Destroyed bm

[kayak'n]

What do we do about benchmarks that have been destroyed? For example there are 2 locations that no longer exist in our area. One was a water tank that was torn down a few years ago and the is a building that was also torn down.

[+raouljan]

try doing a search for "recovery form"

There is a form that you can fill out and send in.

[PhoebeMax]

http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/FORMS_PROCESSING-cgi-bin/recvy_entry_www.prl

 

Here is the web page on the NGS site. I found a missing tower and emailed the advisor for my state. He was super helpful and full of information. Might try that. The email for the advisors of each state can be found http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/ADVISORS/AdvisorsIndex.shtml

 

Happy Benchmark Hunting!

stacy

[kayak'n]

Thanks Raouljan and PhoebeMax for your help. From our first excursion into benchmark hunting it looks like we may spend a lot of time reporting no longer existing bm. We found a 3rd that only the hole was left!

[survey tech]

Please resist the temptation to use the word "destroyed" in any case where you have not personally seen the marker. Of course, if a tower has been removed the situation is clear and obvious. But finding a hole in the vicinity of a described location is evidence of nothing whatsoever. For example, I have seen numerous markers with holes nearby which simply resulted from someone digging in the wrong place. Handheld GPS coordinates are not conclusive evidence that you are in the right place, nor is a witness post. By erroneously reporting a marker destroyed, you may actually bring about the eventual destruction of the marker, by misleading others into assuming the marker is already gone, discouraging them from making any further effort to locate it and protect it from inadvertent demolition in the future. As a responsible citizen, one should always err on the side of caution in making conclusive statements and refer to the point as "not found", describing the area in which you searched and the tools and methods you employed in the search. Many thanks to those who observe this procedure.

[russotto]

Hmm. Would something like KV1898 (see pictures on benchmark page) count as destroyed? Certainly the disk is gone.

 

Edit: checking the page, it might be that this one should be reported (if I were to report it, and I'm too lazy to do so) as "poor, disturbed, mutilated, requires maintenence" rather than destroyed, because I didn't find the disk, but rather its location.

[survey tech]

Looks like KV1898 has been vandalized, but technically it is not destroyed. Think about the purpose it serves, which is to be a point of reference for surveyors seeking to verify elevations they have established. While the disk is gone, the location is still clear and the elevation is changed only slightly by the absence of the disk. Therefore, the point is still useful. Now if the bridge it is in were to be raised, lowered or moved it would then be worthless. A note stating that it has been damaged would be appropriate, but its quite likely that all the surveyors in the area are already aware of this anyway.