The TRS Grid
In 1977, the State of Florida legislated Statute 177.502 as the Legislature finds and declares that it is the responsibility of the state, and in the public interest, to provide a means for the identification, restoration, and preservation of the controlling corner monuments established during the original cadastral surveys, to which the vast majority of titles to lands in Florida are related and which they are dependent. All such monuments and evidence pertaining to the original government surveys are resurveys are recognized as historical and economic resources of the state and, as such, are vitally important to the orderly planning, management, use, conservation, and public enjoyment of Florida’s natural resources. In order to implement this policy, the department shall assume the responsibility for conducting a program of the identification, restoration, and preservation of such monuments. The State of Florida created a program called Labins in an attempt to comply with F.S. 177.502, where certification of section corners are to be recorded. However, once again the State relies on the work of private surveyors to provide corner certification to Labins, and does not verify the accuracy of the corner certification. This is not a remedy to the problem, and only supports faulty survey work further by making the corner certifications public, so other surveyors can reference the “certified” corner. Most corner certifications filed with Labins reference living trees that are much too young to be authentic BLM witness trees, and no noted attempt is made at archaeological excavation for the remains of root masses on most to verify a true corner. Each section corner has 4 witness trees listed in the BLM field notes. If the tree is harvested, the root mass below ground can be excavated, similar to a fossil dig. Discolorations, smears, chunks of debris, wood, etc.below the surface is checked for potential accuracy in relation to the monument under consideration. An ideal scenario is to find evidence at 4 of 4 locations identified with the Corner location under consideration. We have one witness location at the ACC monument that is too young to comply with the field notes, according to the results of radio carbon dating on the sample taken. However, this corner has been certified on Labins.
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