting to secure funds for remote student labs during COVID. Every year, it means deciding where fundraising money goes for scholarships and outreach. It also affects your career. The more people that know who you are, the more people that want to hire you (client or supervisor). A past-chair once shared that he got a particularly large project because they liked that he had held the position. They felt that it gave him more leverage as an expert. Occasionally, I will hear amember say that they don’t see or hear from PLSO unless it’s time to renew or attend the conference (by “hear” I mean read in a survey or an obscure conversation I accidently stumbled upon on Facebook). To that, I have follow-up questions. Have you been reading the monthly eNews letting you know when chapter meetings are, asking for volunteers, or informing you about what has been going on? Have you been attending chapter meetings (many are teleconference)? Are you reading The Oregon Surveyor? (Of course, by that theory I’m not speaking to the audience I had in mind when I wrote this, am I? Thank you for reading!) Between online, hardcopy and in-person, PLSO is using all forms of communication to create a valuable community. Community takes interaction and effort. A vibrant and healthy community requires new ideas and generations. So, what am I getting at here? Our pool for chair of the board is getting smaller because the same people keep volunteering to be chapter officers. Those people have already served as chair (some more than once), or they don’t want to step up to serve as an executive officer quite yet. I applaud all these folks. Folks like Brent Knapp, Jered McGrath, Dan Nelson, Paul Kowalczyk, Dan Cummings, Derek Windham, John Minor, and more. I feel privileged to know and work with all these men. And I’m really excited to see new faces this year—Brenton Griffin just stepped onto the board (in addition to OrYSN) and Darryl Anderson took over in the South Central Chapter, who has not had representation on the board for a while. I cannot wait to see what contributions they will bring. And I hope to see you, dear readers, taking the reins for a few short years. Getting to know us, as everyone gets to know you better. As chapters began looking for their officers this year, think about stepping up and letting them know how much time you can give. Because I know you will get a lot back. x
6 The Oregon Surveyor | Vol. 45, No. 2 From the Publications Committee Tim Kent, PLS PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE FROM THE FIELD NOTES You have the ideas and experiences to fill these pages with the work that you do. Please take some photos and put together an article to share with your peers. It really is that simple. The Oregon Surveyor magazine continues to bring you relevant information about our profession with each issue. As noted in last month’s issue, NSPS honored The Oregon Surveyor magazine as the best state society magazine for 2021. This honor doesn’t happen without your input. I hope you read the Field Notes from the last issue on how relatively easy it is to submit an article to the magazine, right down to how to set your camera settings for photos to accompany your article. You have the ideas and experiences to fill these pages with the work that you do. Please take some photos and put together an article to share with your peers. It really is that simple. This month’s article is coming to you from the interim Publications Committee chair. I emphasize interim as I believe inmaking sure that this publication continues to be the best it can be and I volunteered to assume these duties. Please contact me if this position is of interest to you. The duties are relatively simple but critical for meeting publication deadlines. We have an editor in Vanessa Salvia who knows how to put together a great magazine. She interacts with the publisher to provide the magazine to you in a timely manner. The Publications Committee chair is responsible for suggesting articles for publication in concert with the other committee members. A review is made of those articles from the first proof of the magazine. Overall, it is a fairly simple duty for helping to lead a committee in preparing a magazine for publication. It is the face of PLSO and I look forward to continuing to make it the best it can be. x Are you interested in becoming more involved in the land surveying industry? If so, the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) has an opportunity for you! The NCEES is currently seeking licensed professional surveyors and mapping scientists to participate in a professional activities and knowledge study, or PAKS, for the NCEES’s Principles and Practice of Surveying (PS) exam. The results of this study will be used to update the exam’s specifications. To learn more about this opportunity and how to connect with the NCEES, visit their website: https://ncees.org/ncees-seeks-professional-surveyors-and-mapping-scientists-expertise-and-advice/
7 Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon | www.plso.org From the Publications Committee Resolution example.
8 The Oregon Surveyor | Vol. 45, No. 2 Right of Entry How Permission Does Not Mean Protection By Brenton Griffin, PLS We all have our own typical playbook for what we say when we are approached or we are approaching a neighbor when performing a survey. My typical response when asked what I am doing usually has me refraining from blurting out “None of your darn business.” I usually end up saying something more subtle and explaining that I am performing a survey for one of their neighbors and would like/need access to their property to (insert whatever survey related item here). We all know the variety of responses we carry up our sleeve to combat their follow up questions. I imagine all of us even get to a point where we can sweet talk our way into good standing with just about anyone and let them pretty much give us the keys to their property when we are done. I’m not sure about the dealings other surveyors have with the public in other parts of the state, but for me in northeast Oregon the people are fairly reasonable, if not excited that you’re there. Most of them are willing to share with you their life story and show you where they know or think they know where monuments are located. A seminar regarding right of entry at this year’s conference not only expanded my “level of competency” on the subject, but also opened my eyes to the fact that I have been breaking the law on every boundary survey I have ever performed in Oregon. In my understudy years, I had the opportunity to learn from some of the best sweet talkers around and have taken pride in being able to get permission from landowners to allow me permission for almost anything when it comes to performing our work. However, as I recently learned, permission does not mean protection when it comes to right of entry as presented in the statute. And as I have also found out in talking with other surveyors that have had problems, OrYSN Corner A photo of Brenton Griffin’s desk as he prepares door hangers in advance of a survey.
9 Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon | www.plso.org For surveyors young and old reading this, take a moment to reflect on your procedure or company procedure for notifying the public. We are lucky to have the protection of a law such as this in this state but only if we follow it as it is intended do we have any right to enter. OrYSN Corner I have been extremely lucky that no landowner or landowner’s attorney has taken the opportunity to “throw the book at me” regarding illegal trespass. The first item of discussion at the seminar that hit home is the understanding that verbal permission does not count as personal notice as required by statute. A hostile confrontation, even if it turns jovial, ending in the exchange of a few laughs and swapping of business cards, does not fulfill the requirements of notice according to ORS 672.047(4). The notice shall give the professional land surveyor’s name, address, telephone number, purpose, availability, and the presence of any temporary or permanent monuments or other markers to be left on the land. Not sure about you, but my business cards only cover about a third of the stated required items, so right away I have performed faux pas numero uno. The second itemof discussion that seems so trivial, but blew my mind as to how I break the law relates to what actually is deemed a trespass or perhaps a perceived trespass when conducting a boundary survey. An example discussed during the seminar included a surveyor who was charged for not properly notifying the landowners while locating front lot corners along the road right of way while accessing them from the right of way. ORS 672.047(1) reads in part “a registered professional land surveyor, or any employee or agent of the land surveyor, may enter on foot, where practicable, upon any land for the purpose of surveying or performing any survey work.” The dilemma presented comes when unpacking the definition “may enter on foot.” In the surveyor’s defense, he never set foot on their property outside of the public right of way. However, to my understanding (be it limited) and my number one take away from the seminar, the surveyor’s fault came as a failure to notify the landowners of “entering” their property to locate the monument. How did he enter the property on foot? I thought to myself, he’s standing in the public road right of way? Even though it is not on foot, leveling up your rod over the center of the monument is indeed seen as a trespass as half of the rod (maybe more or less for those who don’t calibrate the rod bubble) is outside of the right of way. It seems like such a novel concept, but opened my eyes to the fact that even if you are locating monuments, setting monuments, or setting points along a property line while performing everything from your client’s side of the line doesn’t mean that you are still not trespassing on the neighboring property in doing so. I should have seen that clearly as my sweet-talking line No. 5 is, “Their line is your line so you are actually getting a partial free survey out of the deal!” If every line that we survey (mark, retrace, locate, etc.) marks the ownership between two properties, then to me and what I understand now, we better be notifying the neighbors, the landowners, or occupants every time we survey (locate, set, mark, flag, etc.) any line that another party is occasioned to its use. The same holds true for construction or topo work along a right-of-way. In the case presented above, not just one trespass, but two were occurring as the monument along the right of way was not only marking the line for one property, but for two neighboring lots. The right of entry door hangers, purchasable from PLSO, are a handy tool and surprisingly are becoming an everyday occurrence with what I know now. Be it mailing, at least seven days before I head to the job to any and every landowner I might potentially need to access, or keeping a stack in a Ziploc bag in my vest pocket, I am going to make certain that I use the law as intended to protect not only my business, but the bonafide rights of any neighbor I might encounter or need to encounter to perform the work. To this point, I have luckily avoided any potential run-ins with the law but that doesn’t mean that I plan to keep operating my business nor training my employees in the same fashion. There are still some questions I have as to the minutiae of the law regarding contacting various agencies, be them state or federal and how the statute is applied in those instances, but for now I have a good starting place to correct my procedures and let the world know that I’m coming in, whether you like it or not. Statutorily correct, of course. For surveyors young and old reading this, take a moment to reflect on your procedure or company procedure for notifying the public. We are lucky to have the protection of a law such as this in this state, but only if we follow it as it is intended do we have any right to enter. Doing it right takes time, can be a royal pain, and add cost to our projects, but the cost of doing it wrong is not just a fine slapped on you from the board, but might also add a level of difficulty to defend your survey and discredit you in court, because if you ignored this statute, what other statutes are you ignoring? Ignoring the proper procedure is a good way to also damage our reputation as surveyors with the public as a whole and it ultimately does not protect their property rights in the manner we are licensed to hold paramount. x
10 The Oregon Surveyor | Vol. 45, No. 2 2022 Annual Conference Ph to Contest OPUS deep in Maine woods. Photo by David Wellman. I’m doing my part to keep the profession alive. Who are you training? Photo by Travis Griffin. Running levels at the Oregon Air National Guard Base. Photo by Mathew Banton. OPUS on Maine coast. Photo by David Wellman.
11 Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon | www.plso.org Levels in Oakridge, Oregon. Photo by David Wellman. Thank goodness for a man-made path! Photo by Jason Page. National Fish Hatchery, Warm Springs Reservation. Photo by Mathew Banton. Flow measurements, Oak Fork Clackamas. Photo by Joshua Evey. 2022 Annual Conference
12 The Oregon Surveyor | Vol. 45, No. 2 Member Spotlight SPOTLIGHT Member By Vanessa Salvia Eli Adam, PLS County Surveyor, Lincoln County Surveyor’s Office On the day of our call, Eli Adamwas late to talk because he was in a meeting with the Lincoln County Planning Department and the Assessor’s Office that ran over, trying to work on fine-tuning the land division process. That’s just one of the complicated tasks involved with being a county surveyor. “It’s fairly complicated, and people tend to know their own realm and not necessarily the subsequent or previous steps,” Adam says. “We’re working to document all of that and potentially make it easier to guide applicants through the process. Land-use applicants come into the process with not a lot of background in these fairly specialized areas.” Like many surveyors, he took a non- direct route to get into the profession. He started out in engineering school, but getting three quarters of the way through engineering school, he realized that he might not actually want to do that. He found his way into archeology and GIS and actually graduated with an archaeology degree, which did use some surveying technologies and which he worked at for a few years. Then, he moved more toward GIS over archeology, and what was unique about himdoing GIS in Lincoln County is that the GIS program was headed by a licensed land surveyor, John Waffenschmidt, who was Adam’s predecessor. “It was really a unique opportunity to do GIS filtered through a land surveyor’s perspective and I really benefited from that, and through John’s mentorship I got more into surveying,” says Adam. “It came full circle in a way, because of all those old engineering classes.” Adam, now 40, became the county surveyor March 1, 2021. Before that, he worked in the county surveyor’s office as a surveyor and before that, as a survey technician. Before that, he was a GIS analyst, going back to 2006. Adam is originally from Michigan, and ended up in Newport about 15 years ago, but that story is complicated to tell. “I don’t really have a good explanation of how I wound up in the Pacific Northwest!” Adam says with a laugh. “Mostly, I had been through other states and traveled a fair amount, but had never been to the Northwest and I had a feeling that I wanted to check it out. I did a job search and came here and I have loved it ever since.” Adamhad traveled throughmore than 40 states, but the first time he came to Oregon was for his Lincoln County interview. To explain his duties as a county surveyor, Adam summarized Chuck Pearson’s recent Oregon Surveyor magazine article: review and file surveys from private and public surveyors; review and approve subdivision, partition, and condominium plats; and maintain and reestablish monuments of the PLSS system. “We also run a survey record research library for private surveyors as well as the general public,” says Adam. “We survey county roads and perform legalizations if needed. We maintain a geodetic control network. We learn and share historical information for Lincoln County, like the different indexing schemes for deeds Eli Adam presents coworker Chaz Malarkey with some “corner pie” upon his retirement.
13 Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon | www.plso.org Member Spotlight and which are duplicated or how to research county roads.” Adam says this is well-known to The Oregon Surveyor magazine audience, but one of the number one answers to the general public is that county surveyors will not come survey their property, but instead will provide referrals to private surveyors. Lincoln County has roads from the late 1800s, and his projects often relate to complicated historical matters like road legalization that are reflective of a different era when the beach was the mode of transportation. County Road 804, for example, is an old county road that runs along the coastline that is now pedestrian- only. “The road had never been vacated and those public rights had not been extinguished,” says Adam. “It ends at the ocean. I do like the deep history of working on projects where we get to explore the old records and trace the full chain of title. It actually has many things in common with things I liked about archeology, the history and putting all the pieces of the puzzle together.” Adam joined PLSO as an associate member around the year 2014. At that time, he wasn’t licensed. He personally benefited from the continuing education available through the conferences, and also the OSU geomatics classes by Professor Schultz and Ty Parsons, particularly those for non-students, were especially helpful. “PLSO provides the venue for valuable interaction with colleagues providing different perspectives and ways to approach and think about ways to put the puzzle together. He feels that his membership is valuable, particularly when it comes to the interactions with He personally benefited from the continuing education available through the conferences. continuesT The Alsea River valley filled with fog, viewed from above on corner preservation and geodetic control work. Eli Adam hanging out with P395 in Rose Lodge.
14 The Oregon Surveyor | Vol. 45, No. 2 Member Spotlight colleagues at the conferences and for learning about legal cases about surveying, which he learns about from the two volumes of the Brian Portwood’s book, The Land Surveyor’s Guide to the Supreme Court of Oregon Vol. 1: 1848–1892 and Volume 2: 1893–1935. At the time of our call, Lincoln County was hiring for a surveyor. Since he knows frompersonal experience that surveyors can become surveyors through a variety of means, he knows how important it is to broaden the field when looking for new surveyors. “Some places to look for surveyors are obvious like on survey parties since somany surveyors inOregonare taking the 12 years of experience route to licensing,” says Adam, “but also considering law school graduates, archaeologists, and historymajors. All of these may in some way relate to aspects of surveying and have some of the needed skills to pursue land surveying. So it’s important to me to think about finding people tomentor froma variety of backgrounds because the interactionwith peers and gaining different perspectives can really broaden your thoughts because different peoplewould approach the same problem in different ways.” Adamgoes back to the notion of Yachats’s 804 Trail, also known as County Road 804. In the past, using the beach as a highway was a normal and obvious thing. “But today, it’s unlikely that you or I would think, ‘Oh, I have to get home from Yachats, I’ll just drive on the beach to get home,’” he remarks. “But at one point that was an entirely obvious perspective and you would think of nothing else.” One more tidbit that Adam shares is that there are some land survey monuments that wash across the ocean from Asia. One of these actually resulted in a book being published, which he provided last year to the PLSO auction. “I got a copy of it from Japan and put it in the auction, along with a survey monument that sort of matched the book,” he says. “That just sort of highlights that land surveying is a profession and practice that goes around the world. Everyone is monumenting boundaries throughout time and throughout all geographies.” The book, which is called Little Orca’s 5000 Mile Odyssey, is away that young kids could get interested in surveying. Adam also donated a copy to the library. x continuedT Eli Adam returning to the Willamette Stone, once licensed. The Willamette Stone, where it all begins, with exam materials. Eli Adam on corner preservation work. Road work along the beautiful “eastern shore of the pacific ocean” (as one plat calls it), or more sarcastically, the harsh conditions of coastal surveying. Exam materials at the Willamette Stone, post exam.
15 Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon | www.plso.org
16 The Oregon Surveyor | Vol. 45, No. 2 Featured Article Staking The Ochoco Dam By Dick Bryant, PLS (ret.) When you have been connected with the surveying profession as long as I have, you are bound to have worked on projects that stick in your mind. When my partner, Tom McCullough, and I were in the business we covered a lot of territory. This included cadastral surveys, running control for large mapping projects, finding and remonumenting public land survey corners, subdivisions, and utility construction. If you have ever flushed a toilet at the Diamond Lake Campground or the nearby Broken Arrow Campground, you can thank our company, at least partially, for that convenience. Many other projects come to mind. Probably the job that sparked themost interest for me personally was when I was working for David Evans & Associates out of Bend. DEA was hired by a contractor to provide the construction staking for the renovation of the Ochoco Dam east of Prineville. But before we get to that story, a little history is in order. The damwas built by a group of ranchers in 1920 in order to impound water for irrigation. It was an earthen dam and tomy understanding was constructed as a community do-it-yourself project. My research showed that certain design standards apply when it comes to building this type of dam, none of which seemed to have been followed by the original builders. The basic rule is to construct anearthendamsowater will not flow through it, under it, around it (I refer you to the Teton Dam in east central Idaho, circa 1979), or overtop it (Johnstown, Pennsylvania flood in 1889). This is done by keying both abutments well into the existing walls on both ends of the dam, doing a cutoff trench below the dam to not allow water to flowbeneath it, building a vertical impervious layer inside the damto prevent water from passing through it and last, adding in a spillway so the damwill not be overtopped during a flood. Another safeguard is to not build the dam on a fault. Apparently all of these design criteria, except a spillway, were either not known or not followed. There was an ancient rock slide at the right abutment which allowed Start of original dam construction using a water cannon.
17 Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon | www.plso.org Featured Article water to seep around that. I was told that there was a great deal of water seeping under and through the dam because of the lack of an impervious membrane or a cutoff trench. The original dam was built by setting up a water cannon to allow material to be sluiced from a nearby canyon wall then transported by pipes as a slurry to the dam site. The material flowed into wooden forms, which were raised as the height of the dam increased. Literally, they ended up with a big pile of Central Oregon dirt holding back a lot of Central Oregon water. Later the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) raised the height of the dam. The dam appeared to function well over the years, until the BOR determined that the dam was unsafe and subject to failure. A catastrophic failure would have devastated Prineville, a fewmiles downstream. As such, they restricted the amount of water the reservoir could contain, which reduced the availability of irrigationwater. The BOR and the irrigation district agreed that the dam had to be rebuilt to satisfy the safety concerns and to provide needed water. Since the dam, intake structure, and a spillway were in place it was not practical to remove the whole damand start over. The redesign called for reconstructing the upstreamfaceof thedam. It startedbydraining the lake, building a cofferdam, and piping the water coming down Ochoco Creek through the dam. Rock from the upstream portion of the dam was removed. A good deal of the existing soil was also stripped from that face, and a cutoff trench was dug below the base of the dam. The dam was then breached with a large terraced notch. The dam was full of water so they drilled wells on the benches in the notch and pumped the water out of the dam. It was literally a huge saturated sponge. Onceall thenecessarymaterialwas stripped away they began to back fill the upstream face of the dam. They placed two types of material. The first, or inner layer, was a thick layer of coarse river run rock that was trucked in from some nearby source. What theywere creatingwas a curtaindrain. This material was also placed through the breach. The second layer, or outer layer, was an impervious clay material that was trucked in from a pit upstream from the dam. The theory was that the impervious material would prevent most of the water from penetrating into the dam. What did make its way in would be picked up by the curtain drain and transported through and out of the dam. Our work had many facets. We cross- sectioned the dam and its environs three times. First was prior to any construction, second when all necessary material was removed, and third when everything was replaced. Apparently, the contractor was paid formaterial removed andmaterial replaced. As thematerial removal progressed, wewere calledupon to set a lot of construction stakes. We set slope stakes so proper cuts could be established as material was being removed. Grade stakes were also set as material was being brought back in to make sure everything was put back in its proper place. Fortunately, we had a good total station (before GPS). I had a qualified instrument man, so I ran the rod as I knew where I wanted various shots to be taken. Jim Perry in our Bend office produced all the digital terrain models and came up with the quantities. The dam project was the first of two improvements that were made. Two years later, the same contractor won the bid to build a stilling basin. The engineers in Pouring slurry onto the dam that is contained in the forms. continuesT
18 The Oregon Surveyor | Vol. 45, No. 2 Colorado determined that if a heavy runoff were to occur, it was probable that the existing spillway would come into play as the pool filled. This outflow structure also had a design flaw. The spillway, as it existed, simply let the floodwater spill onto the ground at the toe of the dam. They were afraid the backwater could erode the base of the damand cause a failure frombelow. BOR ranmodels in their lab in Denver and came up with a plan to construct a large bowl at the downstream end of the spillway, called a “stilling basin.” This required that the bowl be excavated to a precise dimension, then linedwith roller-compacted concrete. On the floor of the basin were baffles designed to slow themovement of the water as it passed through the structure. A rock-lined channel then carried the water out to the existing creek. We must have done an okay job with the dam as we were rehired to stake the stilling basin. You can see by the pictures that this was not a straightforward construction staking job. Therehad tobe a lot ofmaterial removed and the whole thing was a weird shape. Slope stakes needed to be set high up on the side of the hill. Grades had to be carried down all the way to the bottom of the basin. I don’t remember the back slope but it was probably a one half to one, so pretty steep. They hired a grade hopper, but unfortunately he allowed some creep, so the back slope flattened slightly. By the time they reached bottomgrade, thewidth of the basin was too narrow. The contractor was mostly able to resolve the flaw. The BOR engineers ran another flowmodel and they were okay with what they ended up with. As we were reaching final grades and because of the configuration of the basin, it became difficult to determine fromfield calculations where final grades should be. I sent and asked for the digital terrainmodel from the bureau. I could pick any subgrade design X,Y, Z off of the DTM, shoot that point in, and thus determine what the contractor needed to do to get to the design grade. When final grades were achieved, the basin was lined with a 10-foot-thick layer of roller compacted concrete. A suitable rock source was found just below the dam. They set up a batch plant, and were able to produce the concrete on site. Finishing this project couldn’t have been timed more perfectly. A year after completing the stilling basin, a significant flood occurred in that drainage. The spillway accepted the overflow, and the basin and damperformed as designed. Unfortunately, there was still some major flooding in downtown Prineville. After all the time I have spent in Central Oregon, 1998 was the only time I can recall that the spillway and stilling basin has come into play to that extent. All of you surveyors out theremust have a favorite job that you have participated in sometime during your career. How about sharing? I’m sure Vanessa and the Publication Committee would love to hear of some. [Editor’s Note - Vanessa agrees! She would love to hear of some of your favorite jobs. If not favorite, then perhaps the most challenging.] Tales of your exploits might even spur some fledgling surveyors to want to get serious about this fun game called “surveying.” x Dick Bryant was recently featured as our Member Spotlight in the November/December 2021 Oregon Surveyor. He celebrated 50 (+1) years of licensure on September 22, 2021. Dick was licensed as Oregon Registered Professional Land Surveyor #920 in July 1970. He was voted PLSO Surveyor of the Year and was awarded Life Membership in 2004. In 1967, he and Tom McCullough formed McCullough, Bryant and Associates. Preparing the upstream face of the dam for curtain drain and impervious cover. Note breach to the left. Aerial view of completed dam with reconstructed spillway and new stilling basin. continuedT Featured Article
19 Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon | www.plso.org PCC’s New AAS Degrees By Christina Friedle and Tara Nelson, Portland Community College Geography Department Chairs Portland Community College is now offering two Associates of Applied Science (AAS) degrees that will prepare its graduates for a career in surveying. The two new classes are a Geomatics AAS and Civil and a Construction Engineering Technology (CCET) AAS. These programs were designed collaboratively with industry partners through our advisory boards and in the case of the CCET degree using a DACUM (Developing a Curriculum) process, identifying major duties, tasks, knowledge, and skills in the field. One goal of these two programs is to train surveying technicians to be employable in two years and to meet the needs of the growing demand in the surveying field. The two programs were designed to cover overlapping skills in year one that include map and plan reading, algebra, precalculus, GIS, AutoCAD, writing composition, and technical writing. In year two, both programs have a series of three surveying courses. The only difference is that the Geomatics AAS covers boundary surveys and maps, and the CCET AAS covers computer applications for surveying. In year two, CCET dives deeper into more technical and drafting coursework, with additional AutoCAD courses and Civil3D, materials testing, and inspection. The second-year program in Geomatics is focused onmore in-depth GIS using desktop and online applications, remote sensing, GPS, and a three-course sequence in UAS flights and geospatial modeling using Agisoft. Now you know about our programs and you are excited about having students trained to enter the surveying workforce. You ask yourself, what can I or PLSO do to help support these programs as they get off the ground? There are many ways. Surveying Instructors are Needed Between the two programs, we are offering four surveying-specific classes: Introduction to Surveying, Computer Applications for Surveying, Boundary Survey and Maps, and Intermediate Surveying. We are looking for instructors who can teach the next generation of surveyors and get students excited about the career opportunities. Some of the surveying courses require a surveyor’s license and some do not. All of our courses require industry experience. Serve on Our Advisory Boards Advisory boards are one of the ways we stay connected to the industry that our programs serve. They help guide our curriculum, ensure we are meeting industry needs, and generally provide support and advice on our academic programs. Host an Intern Our students are looking to gain real-world experience in the field while pursuing their AAS degrees. Gaining experience in the surveying field while working towards their degree gives students an opportunity to apply their classroom learning and gives employers an opportunity to expose emerging surveyors to their specific workflows and methods. There are also ways students can earn credit towards their degree through an internship. Be a Guest Speaker in Our Classes We are always looking for professionals to join our classes and give students a glimpse of “a day in the life of a surveyor.” Regardless of your field or specific role within the surveying profession, there is an opportunity for you to share your knowledge and experiences within one of our classes. Share Internship and Job Opportunities When your company is looking to hire surveying or other geospatial technicians, send those announcements directly to the faculty department chairs (Christina Friedle and Tara Nelson). We can post and share them directly with students and graduates. Support for AAS Degree to Count Towards LSIT and PSL Licensure OSBEELS is currently revising the OARs for surveyor licensure and we need your support to ensure that our AAS degree programs are included towards the education component of the licensing requirements, hence cutting the number of years of experience needed before being eligible to become Professional Land Surveyor. Learn more at these links: • www.pcc.edu/programs/gis/ aas-geomatics/ • www.pcc.edu/programs/ civil-construction-engineering/ x Christina Friedle is geography/GIS faculty and department chair at Portland Community College. Christina has been instrumental in designing and managing PCC’s Geospatial Programs including a GIS Certificate, UAS Certificate, and Geomatics AAS. Contact her at christina.friedle@pcc.edu. Tara Nelson is CCET faculty and department chair at Portland Community College. Tara has experience teaching in engineering transfer and technology pathways, and seven years of working as a civil engineer. She has been an integral partner in creating and managing the CCET program. Contact her at tara.nelson@pcc.edu. One goal of these two programs is to train surveying technicians to be employable in two years and to meet the needs of the growing demand in the surveying field. Featured Article
20 The Oregon Surveyor | Vol. 45, No. 2 The Morning Oregonian, February 20, 1895 Captain Gilbert Comes to Make Magnetic Observation. Captain J.J. Gilbert, of the coast and geodetic survey, arrived in Portland yesterday to take the regular observations connected with the magnetic stations established several years ago. Many will remember when an officer of the coast and geodetic survey had a tent pitched on the southeast corner of the post office block, and, after making his observations and calculations, “planted” a stone monument a foot or two deep. In placing this monument under the ground, it was not intended that it should sprout and grow into a Bunker Hill monument, or anything of the kind. The stone was put there so it would not be disturbed. The object of the work done and to be done is to keep track of the changes of the magnetic pole, or, rather, the changes in the variation of the magnetic needle from the true north. Everybody knows that the compass needle does not point to the true north, but varies here something over 20 degrees, but everybody does not know that this variation varies, and is constantly changing. The object of the magnetic stations established at various points by the coast and geodetic survey is to keep track of the variation, as well as the intensity of the magnetic force and the dip of the magnetic needle; to see how far the variation extends east, and then how far west; and how long it takes for it to travel between the outside limits. The design is to find out the law which governs it so that the variation for any time in the future, the same as the phases of the moon or the tides, can be predicted years in advance. Captain Gilbert is somewhat afraid that the station here has been ruined by the number of electric wires strung about in all directions, the induction from which is unable to affect the delicate instruments used in his observations. What may happen when the new power station Surveyors News By Pat Gaylord, PLS Needle and its Changes in the at Oregon City is completed and several thousand horsepower in the shape of electricity under “high pressure” is being pumped into this city daily, it is difficult to conjecture. But it may be that it will knock the compass silly, and cause the needle to point straight up and down like a Hibernian hurricane. Captain Gilbert is a brother of United States Circuit Judge Gilbert. He has been connected with the coast and geodetic survey for about 20 years, and is quite well known here, having been for some time employed on the survey of the Columbia. For several years past, he has been stationed on Puget sound. x Surveyors were much in the news during the development of Oregon. Through the archives of the University of Oregon Library, this column revisits and celebrates some of those stories of our profession. Captain Gilbert is somewhat afraid that the station here has been ruined by the number of electric wires strung about in all directions, the induction from which is unable to affect the delicate instruments used in his observations. Surveyors in the News
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