Harrisburg, Pa. – Pennsylvania Society of Land Surveyors (PSLS) is proud to announce its involvement in National Surveyors’ Week, March 15-21, 2015, through its Reaching New Heights project. To support this effort, Gov. Tom Wolf has honored Pennsylvania surveyors through a proclamation recognizing surveyors’ contributions to local communities across the commonwealth.
The primary goal of Reaching New Heights is to eliminate or reduce large areas in Pennsylvania with poor elevation accuracy. For the second straight year volunteers from PSLS will perform GPS observations on at least 100 bench marks and provide the observations to the National Geodetic Survey who will refine the elevation model in Pennsylvania. In 2014, over 70 individuals representing over 45 companies and agencies contributed to the effort resulting in 50 updated bench mark elevations. This year PSLS hopes to duplicate the success of 2014.
Surveyors have played a vital role in the development of towns, cities, and the nation. They provide the client with a wealth of information. The information provided by surveyors is the source from which clients obtain details utilized from commencement to completion of projects ranging from creating residential boundaries to large-scale commercial construction, as well as identifying environmental concerns, and managing floodplain control.
PSLS has contacted its members throughout the commonwealth to aid in locating and observing GPS elevations on benchmarks for comparison to traditional elevations. Students from Penn State, Wilkes-Barre and Pennsylvania College of Technology will also participate and be able to use the experience in their projects. The students’ involvement in PSLS gives them practical experience and mentorship, and emphasizes the importance of participating in professional organizations.
"PSLS is excited to be working statewide to collect data that will be utilized within the National Geodetic Survey. To help celebrate National Surveyors’ Week, the Reaching New Heights project will serve as a tool to actually demonstrate the importance of surveying to the public. We look forward to continuing this project for many years to collect as much data and detail as possible," said Adam Crews, PLS, President, PSLS Board of Directors.
For more information, please contact Laurie Troutman, Business Manager, at 717.540.6811 or laurie@psls.org, or visit www.psls.org.
About PSLS
Pennsylvania Society of Land Surveyors, an affiliate of National Society of Professional Surveyors, is a statewide professional organization that supports the practice of land surveying. The society focuses on providing education, encouraging legislative involvement, enhancing public awareness, and promulgating ethics of the profession. For information about Pennsylvania Society of Land Surveyors, visit www.psls.org; for information about National Society of Professional Surveyors, visit www.nsps.us.com.