+jeff35080 Posted January 24, 2003 Share Posted January 24, 2003 If I were to find a benchmark that had been dislodged and I was able to pick up marker disc and the concrete it was mounted in, should I pick it up, chip away the concrete and mail it back to the NGS or should I just leave it where it is? Jeff http://www.StarsFellOnAlabama.com http://www.NotAChance.com If you hide it, they will come.... Quote Link to comment
+Bloencustoms Posted January 24, 2003 Share Posted January 24, 2003 I used to work for a surveyor, and have seen many benchmarks. The mere act of lifting the concrete probably disturbed its original placement. We used benchmarks for flood insurance elevations, and a difference of 1/100 of a foot can mean a homeowner does or doesn't qualify. I would leave it alone, and write an anonymous letter suggusting it be updated or replaced. Quote Link to comment
survey tech Posted January 25, 2003 Share Posted January 25, 2003 Opinion varies widely, but as I understand it, the NGS policy is that it does not expect disks to be returned and you are welcome to keep it. If you do not want to keep it, take it to the nearest surveyors office and tell the surveyor the conditions you discovered. If you do not want to bother with transporting it, write the surveyor a note and he will probably look into it. Of course, all this applies only to markers that are already completely dislocated. If its still even partially in place, leave it just as it is Quote Link to comment
Dale_Lynn Posted January 25, 2003 Share Posted January 25, 2003 aaaah....... If its location is totally destroyed... Take digital pictures of it to prove condition... And/or notify local surveyor of location (L&L) if you don't want to transport... Dale -------------------------------------------------------- I'm Diagonally Parked, In A Parallel Universe. -------------------------------------------------------- Quote Link to comment
survey tech Posted January 25, 2003 Share Posted January 25, 2003 Pictures are fine, but they do not really prove anything. One could extirpate a marker and then take a picture of it and claim it was already out of place to justify removing it, but hopefully no one here would be inclined to engage in this, and if they did I suspect they would draw stern condemnation from the community. Finding a destroyed marker just laying around is rare indeed. Construction crews, who most frequently destroy them accidentally, usually dispose of the evidence as soon as they notice it to cover up what happened, and those that are left lying unnoticed are typically soon reclaimed by a surveyor or engineer working in the area. So anyone claiming to be discovering them destroyed on a regular basis may be worthy of suspicion. Quote Link to comment
+jeff35080 Posted January 25, 2003 Author Share Posted January 25, 2003 I think I will take the one that I have found to be dislodged and keep it here at home. Apparenlty one of the county's Bushogs dislodged it when cutting grass and overgrowth on the right of way. Thanks for the info! Jeff http://www.StarsFellOnAlabama.com http://www.NotAChance.com If you hide it, they will come.... Quote Link to comment
Z15 Posted January 26, 2003 Share Posted January 26, 2003 It explains what to do on this site Quote Link to comment
+jeff35080 Posted January 26, 2003 Author Share Posted January 26, 2003 Thanks for the link elcamino! Jeff http://www.StarsFellOnAlabama.com http://www.NotAChance.com If you hide it, they will come.... Quote Link to comment
+Kewaneh & Shark Posted January 29, 2003 Share Posted January 29, 2003 I found this one last week. GU3441 It has definately been disloged. As far as whether or not I'm going to try to move it: it probably weighs about 500 pounds and I'm not even going to try. I may report it to the NGS though. As far as others who try/attempt to move, remove, relocate, reset any monument they may find, my suggestion would be to leave it alone. Depending on the type of benchmark it is, the next surveyor may be able to use it, along with any other available physical evidence to properly replace it. However, if you find just the brasscap lying around (and like Surveytech said, it's very rare to find them like that), you may as well grab it. Keep on Caching! - Kewaneh Quote Link to comment
+GEO*Trailblazer 1 Posted January 29, 2003 Share Posted January 29, 2003 Out of the approximately 200 I have found only 1 brass cap has been recovered,of the ones that have been obliterated.I wrote the NGS about it and never even recieved a response from them on what to do with it,it was 200 feet from where the original mark was suppose to be,found it with my metal detector.So until I hear further from the authorities on the matter, It will be in safe keeping.I would send a e-mail or letter to them to document the evidence of the mark as you found it. When all else fails Geotry again. Quote Link to comment
survey tech Posted January 29, 2003 Share Posted January 29, 2003 The NGS is no longer in the business of replacing ground markers. They have moved on to other things, such as the CORS project. These markers never belonged to the NGS. They were set because there was a need, sufficient to mandate doing so, and a federal agency was the logical means of accomplishing such a wide ranging task. The markers as they sit now are essential tools of local surveyors and engineers everywhere, for whose benefit they were specifically set, and who therefore naturally bear the responsibility for preserving, maintaining and replacing them, which is why surveyors occasionally visit here and express concerns about what the fate of the markers may be. Ironically, a great many markers have been deliberately destroyed down through the years by people with some grudge against the government, who read the federal stamping and imagine they are getting some form of revenge against the feds by destroying it, while nothing could be further from the truth, so at least some of that concern is justified Quote Link to comment
+GEO*Trailblazer 1 Posted January 29, 2003 Share Posted January 29, 2003 I to am concerned about these markers and I am not a Surveyor.These marks as you say were set for more reasons than you mention, I understand all the work and concepts that went into such a monumental task.These are still used today as you say,even in the Space program.The National Vertical Datum will always be the National Vertical Datum.I have been researching for over 20 years on the Historic aspects of our Nation and the marks left by those who were before us.I have found (Benchmarks)maps from 600 A.D.Left by the Anasazi Indians in the Four Corners area. There is also Spanish maps from 1600's that are carved in the same canyon walls as the Anasazi's. These are original maps of the Indians and the Conquistadors.I have not revealed their location for the simple facts that you state. So if I treat a mark in that way am I not as a (surveyor) land measurer,or to examine for some specific purpose;inspect or consider carefully;review in detail.and a suveyor's measure is a system of measurement based on the chain,as a unit? I haven't seen any surveys (real) in quite a while the all use something other than a chain? just to add a note... When all else fails Geotry again. [This message was edited by Trailblazer # 1 on January 29, 2003 at 06:04 PM.] Quote Link to comment
+jeff35080 Posted January 29, 2003 Author Share Posted January 29, 2003 I to am concerned about these markers and I am not a Surveyor I share your sentiments. Remember the words, "water, water everywhere..."? Well, since I have discovered benchmark hunting I feel the same way about these small metal disks and steel rods. There's nothing like the thrill of hiking through the woods to reach the area where a mark from the 30's was placed. Once I reach the area there is a feeling of anticipation as I begin the search for the mark. When I finally find it, it's pure adrenaline rush for me as I ponder what it was like the day the mark was placed all those decades ago. I can't help but wonder what these people would think if they knew a non-surveyor such as me would one day be trudging through the woods to find the small metal disk. Sometimes, when I can't find the disk I get frustrated. I'm not really frustrated that I couldn't find the disk, but frustrated because I know that it very well could have been destroyed. Even though destruction may have been accidental, I hate it because I realize the hard work that was involved in placing the mark. I feel it is important that these marks are preserved for use by those that follow us. Jeff http://www.StarsFellOnAlabama.com http://www.NotAChance.com If you hide it, they will come.... Quote Link to comment
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