Type
Survey, Geospatial, & GIS
Location
Montana
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DJ&A was tasked with conducting boundary surveys for 277 cabin lease sites on the east and west shores of Canyon Ferry Reservoir in Montana. This project involved locating and marking a 1-½-mile boundary line between federal and private land for the purpose of identifying property boundary lines on the ground. Such information was needed to inventory refuge fencing needs and to identify property boundary encroachment issues.

Key Services

  • Researched county courthouse records , BLM, GLO & BOR records
  • Conducted cadastral corner surveys, private property corner surveys, aerial photo control surveys, reservoir flowage easement surveys, sanitation drainfield surveys, existing house site surveys, roadway easement surveys, and fire station lot surveys
  • Facilitated local, state & federal agency meetings
  • Performed monumentation of property pins
  • Determined withdrawn lands vs. fee
  • Assisted in deeds & patent preparation
  • Prepared/filed Certification of Surveys (COS)
  • Prepared/filed corner recordation
  • Prepared easement documents
  • Structure surveys (houses, docks, fences, etc.)

Value Added

This project represents one of countless projects where DJ&A has been faced with finding solutions to problems resulting from conflicting title or physical evidence or “boundary conflicts.”  DJ&A conducted thorough records research at the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for the original General Land Office (GLO) survey (1944) and two BLM dependent retracement surveys (1961 and 1980) as well as at Broadwater County for filed private surveys. In the course of records research, DJ&A discovered a conflict between BLM’s record surveys and a private surveyor’s record of survey for the adjacent private ownership properties.  DJ&A supplemented its office research with field reconnaissance in which existing monuments (private and federal) were located and observed in reference to on-the-ground features such as fences.

Ultimately, DJ&A’s Surveyor of Record decided to hold the original BLM monument based on the following: the 1961 BLM survey was an original survey; the original monument had been observed, fenced and recognized as an occupation line between the federal government wildlife management area and the adjacent private party improvements for nearly 50 years. Our decision process was presented to the State BLM Cadastral Surveyor, in which he concurred with our decision on the resolution of this boundary conflict.