The chasm between the two parallel worlds of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is about the widen and deepen. October 1, 2021…
Category: Column
08.15.2021
Reconnaissance: The State of the Surveying Profession, Part 1
Recently, a colleague wrote to tell me that some concepts covered during my programs are perceived as advanced and often go over the…
06.20.2021
Editorial: Got Help?
We live in crazy times! Invented by the Japanese, our economy has shifted to the just in time model for supply. It’s smart…
06.20.2021
The Business of Surveying: A Surveyor’s Retirement
Creating an Ownership Transition Plan (Last in a Series)
Too often, surveyors who own their firms wait until their 60s or 70s to begin thinking of retirement and ownership transition. Retiring and…
06.20.2021
Vantage Point: “Thanks, But No Thanks”
The process of presenting a residential development to a local governing body doesn’t often follow a smooth trajectory from proposal to approval. Sometimes…
06.20.2021
Surveyors & Law: Actions to Quiet Title
After my long hiatus from writing for The American Surveyor, its publisher, Marc Cheves, has persuaded me to again start contributing articles to…
04.18.2021
From the Editor: Licensure Mobility
Retracement surveyors are practitioners. Our education is ceaseless but measured at minimum competence through licensure. Let’s face it, geodesy, construction staking, and topographic…
04.18.2021
The Myth of Mobility for Professional Land Surveyors
For a long time, I thought land surveyors enjoyed the same mobility as engineers and architects. After all, state licensing boards created NCEES…
04.18.2021
The Business of Surveying: Strategic Planning for a Survey Firm
A strategic plan is a document that outlines the results of an organization’s (including a firm, a nonprofit organization, or any other form…
04.18.2021
Vantage Point: Micro Countries, Macro Property Questions
I recently watched a movie called “Rose Island” that sparked my curiosity. The plot is based on the true story of an Italian…
