Manual of Surveying Instructions: For the Survey of the Public Lands of the United States

Township Exteriors ..............................................43 Subdivision of Townships ....................................54 Irregular Townships .............................................59 Extension and Completion Surveys .................... 60 Subdivision of Sections....................................... 64 Protraction Diagrams...........................................76 Developing Amended Protraction Diagrams ....................................77 General Rules on Surveying Amended Protraction Diagrams ....................................79 Meandering..........................................................81 Swamp and Overflowed Lands ............................89 Limits of Closure for Original Surveys .............. 90 Marking Lines Between Corners .........................91 Summary of Objects to be Noted and Sketches .......................................93 Soil Classification ................................................96 Chapter III Notes .................................................97 Chapter IV Monumentation ....................................................105 Introduction .......................................................105 Legal Significance of the Monument .................105 General Requirements .......................................105 Corner Monument Material ...............................106 Construction of Monuments ..............................106 Special-Purpose Monuments .............................107 System of Marking ............................................109 Marks on Corner Monuments ............................109 Marks on Special-Purpose Monuments .............120 Corner Accessories ............................................121 Arrangement and Marking of Corner Accessories .....................................124 Chapter V Principles of Resurveys ......................................129 Resurveys...........................................................129 Jurisdiction ........................................................ 131 Bona Fide Rights of Claimants ..........................133 General Field Methods ......................................134 The Dependent Resurvey ...................................135 The Independent Resurvey ................................137 Special Cases ..................................................... 143 Resurvey Summary, Including Subdivision of Sections ............................... 143 viii Contents Manual of Surveying Instructions Chapter VI Resurveys and Evidence ..................................... 147 The Nature of Resurveys ................................... 147 Identification of Existent Corners ......................148 Identification of Obliterated Corners .................149 Direct Evidence of Existent and Obliterated Corners .....................................150 Collateral Evidence of Obliterated Corners .......154 Corner Positions Based on the Protection of Bona Fide Rights: 43 U.S.C. 772 ................157 Independent Resurveys: Bona Fide Rights and the Location of Alienated Lands ..........162 Chapter VII Resurveys and Restoration ................................165 Restoration of Lost Corners ...............................165 Primary Methods ...............................................166 Secondary Methods ...........................................173 Special Cases .....................................................180 Summary ...........................................................180 Chapter VII Notes ............................................. 181 Chapter VIII Resurveys and Water Boundaries ....................183 Introduction .......................................................183 Meanders ...........................................................183 Navigability .......................................................186 Source of Law Considerations ...........................193 Opposite Banks Delimitations ...........................194 Water Body Movements.....................................197 Partition Lines ...................................................209 Boundaries in Front of Riparian Acquired or Non-Federal Lands ................. 217 Islands and Sandbars ......................................... 218 Erroneously Omitted Lands............................... 219 Accretion Prior to Entry ....................................221 Land Outside Meanders with No Gross Error in Survey ...........................221 Mineral Lands Survey and Water Boundaries ........................................222 Acquired Lands and Tidal Waters .....................222 Division of Tidewater Flats................................223 Protraction Diagrams.........................................224 Chapter VIII Notes ............................................225 Chapter IX Special Instructions, Field Notes, and Plats...283 Special Instructions ...........................................283 Field Notes and Plat ...........................................285 Field Notes .........................................................285 Plats ...................................................................295 Chapter X Special Surveys and Mineral Surveys .............329 Special Surveys..................................................329 Mineral Surveys.................................................350 Special Cases .....................................................373 Appendix I Specimen Field Notes and Plat— Original Survey ...............375 and pocket, back cover Appendix II Specimen Field Notes and Plat— Dependent Resurvey ......411 and pocket, back cover Appendix III Specimen Field Notes and Plat— Mineral Survey................451 and pocket, back cover Appendix IV Supplemental Plat Specimen Plat ................. 473 and pocket, back cover Appendix V Protraction Diagram Specimen Plat ..................475 and pocket, back cover Index .......................................................................477 1 The Manual Introduction 1-1. One of the earliest issues faced by the new United States Government after the conclusion of the War of Independence was the appropriate development and disposition of the public lands owned by the Federal Government. The issue was addressed in the United States Constitution itself under Article IV, Section 3, Clause 2, which provides that “The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States” ensuring that the Federal Government, and not the individual States, would deter- mine how the public lands of the United States were to be administered. Prior to the Constitution’s adoption in 1788 and while the Articles of Confederation (1781) were still in effect, the Congress passed the Land Ordinance of 1785, estab- lishing a system for surveying and thereby demarcat- ing the public lands for their (1) orderly disposition into new States, (2) conveyance from Federal into State and private ownership, or (3) retention for Federal adminis- tration. This “rectangular system of survey” typically describes townships of 36 square miles comprised of sections of 1 square mile (640 acres, more or less), each subdivided into quarter sections (160 acres) and quarter- quarter sections (40 acres). Chapter III describes this system in greater detail. Under this land tenure system, each tract of land would receive a unique identifying description. Before a survey was completed, the lands were known as “unsurveyed public lands” and could not be disposed out of Federal ownership. Since the Land Ordinance of 1785, it has been the continuous policy of the United States that land shall not leave Federal ownership until it has first been sur- veyed, and an approved plat of survey has been filed. After the survey, persons interested in homesteading or making other authorized land entries under the Federal public land laws could identify what lands were avail- able for claim and entry. The corner monuments on the ground established actual on-the-ground locations for the boundaries of the lands entered, patented, and/ or otherwise conveyed. This process assures the orderly disposition of the public lands and avoids confusion and contention. Thirty of the fifty current States (“public domain States”) were originally surveyed under this system. With very few exceptions all chains of title to privately owned land in those 30 States trace back to a Federal land patent or other grant. These titles contain a writ- ten land description and locatable, on-the-ground mon- uments established according to an original “cadastral survey,” which created (not merely located) identifiable land boundaries. In litigation concerning land boundar- ies in these 30 States, often it is necessary to determine what specific lands left Federal ownership under a given Federal land patent or other instrument of conveyance and what lands remain in Federal ownership. Reference to the original patent and to its statutory authority, as well as the relevant survey (including the survey monu- ments, survey notes and plat, and instructions), are often needed for proper adjudication of modern land disputes in these 30 States, regardless of whether any Federal interests are directly involved in the dispute. Land own- ership and boundaries in the other 20 States, i.e., the Thirteen Original States plus Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, and West Virginia, were established by other means and surveyed according to different systems and standards. 1-2. This Manual of Surveying Instructions (Manual) represents the latest in a series of official and binding survey instructions dating back to 1804; the most recent prior to this edition was issued in 1973. The dominant Federal policy has shifted from one favoring disposal and settling of the unreserved public lands to one favor- ing retention, administration, and control. This Manual, related Manual supplements and special instructions, and all former editions remain legally relevant because Chapter I The General Plan 2 Chapter I - The General Plan Manual of Surveying Instructions they provide the instructions in force at the time a given survey was conducted. This edition of the Manual gov- erns the conduct of all surveys and resurveys of the official boundaries of all Federal interest lands autho- rized or approved by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in the Department of the Interior after its issu- ance.1 The same is true for prior Federal surveys; they are governed by the edition of the Manual in force at the time they were authorized and performed. Accordingly, the cadastral survey itself governs Federal land convey- ances issued thereunder and the lands described in any given private chain of title, some of which are now more than 200 years long. Regardless of its length, each such chain of title begins with a land description established by an original cadastral survey prior to issuance of the patent or other conveyance document. Every effort has been made in this edition of the Manual to preserve the long-standing principles of cadastral sur- vey from the 1973 edition of the Manual while accom- modating updated technology and making clarifications as deemed necessary. Advances in technology may make the surveyor’s job more efficient and various rela- tively minor changes in survey policy and techniques may occur over time, but the job itself and the basic principles have not changed since 1785. Security of legal title to land, one of the bulwarks of our basic freedoms, is the fundamental object of the cadastral surveyor’s work and of this Manual. Purpose and Scope of the Manual 1-3. The Manual of Surveying Instructions describes how cadastral surveys are made in conformance with statutory law and its judicial interpretation. This chap- ter summarizes the various laws governing cadastral surveys, often referred to as official surveys or Federal authority surveys, and the general plan of surveying derived from them. This Manual is not intended to limit the survey authority or practices of any Federal agency other than the BLM. The Chapter I Notes provide historical background to facilitate present-day understanding of the terms and practices used in prior editions of this Manual. The Chapter I Notes also provide additional history on the legal context of the surveying of Federal interest lands. 1 The term “Federal interest lands,” rather than “public lands,” is used throughout this edition of the Manual to reflect this change in orientation from disposal to retention and management of its land by the Federal Government, as well as to articulate the extent of BLM’s survey authority. Federal interest lands include, but are not limited to, public lands that have never left Federal ownership. 1-4. Surveying, in general, is the art and science of measuring and locating points, lines, angles, and ele- vations on the surface of the earth, including within underground workings, and on the beds of bodies of water. A cadastral survey creates or reestablishes, marks, and defines boundaries of tracts of land. Cadastral surveys referred to in this Manual are the official surveys of the United States. In the general plan, each cadastral/official survey includes: a request for survey; special instruc- tions; assignment instructions; a field note record of the observations, measurements, and monuments descrip- tive of the work performed; and a plat representing the official survey. All are subject to review, approval, and/or acceptance of the Director, Bureau of Land Management (Director, BLM). A cadastral survey is not complete until it is officially filed with the BLM as the culmination of this process. 1-5. The Manual prescribes the procedures and prin- ciples for establishing or reestablishing these bound- aries. The instructions contained in this Manual will be observed by surveyors engaged in the execution of official Federal surveys. They are of utmost importance in maintaining a consistent and orderly survey system based upon certainty and predictability in survey proce- dures. A failure to follow the Manual may be considered an error. Surveys may be canceled and ordered redone if the Manual is not properly followed. The practices and explanations set forth here are also broadly applicable for other surveyors. A cadastral/official survey is the highest form of bound- ary evidence available to the Federal Government, pro- viding legal evidence of the geographic limits of the Federal interest in land. A cadastral survey is a formal decision by the Federal Government and is subject to administrative or judicial appeal. Official surveys are executed by authorized surveyors acting in the stead of and under the direction of the Director, subject to the delegated authority of the Secretary of the Interior. Therefore, it is critical that surveyors properly perform their duties; the execution of an official survey impacts the boundaries of all present and future landowners. An official survey is distinct from a local survey or an administrative survey. A local survey is an opinion on the location of a boundary based on a survey that does not contain every element of an official survey. An administrative survey is a local survey for a Federal agency executed by a Federal employee or an agent of a Federal agency for administrative purposes. 3 Chapter I - The General Plan Manual of Surveying Instructions 1-6. Within the public domain States, boundaries that trace their origin to a Federal instrument of convey- ance created when the United States owned both sides of the boundary are governed by applicable Federal laws and surveyed by the procedures and principles in the appropriate editions of this Manual. In all States, boundaries of Federal interest lands that trace their ori- gin to an instrument of conveyance created when the United States did not own both sides of the boundary are governed by applicable Federal or State laws, which may involve survey by the procedures and principles in the appropriate portions and edition(s) of this Manual. Boundaries of non-Federal land in all States created when the United States owned neither side of the bound- ary are governed by the applicable State or foreign sov- ereign law in effect at the time of their creation. Some States have enacted or adopted the Manual, thus making it explicitly applicable to boundaries of non- Federal land within such State. In cases where no Federal interest lands are involved and the State has not enacted or adopted the Manual, the surveying pro- cedure must necessarily be consistent with due process and applicable State law. Source of Law 1-7. When State law (or foreign sovereign law) and Federal law conflict in application to an identical fact situation, the surveyor must ascertain which law would most likely be found to be controlling and followed by the final court of competent jurisdiction. Final determi- nation as to the controlling law is made by a court. Surveyors should be guided, however, by the principle that the controlling law of an individual boundary of a parcel will be that law under which that boundary was created. If the boundary in question is a section line, even if no Federal interest land now is affected, Federal law, i.e. the law under which the boundary was created, will generally control its position. If, on the other hand, the boundary in question was created by a county or local surveyor or an individual acting under State law, then the answer to what law controls will depend on whether the State has adopted the Manual or some other standard to guide its survey procedures. By the same token, boundaries created by foreign sovereigns, such as Mexican land grants, will be controlled by application of the relevant law of Mexico at the time the boundary was established. The surveyor cannot resolve such legal issues, but should be aware of them, use good judgment, and be prepared to provide technical advice. Basic Surveying Principles and Practices 1-8. Application of basic surveying principles and practices to large-scale areas requires an understand- ing of the stellar, solar, and satellite methods for making observations to determine the true meridian, the treat- ment of the convergency of meridians, the running of the true parallels of latitude, the effect of elevation on distances, and the conversion in the direction of lines so that at any point the angular value will be referred to the true meridian at that place. These subjects are therefore explained and examples given with specific relation to the approved surveying practice. 1-9. The Manual gives extended treatment to subdivi- sion of sections, restoration of lost or obliterated cor- ners, resurveys, and special surveys of many kinds. These now make up a substantial portion of the survey- ing program of the BLM. Emphasis is placed on thor- oughness in the identification and perpetuation of the surveys already completed. Development of the Manual 1-10. Since 1785, the surveys of public lands have been conducted under the laws and rules of the Public Land Survey System (PLSS). The first surveys, cover- ing parts of Ohio, were made by surveyors appointed by Congress or the States under the supervision of the Chief Geographer of the United States and complying with the Land Ordinance of May 20, 1785. A begin- ning point was established where the west boundary of Pennsylvania crosses the north bank of the Ohio River. Based on early laws, that part of the Northwest Territory that became the State of Ohio was the experimental area for the development of the rectangular system used by the PLSS. Here the plans and methods were tested in a practical way. Notable revisions of the rules were made as the surveys progressed westward until the general plan was complete. The Act of May 18, 1796, provided for the appointment of a Surveyor General, whose duty was to survey the public lands northwest of the Ohio River and above the mouth of the Kentucky River. A Surveyor General of the Lands of the United States South of the State of Tennessee was appointed in 1803 with the same duties as the first Surveyor General (Act of March 3, 1803 (2 Stat. 229)). Eventually, a Surveyor General was appointed for each new surveying district created in the territories and States as lands were opened for settlement. 4 Chapter I - The General Plan Manual of Surveying Instructions The first set of surveying instructions was the actual Federal survey statutes. Initially, advice and general instructions were given to the Surveyors General by the Secretary of the Treasury, who was then in charge of land sales. Beginning in 1812, instructions were issued by the Commissioner of the General Land Office (GLO), an agency within the Treasury Department. Subsequent instructions were given to surveyors in manuscript or in printed circulars. In 1831, the Commissioner of the General Land Office issued detailed instructions to the Surveyors General concerning surveys and plats. The applicable parts were incorporated by individual Surveyors General in bound volumes of instructions suitable for use in the field by deputy surveyors. From these directions the Manual of Surveying Instructions evolved. The Act of July 4, 1836, placed the overall direction of the public land surveys under the Principal Clerk of the Surveys under the direction by the Commissioner of the General Land Office. The immediate forerunner of the Manual series was printed in 1851 as Instructions to the Surveyor General of Oregon; Being a Manual for Field Operations. Its use was soon extended to California, Minnesota, Kansas, Nebraska, and New Mexico. In a slightly revised version, these instructions were issued as the Manual of 1855. In 1946 the General Land Office was merged with the Federal Grazing Service to form the new Bureau of Land Management, which assumed responsibility for the functions and duties involved in managing the pub- lic lands, including the cadastral survey functions and responsibility for the Manual. 1-11. Previous editions of the Manual were issued in 1855 (reprinted as the Manual of 1871), 1881, 1890, 1894, 1902, 1930, 1947, and 1973. Instructions modifying specified surveying operations were prescribed in 1864 (and reprinted as the Instructions of 1871). Advance Sheets of the first six chapters of what would become the Manual of 1930 were promulgated in 1919, and a manu- script edition of the chapter on plats was put into effect in 1928. Throughout, and to this day, the primary focus of the Manual has been, and remains, the integrity of the PLSS and the system of Federal survey and land records. The Manual Supplements 1-12. The following are supplements to this Manual: (1) Restoration of Lost or Obliterated Corners and Subdivision of Sections, a Guide for Surveyors. The guide provides an introduction to the rectangular system of public land surveying and resurveying, with a compendium of basic laws relating to the system. The restoration and subdivision guide answers many common questions arising in practical work. Although intended especially for county and other local surveyors and others who may have occasion to conduct local or administrative surveys, the guide is also of interest to attorneys, title insurance company personnel, and others who have professional interests in former or present Federal lands in the PLSS. (2) Specifications for Descriptions of Tracts of Land for Use in Executive Orders and Proclamations. The specifications give guidance to persons who write and interpret land descriptions. The specifications’ purpose is to assist in producing legal descriptions that are definite, legally defensible, and susceptible to only one interpretation. It provides standardized processes for review of descriptions to assure that only valid descriptions are published. (3) Glossary of BLM Surveying and Mapping Terms. The glossary is an authoritative reference of survey and mapping definitions used both within and outside the BLM. (4) Mineral Survey Procedures Guide. This guide provides an introduction to the mineral lands system of Federal land surveying and resurveying and includes a compendium of basic laws relating to the system. It also answers many common questions encountered in practical survey work. Although intended especially for U.S. Mineral Surveyors, it is also of interest to locators, land surveyors, mineral examiners, attorneys, title insurance company personnel, and others who have professional interests in mineral lands. The Federal Lands Definitions 1-13. “Federal lands” or “Federal interest lands,” as used in this Manual, refer to any lands in which the United States holds title, an estate, or other interest. Federal lands or Federal interest lands include, but are not limited to: public domain lands, or those lands that were acquired by the United States from another sovereign and have 5 Chapter I - The General Plan Manual of Surveying Instructions never left Federal ownership (public domain lands were classified into, among others, agricultural lands, mineral lands, and Indian lands; for administrative purposes, these lands may now be administered by any one of sev- eral Federal agencies), private land claims (which were never part of the public domain), and acquired lands (which may or may not have ever been part of the public domain and which may be administered by any one of several Federal agencies). While the primary focus of the Manual is the PLSS States, Federal interest lands can be located anywhere. However, outside of the PLSS States, some portions of the Manual may not be applicable, as a technical matter. For treatment of mineral lands surveys, see sections 10-77 through 10-230. The original public domain is comprised of the lands that have been added to the area included in the Thirteen Original States. These lands included the lands that were turned over to the Federal Government by the Colonial States and the areas acquired later from the Native Americans or foreign powers. In other words, the public domain includes the States west of the 18 Eastern States created from Colonial lands, excluding Hawaii and Texas (figure 1-1). Administration 1-14. After admission of the public domain States into the Union, the Federal Government continued and con- tinues to hold title to and administer unappropriated lands. Various enabling acts expressly provide that the title to unappropriated lands within these States shall be retained by the United States. Moreover, lands in the territories not appropriated under competent authority before they were acquired are the exclusive property of the United States. The lands are to be administered or prepared for disposal to such persons at such time, in such modes, and by such titles as the Government may deem most advantageous to the public. Congress alone has plenary power, derived from Article IV, Section 3, Clause 2, of the Constitution to dispose of and make all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or other property belonging to the United States. 1-15. The Director of the Bureau of Land Management has the authority to determine what lands are Federal interest lands, what lands have been surveyed, what are to be surveyed, what have been disposed of, what remains to be disposed of, and what are reserved. By a well-settled principle of law, the United States, through the Department of the Interior, has the authority and duty to extend the surveys as may be necessary to include lands erroneously omitted from earlier surveys. Proper administration of Federal interest land requires identifying and marking ownership boundaries or spe- cial use boundaries in a manner that defines the physical limits of interests or permitted uses. The BLM, unique among Federal agencies, has been given, in addition to its specific authority to conduct official/cadastral surveys of the public lands, specific authority to survey Federal interest lands in general. Therefore, other Federal enti- ties, as well as federally recognized Indian tribes and their individual members, Alaska Native Corporations, Alaska Natives, and non-Federal landowners, may request assistance from the BLM for official surveys and related cadastral services necessary to meet admin- istrative responsibilities or legal requirements. Funding for official survey services is appropriated directly to the BLM by Congress or, in appropriate cases, is pro- vided by the requester through contributed funds. Navigable Waters 1-16. Sovereignty over the lands beneath navigable waters2 lies with the individual States upon statehood, unless explicitly declared otherwise by competent authority. Beds of navigable bodies of water are not public domain lands and are not subject to survey and disposal by the United States. Under the laws of the United States, the navigable waters have always been and shall forever remain com- mon highways. This includes all tidewater streams and other important permanent bodies of water whose natu- ral and normal condition at the date of the admission of a State into the Union was such as to classify it as navi- gable water. Tidelands (lands below the line of mean high tide) are not subject to survey as public domain land, save in exceptional instances. 2 “Lands beneath navigable waters” means: (1) all lands within the boundaries of each of the respective States, which are covered by nontidal waters that were navigable under the laws of the United States at the time such State became a member of the Union, or acquired sovereignty over such lands and waters there- after, up to the ordinary high water mark as heretofore or hereafter modified by accretion, erosion, and reliction; (2) all lands permanently or periodically covered by tidal waters up to but not above the line of mean high tide and seaward to a line 3 geo- graphical miles distant from the coast line of each such State, and to the boundary line of each such State where in any case such boundary as it existed at the time such State became a member of the Union, or as heretofore approved by Congress, extends seaward (or into the Gulf of Mexico) beyond 3 geographical miles; and (3) all filled in, made, or reclaimed lands that formerly were lands beneath navigable waters, as hereinabove defined (67 Stat. 29; 43 U.S.C. 1301(a)(1), (2), and (3)). 6 Chapter I - The General Plan Manual of Surveying Instructions Figure 1-1. The principal meridians and base lines of the Public Land Survey System. 180° 52° 52° 70° 130° 125° 115° 105° 95° 85° 75° 105° LONGITUDE WEST 95° FROM GREENWICH 85° 75° 45° 35° 45° 35° 25° 170° 160° 150° 140° 60° B.L. of extended 4th P.M.  Navajo Willamette Humboldt Mt. Diablo San Bernardino Gila and Salt River Salt Lake Boise Principal Black Hills Sixth Fifth Third Fourth Fourth Michigan Second New Mexico Indian Louisiana Choctaw Seward  Kateel River  Umiat  Copper River Fairbanks Uintah Ute Wind River Cimarron  Washington St. Stephens Huntsville Tallahassee Chickasaw St. Helena  Governing the United States Public Land Surveys Dates indicate establishment of initial points or first survey. Principal Meridians and Base Lines P a c i f i c O c e a n A r c t i c O c e a n B e r i n g S e a G u l f o f M e x i c o A t l a n t i c O c e a n P a c i f i c O c e a n N o r t h Lake Lake Huron Lake Michigan Lake Erie Lake Ontario Superior C A N A D A C A N A D A M E X I C O OH PA NY VT NH ME MA CT RI NJ DE MD VA KY TN SC GA AL MS LA TX OK AR MO IL IN MI MI WI MN ND MT ID WA OR NV CA AZ AK NM WY UT SD NE KS CO IA FL NC WV First Connecticut Western Reserve Ohio Co. Purchase Virginia Military Survey Symmes Purchase T.N. of River T.E. of River 12 mile square Point of Beginning of the Rectangular System of Surveys Ohio Scioto  Great Miami Muskingum  Ellicott’s Line 1851 1853 1867 1867 1851 1852 1865 1855 1875 1880 1869 1855 1881 1878 1855 1870 1807 1815 1803 1821 1833 1805 1819 1799 1800 1802 1785 1797 1799 1798 1815 1831 1815 1805 1807 1805 1819 1824 1956 1910 1905 1956 1875 1911 1805 Blue, green, orange and yellow shades distinguish between the 37 different Principal Meridians and Base Lines Principal Meridians Base Lines River Base (Ohio) State Boundaries 160° 20° HI 7 Chapter I - The General Plan Manual of Surveying Instructions Swamp and Overflowed Lands 1-17. In Alabama, California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Ohio, Oregon, and Wisconsin, the swamp and over- flowed lands, though public domain, passed to the States. This was done upon identification as such by public land survey and approved selection, the title then being subject to disposal by the States. The Act of March 2, 1849 (9 Stat. 352), granted to the State of Louisiana all its swamp and overflowed lands for the purpose of aiding in their reclamation. The Act of September 28, 1850 (9 Stat. 519), extended the grant to other public land States then in the Union. The grant was also extended to Minnesota and Oregon by the Act of March 12, 1860 (12 Stat. 3). These various grants were carried over into 43 U.S.C. 982 (Rev. Stat. 2479). Section 4 of the Act of July 23, 1866 (Rev. Stat. 2488; 14 Stat. 218), established the rules and methods for the identification of the granted lands in California. A nota- ble exception to the swamp land laws is found in the Arkansas Compromise Act of April 29, 1898 (30 Stat. 367; 43 U.S.C. 991), by which all right, title, and interest to the remaining unappropriated swamp and overflowed lands reverted to the United States. The provisions of the grants described above apply to elevations below the uplands where, without the con- struction of levees or drainage canals, the areas would be unfit for agriculture. The grants apply to all swamp and overflowed lands unappropriated at the dates of the granting acts, whose character at that time would bring them within the provisions of the grant. It is important that original survey plats and field notes within these States identify the extent of swamp and overflowed lands. Discussion of swamp and overflowed lands in connection with field examinations and surveys is found in sections 3-208 through 3-214. Laws and Rules Relating to Surveys Surveying and Survey Administration Laws 1-18. In recognition of the fundamental principle of the common law that a valid land conveyance shall, in addi- tion to other requirements, contain a description suffi- ciently accurate to identify boundaries with a required degree of certainty, Congress has passed a number of laws governing the manner in which Federal interest lands are to be surveyed and how the survey process will be administered. The PLSS provides a uniform system of keeping records related to conveyance documents. The Land Ordinance of May 20, 1785 adopted the PLSS as “An ordinance for ascertaining the mode of locating and disposing of lands in the western territory, and for other purposes therein mentioned.” Based upon field surveys establishing on-the-ground monuments prior to conveyance, the PLSS marked an important transition from the surveying practice that generally prevailed in the Colonial States where lands were described by irregular metes-and-bounds, with each parcel depending more or less on the description of its neighbors. This Manual serves as the official interpretation of the controlling survey law and doctrines by the Department of the Interior with respect to the PLSS. It is applicable to a greater or lesser degree to official surveys of Federal interest lands outside public domain States as well. It also provides additional technical details to make the land tenure system function effec- tively. This Manual is not intended to limit the survey authority or practices of any Federal agency other than the BLM. 1-19. The rectangular surveying system of the PLSS was established by law and was devised with the objec- tive of marking upon the ground and fixing for all time legal subdivisions for purposes of description and dis- posal of the public domain under the general land laws of the United States. The system is used for the purpose of describing and managing Federal interest lands in public domain States. 1-20. The following are selected Acts pertinent to sur- veying and survey administration: The Act of May 18, 1796 (1 Stat. 464; 43 U.S.C. 52, 751, and 931), made explicit the requirement, still in effect, that lands were to be surveyed and returned prior to conveyance. This act also began the contract system of surveying the public lands, which endured until 1910 when the direct system was enacted. The status of navigable waters was also established at this time: “All navigable rivers, within the territory occupied by the public lands, shall remain and be deemed public highways; and, in all cases where the opposite banks of any streams not navigable belong to different persons, the stream and the bed 8 Chapter I - The General Plan Manual of Surveying Instructions thereof shall become common to both” (Rev. Stat. 2476; 43 U.S.C. 931).3 The Act of May 10, 1800 (2 Stat. 73; 43 U.S.C. 751), established that the Surveyor General would prepare three plats for each survey. It directs the division of townships into sections of 640 acres each and half sections of 320 acres each, as nearly as may be. This is to be done by running parallel lines from east to west and from south to north at the distance of 1 mile from each other, marking the corners at the distance of each half mile on the lines running east to west and at the distance of each mile on those running from south to north, and placing the excess or deficiency of measurement in the legal subdivision adjoining the north or west exterior of the township. Of the three plats prepared by the Surveyor General, the original was retained by the Surveyor General, the duplicate was sent to the Department of Treasury and the triplicate was used at the local land office. Pursuant to this Act, land started to be sold in units of 160 acres or more. The three-plat system has been modified at various times. Today the BLM’s State Office Chief Cadastral Surveyor prepares two official plats. Depending on the State in which the land is located, the Chief retains the original or sends it to the designated State Official, and sends the duplicate, called the Secretary’s copy, to the BLM Chief Cadastral Surveyor in Washington, DC. The latter is currently held at the BLM Eastern States Office. The Act of February 11, 1805 (2 Stat. 313; 43 U.S.C. 752), directs that the public lands be subdivided into quarter sections (by protraction not by survey). This act further provides that boundary lines that have not been actually run and marked as aforesaid shall be ascertained by running straight lines from the established corners to the opposite corresponding corners (statutory method of subdivision except for fractional townships and sections described below, see Acts of April 24, 1820, and April 5, 1832). In those portions of the townships where 3 This section has been interpreted to mean that the common law rules of riparian ownership should apply—that instead of the owners of opposite banks of a nonnavigable stream being tenants in common of the bed, each held in severalty to the center of the stream. no such opposite or corresponding corners have been or can be fixed, the said boundary lines shall be ascertained by running from the established corners due north and south or east and west lines, as the case may be, to the external boundary of such fractional unit (statutory method of subdivision of fractional townships and sections; see Acts of April 24, 1820 and April 5, 1832). The most important parts of the Act of February 11, 1805, are: (1) All section lines shall be surveyed and all quarter corners on those lines established. (2) The corners set by the Surveyor General are unchangeable. (3) The lines marked by the Surveyor General are unchangeable. (4) The lengths of the section lines are unchangeable. (5) The quantity or area of a section or fractional section is unchangeable. However, case law in the courts later established that the Surveyor General, i.e., the Government, could correct or change a survey up until such time as private rights were acquired based on the survey. The Act of April 25, 1812 (2 Stat. 716; 43 U.S.C. 2, 6, 12, 14, and 17), created the GLO as a bureau within the Department of the Treasury. These responsibilities are carried out today by the BLM Director. The Act states the Secretary of the Interior, or such officer as the Secretary may designate [the BLM Director], “shall perform all executive duties appertaining to the surveying and sale of the public lands4 of the United States, 4 “Public Lands” as referenced in 43 U.S.C. 2 is different from the “public lands” as defined in the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended, 43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq. The “public lands” referenced in 43 U.S.C. 2 include land owned by the United States that was part of the original public domain, not just those lands now managed by the BLM. The General Land Office (subsequently the BLM, as successor agency to the GLO) surveyed the public domain lands before they left Federal ownership—in fact, in order that they could leave Federal ownership. These surveys were carried out according to instructions issued by the Secretary of the Interior acting through the GLO (or BLM) —instructions that were precursors to, and incorporated into each successive edition of the Manual. 9 Chapter I - The General Plan Manual of Surveying Instructions or in anywise respecting such public lands, and, also, such as relate to private claims of land, and the issuing of patents for all grants of land under the authority of the Government” (Rev. Stat. 453; 43 U.S.C. 2). The Acts of April 24, 1820 (3 Stat. 566; 43 U.S.C. 753), and April 5, 1832 (4 Stat. 503; 43 U.S.C. 753), direct that the corners and contents of half-quarter and quarter-quarter sections and fractional sections shall be ascertained, as nearly as possible, in the manner and on the principles directed and prescribed in the Act of February 11, 1805. The Act of March 3, 1849 (9 Stat. 395; 43 U.S.C. 1451 and 1457), creates the Department of the Interior. This act transferred the GLO to the new Department and authorized the Secretary of the Interior to perform all the duties of the GLO, formerly discharged by the Secretary of the Treasury.5 The Acts of March 3, 1853, and July 9, 1870 (10 Stat. 245; 16 Stat. 218; Rev. Stat. 2406; 43 U.S.C. 766), provide that the “public surveys shall extend over all mineral lands; and all subdividing of surveyed lands into lots less than one hundred and sixty acres may be done by county and local surveyors at the expense of claimants; but nothing in this section contained shall require the survey of waste or useless lands.” See sections 10-94 through 10-230 for additional details regarding the administration and surveys of mineral lands. The Act of April 8, 1864 (13 Stat. 41; Rev. Stat. 2115; 25 U.S.C. 176), provides that whenever it becomes necessary to survey any Indian or other reservations, or any lands, the same shall be surveyed under the direction and control of the BLM and as nearly as may be in conformity to the rules and regulations under which other public lands are surveyed. The Act of March 3, 1899 (30 Stat. 1098; 43 U.S.C. 751a), extended the PLSS to Alaska. 5 The Secretary of the Interior, or such officer as he or she may desig- nate, is authorized to enforce and carry into execution, by appropriate regulations, every part of the provisions of this title not otherwise specially provided for. The title referenced is Title 43, Public Lands, United States Code; Rev. Stat. 2478; 43 U.S.C. 1201. The Act of March 3, 1909 (35 Stat. 845), as amended (36 Stat. 884; 90 Stat. 2743, 2792; 43 U.S.C. 772), provides that: “The Secretary of the Interior may, as of March 3, 1909, in his discretion, cause to be made, as he may deem wise under the rectangular system on that date provided by law, such resurveys or retracements of the surveys of public lands as, after full investigation, he may deem essential to properly mark the boundaries of the public lands remaining undisposed of: Provided, that no such resurvey or retracement shall be so executed as to impair the bona fide rights or claims of any claimant, entryman, or owner of lands affected by such resurvey or retracement” (43 CFR 9180.0). This General Resurvey Act is the authority for the BLM to execute resurveys of Federal interest lands provided bona fide rights or claims as to location are not impaired. The law provides a penalty for the unauthorized alteration or removal of any Government survey monument or marked trees: “Whoever willfully destroys, defaces, changes, or removes to another place any section corner, quarter-section corner, or meander post, on any Government line of survey, or willfully cuts down any witness tree or any tree blazed to mark the line of a Government survey, or willfully defaces, changes, or removes any monument or bench mark of any Government survey, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months, or both” (108 Stat. 1796, 2146; 18 U.S.C. 1858). The willful destruction of monuments and corners of an official mineral survey is within the purview of this statute. The Act of June 25, 1910 (36 Stat. 703, 741), provides, under “Surveying the Public Lands”: “The surveys and resurveys to be made by such competent surveyors as the Secretary of the Interior may select . . .” This provision of law brought to a close the practice of letting contracts for the making of surveys of public lands. The surveys are now made under the direct system, by appointed surveyors employed by the Federal Government. Beginning with the Act of May 18, 1796, most public land surveys were made by county and other local surveyors, sworn in as U.S. Deputy Surveyors, under contract with Surveyors General. Today most official surveys 10 Chapter I - The General Plan Manual of Surveying Instructions are conducted under the direct system, including interagency agreement, and modified contract system of noninherently governmental activi- ties operating under special and assignment instructions. The Act of September 21, 1918 (40 Stat. 965; 43 U.S.C. 773), provides authority for the resurvey, by the Government, of all privately owned lands of townships in which the disposals exceed 50 percent of the total area. Such resurveys shall be undertaken only upon application of the owners of at least three-fourths of the privately owned land in the township and upon deposit of the estimated costs of the resurvey. Similar resurveys may be made on the application of any court of competent jurisdiction. On July 16, 1946, the Bureau of Land Management was established within the Department of the Interior in accordance with the President’s Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1946. Under that plan, the General Land Office was abolished and its functions transferred to the Secretary of the Interior (60 Stat. 1097, 1100; 5 U.S.C. App. 519; 43 U.S.C. 1 note; 43 U.S.C. 1201; 43 U.S.C. 1451 note). The Secretary of the Interior provided, subject to his or her direction and control, that the functions and powers of the General Land Office, and the United States Supervisor of Surveys, together with the field surveying service, be exercised by the Director of the BLM. This includes the cadastral survey functions (President’s Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1950; 64 Stat. 1262 as amended; 5 U.S.C. Appendix; 5 U.S.C. 903 provisions; 43 U.S.C. 1451 provisions; and Departmental Manual— Delegation of Authority). The Department of the Interior is responsible for the operation, maintenance, and modernization of the PLSS and other spatial databases covering Federal land titles and resources. The Department is also tasked with identifying and marking, by official survey, the boundaries of Federal interest in lands, except when Congress has explicitly assigned a surveying responsibility to another department, bureau, agency, or office. The Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) of October 21, 1976 (90 Stat. 2743, 2766; 43 U.S.C. 1737(c)), provides that the Secretary of the Interior may accept contributions for cadastral surveying performed on Federally controlled or intermingled lands. This is a specific statutory provision to permit the acceptance of private and public contributions for official surveys of (1) lands or interests in lands owned by the United States and (2) lands or interests in lands owned by the United States with an interdependent corner or line with lands not owned by the United States. This substantially reenacts section 103 of the Public Land Administration Act of July 14, 1960 (43 U.S.C. 1364, repealed). The Act of October 5, 1992 (106 Stat. 1378; 43 U.S.C. 1731 note), provides that appropriations therein made to the BLM, in fiscal year 1993 and thereafter, may be expended for surveys of Federal lands and on a reimbursable basis for surveys of Federal lands. Other statutes relevant to BLM survey authority in other specific situations or locations are contained in the Chapter I Notes. Orders, Regulations, and Policies 1-21. Descriptions of tracts of land in Executive orders and proclamations will conform, as far as practicable, to the most recent edition of the Specifications for Descriptions of Tracts of Land for Use in Executive Orders and Proclamations, prepared by the BLM (Executive Order 11030, as amended; 1 CFR 19.1) In the Department of the Interior, the Solicitor has authority to issue final legal interpretations, in the form of M-Opinions published in the Decisions of the United States Department of the Interior (Interior Dec.), on all matters within the jurisdiction of the Department, which will be binding, when signed, on all other Departmental offices and officials. Further, the Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) is an authorized representative of the Secretary for the purpose of hearing, considering, and determining mat- ters within the jurisdiction of the Department involving review functions of the Secretary. The Interior Board of Land Appeals (IBLA) is the administrative body that, on behalf of the Secretary, hears appeals of deci- sions rendered by Departmental officials relating to the use and disposition of public lands and their resources, including land selections arising under the Alaska 11 Chapter I - The General Plan Manual of Surveying Instructions Native Claims Settlement Act, as amended (43 CFR 4.1; 43 U.S.C. 1201). Any party who is adversely affected by an official survey has the right to appeal to the Board (43 CFR 4.410). Decisions by the IBLA are binding for the official survey appealed and serve as precedent for future surveys. 1-22. Executive Order 12906 (April 11, 1994), as amended, states in part that: “Geographic Information is critical to promote economic development, improve our stewardship of natural resources, and protect the environment.” This Executive order defines National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) and spatial data and orders agencies to develop, in cooperation with State, local, tribal governments, and the private sector, a coor- dinated NSDI. The NSDI encompasses the technology, policies, standards, human resources, and related activi- ties necessary to acquire, process, distribute, use, main- tain, and preserve spatial data. Cadastral survey data is a geospatial data theme that defines rights and interests in land that affect the value and use of land and com- prises an essential element of the NSDI. 1-23. Organizationally, the Department of the Interior’s Departmental Manual Part 109, chapter 7 (May 21, 1984), provides that the Assistant Secretary—Land and Minerals Management will exercise Secretarial direc- tion and supervision over the BLM. The Director, BLM, is authorized, except as provided, to exercise the pro- gram authority of the Assistant Secretary—Land and Minerals Management with respect to the management of the public domain and acquired lands, including all associated and related functions per Departmental Manual Part 235, chapter 1 (June 28, 2001). Further, Departmental Manual Part 757 (November 29, 1988) provides, consistent with Office of Management and Budget Circular No. A-16 “Coordination of Geographic Information and Related Spatial Data Activities” (2002), that the Cadastral Survey Program will (1) establish procedures and responsibilities for cadastral surveying activities; (2) coordinate Federal cadastral surveying activities through the Interagency Cadastral Coordination Council (ICCC) and prescribe policy, responsibility, and procedures for cadastral surveys performed by the bureaus and offices of the Department; (3) be responsible for the Public Land Survey System and exercise its authority to survey and resurvey Federal interest lands, including trust terri- tories and Indian land, and land in private ownership; (4) prepare the Manual of Surveying Instructions and its amendments and supplements for the Department; (5) maintain the storage and dissemination of survey data within the Federal survey records system; (6) estab- lish a Geographic Coordinate Data Base of all corner positions related to the PLSS and Federal interest lands, thereby providing the administration and coordination of the establishment and maintenance of the system for the storage and dissemination of survey and land status data for use by local and national realty, land title, and mapping interests; (7) be responsible for the segrega- tion by survey of valid private rights acquired pursu- ant to a variety of public land laws including the gen- eral mining laws; (8) coordinate bureaus’ and offices’ actions that serve to change the official Federal survey records; (9) provide special instructions to the Bureau of Reclamation when the latter exercises its specific authority to conduct cadastral surveys on certain public lands withdrawn for reclamation; (10) execute cadas- tral surveys for the Bureau of Indian Affairs on Indian reservations; (11) after authorizing other agencies and offices to perform surveys, provide necessary instruc- tions, guidance, and official approval of the records; (12) conduct original surveys; and (13) conduct resur- veys for agencies on a reimbursement basis. 1-24. In addition, under OMB Circular No. A-16, the BLM is the lead Federal agency with responsibilities for three NSDI spatial data themes: Cadastral, Federal Land Ownership Status, and Public Land Conveyance (patent) Records. The Circular also establishes the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) as the interagency coordi- nating committee for all NSDI-related activities. The FGDC created a Subcommittee for Cadastral Data for interagency cadastral matters. The Subcommittee issued the following Cadastral Data Content Standard for the NSDI: To provide a standard for the definition and structure for cadastral data which will facilitate data sharing at all levels of government and the private sector and will protect and enhance the investments in cadastral data at all levels of government and the private sector (ver. 1.4, p.2; May 2008). 1-25. In summary, the Secretary of the Interior has delegated survey authority and responsibility via the Assistant Secretary—Land and Minerals Management, and the Director, Bureau of Land Management, to the Washington Office Chief Cadastral Surveyor to act as consultant to the Director in the formulation of policies, programs, standards, and procedures of cadastral sur- veys, to perform all functions and sign all documents 12 Chapter I - The General Plan Manual of Surveying Instructions relating to the appointment of U.S. Mineral Surveyors, and to provide the final interpretation of the Manual. The State Office Chief Cadastral Surveyors perform technical supervision and approval of surveys within their jurisdiction. Rules of PLSS Survey 1-26. The rules for the PLSS were developed under the early survey statutes and are summarized as follows: First. The public lands shall be divided by north and south lines run according to the true meridian, and by others crossing them at right angles, so as to form townships of 6 miles square, unless where the line of an Indian reservation, or of tracts of land heretofore surveyed or patented, or the course of navigable rivers, may render this impracticable; and in that case this rule will be departed from no further than such particular circumstances require (figure 1-2). Second. The corners of the townships shall be marked with progressive numbers from the beginning; each distance of a mile between such corners shall be also distinctly marked with marks different from those of the corners. Third. The township shall be subdivided into sections, containing, as nearly as may be, 640 acres each, by running parallel lines through the same from east to west and from south to north at the distance of 1 mile from each other, and marking corners at the distance of each half mile. The sections shall be numbered, respectively beginning with the number 1 in the northeast section and proceeding west and east alternately through the township with progressive numbers, until the 36 be completed. Fourth. The cadastral surveyors, respectively, shall cause to be marked on a tree near each corner established in the manner described, and within the section, the number of such section, and over it the number of the township within which such section may be; and the surveyors shall carefully note, in their respective field tablets, the names of the corner trees marked and the numbers so made. Fifth. Where the exterior lines of the townships which may be subdivided into sections or half- sections exceed, or do not extend 6 miles, the excess or deficiency shall be specially noted, and added to or deducted from the western and northern ranges of sections or half-sections in such township, according as the error may be in running the lines from east to west, or from south to north; the sections and half-sections bounded on the northern and western lines of such townships shall be sold as containing only the quantity expressed in the returns and plats respectively, and all others as containing the complete legal quantity. Sixth. All lines shall be plainly marked upon trees, and measured with chains, containing two perches of 16½ feet each, subdivided into 25 equal links; and the chain shall be adjusted to a standard to be kept for that purpose.6 Seventh. Every surveyor shall note in his field tablet the true situations of all mines, salt licks, salt springs, and mill seats which come to his knowledge; all watercourses over which the line he runs may pass; and also the quality of the lands. Eighth. These field tablets shall be returned to the Secretary of the Interior or such officer as he or she may designate, who shall cause 6 The superior results obtained by the use of modern linear distance measuring tools and indirect measuring tools, in contrast with the obsolete link chain, have led to the abandonment of the latter, except that the “chain unit,” which is peculiarly adapted to public lands surveying, has continued in use. The responsible Chief Cadastral Surveyor can in the special instructions authorize returns in units other than the chain unit. 6 5 4 3 2 1 7 8 9 10 11 12 18 17 16 15 14 13 R a n g e L i n e To w n s h i p L i n e 19 20 21 22 23 24 30 29 28 27 26 25 31 32 33 34 35 36 Figure 1-2. A regular township. 13 Chapter I - The General Plan Manual of Surveying Instructions therefrom a description of the whole lands surveyed to be made out and transmitted to the officers who may superintend the sales. A fair plat shall be made of the townships and fractional parts of townships contained in the lands, describing the subdivisions thereof, and the marks of the corners. This plat shall be recorded in books to be kept for that purpose; and a copy thereof shall be kept open at the office of the Secretary of the Interior or of such agency as he may designate for public information, and other copies shall be sent to the places of the sale, and to the Bureau of Land Management (Rev. Stat. 2395; Parts 135, 235 and 757 Departmental Manual; OMB Circular A-16; 43 U.S.C. 751). 1-27. The boundaries and contents of the several sec- tions, half-sections, and quarter-sections of the public lands shall be ascertained in conformity with the fol- lowing principles: First. All the corners marked in the surveys, returned by the Secretary of the Interior or such agency as he may designate, shall be established as the proper corners of sections, or subdivisions of sections, which they were intended to designate; and the corners of half- and quarter-sections, not marked on the surveys, shall be placed as nearly as possible equidistant from two corners which stand on the same line. Second. The boundary lines, actually run and marked on-the-ground and described in the surveys returned by the Secretary of the Interior or such agency as he may designate, shall be established as the proper boundary lines of the sections, or subdivision, for which they were intended, and the length of such lines as returned, shall be held and considered as the true length thereof. And the boundary lines which have not been actually run and marked shall be ascertained, by running straight lines from the established corners to the opposite corresponding corners; but in those portions of the fractional townships where no such opposite corresponding corners have been or can be fixed, the boundary lines shall be ascertained by running from the established corners due north and south or east and west lines, as the case may be, to the watercourse, Indian boundary line, or other external boundary of such fractional township. Third. Each section or subdivision of section, the contents whereof have been returned by the Secretary of the Interior or such agency as he may designate, shall be held and considered as containing the exact quantity expressed in such return; and the half-sections and quarter- sections, the contents whereof shall not have been thus returned, shall be held and considered as containing the one-half or the one-fourth part, respectively, of the returned contents of the section of which they may make part (Rev. Stat. 2396; Parts 235 and 757 Departmental Manual; OMB Circular A-16; 43 U.S.C. 752). 1-28. In every case of the division of a quarter-sec- tion, the line for the division thereof shall run north and south, and the corners and contents of half- quarter sections, which may thereafter be sold, shall be ascertained in the manner and on the principles directed and prescribed by the section preceding (43 U.S.C. 752). Fractional sections containing 160 acres or upwards shall in like manner, as nearly as practi- cable, be subdivided into half-quarter sections, under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior, and in every case of a divi- sion of a half-quarter section, the line for the division thereof shall run east and west, and the corners and contents of quarter-quarter sections, which may there- after be sold, shall be ascertained, as nearly as may be, in the manner and on the principles directed and prescribed by the section preceding (43 U.S.C. 752). Fractional sections containing fewer or more than 160 acres shall in like manner, as nearly as may be practi- cable, be subdivided into quarter-quarter sections, under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior (Rev. Stat. 2397; Parts 235 and 757 Departmental Manual; OMB Circular A-16; 43 U.S.C. 753). General Rules 1-29. From the foregoing synopsis it is evident: First. That the boundaries and subdivision of the public lands as surveyed under approved instructions by the duly appointed surveyors, the physical evidence of which survey consists of monuments established upon the ground, and the record evidence of which consists of field notes and plats duly approved by the authorities constituted by law, are unchangeable after the passing of title by the United States. 14 Chapter I - The General Plan Manual of Surveying Instructions Second. That the original township, section, quarter-section, and other monuments as physically evidenced shall stand as the true corners of the subdivisions which they were intended to represent, and shall be given controlling preference over the recorded directions and lengths of lines. Third. That sixteenth-section corners not marked in the process of the original survey shall be placed as nearly as possible on the line connecting the section and quarter-section corners, and midway between them, except on the last half mile of section lines closing on the north and west boundaries of the township, or on other lines between fractional or irregular sections. Fourth. That the center lines of a regular section are to be ascertained by running straight lines from the quarter-section corner on one boundary of the section to the corresponding corner on the opposite section line. Fifth. That in a fractional section where no opposite corresponding quarter-section corner has been or can be fixed, the center line of such section shall be run from the proper quarter- section corner as nearly in a cardinal direction to the meander line, reservation, or other boundary of such fractional section, as due parallelism with section lines will permit. Sixth. That lost or obliterated corners of the approved surveys must be restored to their original locations whenever this is possible. 1-30. The basic provisions require that the public lands “shall be divided by north and south lines run accord- ing to the true meridian, and by others crossing them at right angles, so as to form townships six miles square;” that “the townships shall be subdivided into sections, containing as nearly as may be, six hundred and forty acres each;” and that “the excess or deficiency shall be specially noted, and added to or deducted from the western and northern ranges of sections or half-sections in such townships, according as the error may be in run- ning the lines from east to west, or from south to north.” The system of rectangular surveys fits the basic require- ments to the curved surface of the earth. In this rectangular plan, the township boundaries are intended to be due north and south or due east and west. The boundaries running north and south are termed “range lines.” The boundaries running east and west are termed “township lines.” In this general plan, all the lines are rhumb lines and cross each meridian at a con- stant angle. The range lines are great circles of the earth that, if extended, would converge and intersect at the North Pole. This convergency becomes apparent in the mea- surement of the township lines. The convergency is taken up at intervals by the running of standard paral- lels, on which the measurements are again made full. On the standard parallels, first termed “correction lines,” there are offsets in the range lines and two sets of corners, standard corners for the lines to the north and closing corners for lines to the south. The usual inter- val between the standard parallels is 24 miles, but there were many exceptions in the older surveys. To make the sections represent “square miles” as nearly as may be, the meridional lines are run from south to north and parallel to the east boundary of the township for a distance of 5 miles from the south boundary. These are run and monumented as true lines. The remaining section lines are all run by random and true between the established section corners. This produces the rectangu- lar sections, 25 of which contain 640 acres each, within allowable limits. The sections along the north and west boundaries are subdivided on a plan for certain lottings to absorb the convergency and the excess or deficiency in the measurements. These sections provide a maxi- mum number of aliquot parts (160-, 80-, and 40-acre units) or regular subdivisions of a section, the remainder being shown as lots for which the contents are computed according to the field measurements. Organization 1-31. The reorganization of the Federal Government has involved necessary changes in the administrative practice consistent with the established technical pro- cedure. Note that throughout the Manual, references to the administrative practice are purposely stated in general terms; this is done to avoid diverting the atten- tion from a strictly technical treatment of the surveying subjects. Official surveys are conducted by the BLM’s State Offices under the direction of the State Office Chief Cadastral Surveyor. The authority over field operations is limited by instructions issued by the Director. The State Offices, with locations, are: 15 Chapter I - The General Plan Manual of Surveying Instructions Alaska State Office at Anchorage, Alaska. Arizona State Office at Phoenix, Arizona. California State Office at Sacramento, California (administers official surveys in California and Hawaii). Colorado State Office at Denver, Colorado. Idaho State Office at Boise, Idaho. Montana State Office at Billings, Montana (administers official surveys in Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota). Nevada State Office at Reno, Nevada. New Mexico State Office at Santa Fe, New Mexico (administers official surveys in Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas). Oregon State Office at Portland, Oregon (administers official surveys in Oregon and Washington). Utah State Office at Salt Lake City, Utah. Wyoming State Office at Cheyenne, Wyoming (administers official surveys in Wyoming and Nebraska). Headquarters for official surveys in the remaining States are at the Eastern States Office, Springfield, Virginia. The Public Land States 1-32. Thirty States have been created out of the public domain. In those where the public land surveys have been substantially completed, excepting Oklahoma, the original records have been transferred to the States upon closure of the Surveyor General’s office. In most cases, the duplicate original records of surveys prior to public survey office closures are retained in the Washington Office and are on file at the Eastern States Office of the BLM at Springfield, Virginia. The Director of the BLM has administrative authority in questions relating to the re-marking of the bound- aries of the remaining Federal interest land, where resurvey is required, and to the extension of surveys to include parcels of Federal land omitted from the offi- cial surveys. The following is a list of the States formed from the public domain, giving the date of admission, a citation of the primary enabling act, statehood act, admission act, authorization act, resolution, or President’s procla- mation as applicable (amendment acts and supplemen- tal acts are not listed) in the United States Statutes at Large, and the present location of the original records, except as noted in sections 9-32 and 9-84, of public land surveys: Alabama. Included in the territory of the original 13 States and portions acquired under the Louisiana Purchase in 1803; admitted into the Union December 14, 1819 (3 Stat. 489 and 608); records with the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources at Montgomery. Alaska. Purchased from Russia in 1867; admitted into the Union January 3, 1959 (72 Stat. 339; 73 Stat. c16); records in the State Office of the BLM at Anchorage. Arizona. Included in the lands ceded by Mexico in 1848 and the Gadsden Purchase in 1853; admitted into the Union February 14, 1912 (36 Stat. 557; 37 Stat. 39 and 1728); records in the State Office of the BLM at Phoenix. Arkansas. Acquired under the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and admitted into the Union June 15, 1836 (5 Stat. 50); records with the Commissioner of State Lands at Little Rock. California. Ceded by Mexico in 1848 and admitted into the Union September 9, 1850 (9 Stat. 452); records in the State Office of the BLM at Sacramento, and National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Records Center at San Bruno. Colorado. Acquired largely under the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, but including additional land, title to which was quieted through treaty with Spain in 1819, with other lands annexed with Texas in 1845, and lands ceded by Mexico in 1848; admitted into the Union August 1, 1876 (18 Stat. 474; 19 Stat. 665); records in the State Office of the BLM at Denver. 16 Chapter I - The General Plan Manual of Surveying Instructions Florida. Ceded by Spain in 1819 and admitted into the Union March 3, 1845 (5 Stat. 742); records with the Division of State Lands, Bureau of Survey and Mapping, at Tallahassee. Idaho. Acquired with the Oregon Territory, title to which was established in 1846, and admitted into the Union July 3, 1890 (26 Stat. 215); records in the State Office of the BLM at Boise. Illinois. Included in the territory of the Thirteen Original States and admitted into the Union December 3, 1818 (3 Stat. 428 and 536); records in the Illinois State Archives, Office of the Secretary of State, at Springfield. Indiana. Included in the territory of the Thirteen Original States and admitted into the Union December 11, 1816 (3 Stat. 289 and 399); records with the Commission on Public Records at Indianapolis. Iowa. Acquired under the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and admitted into the Union December 28, 1846 (9 Stat. 117); records with the Secretary of State, Corporate Division, at Des Moines. Kansas. Acquired under the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 (additional lands annexed with Texas in 1845); admitted into the Union January 29, 1861 (12 Stat. 126); records with the Historical Archives at Topeka. Louisiana. Included in the Louisiana Purchase in 1803; boundary extended to include additional lands, title to which was quieted through treaty with Spain in 1819; admitted into the Union April 30, 1812 (2 Stat. 641 and 701); records with the Division of Administration, State Land Office, at Baton Rouge. Michigan. Included in the territory of the Thirteen Original States and admitted into the Union January 26, 1837 (5 Stat. L 49 and 144); records with the Chief, Real Estate Division, Department of Natural Resources, at Lansing. Minnesota. Included in the territory of the Thirteen Original States (additional lands acquired under the Louisiana Purchase in 1803); admitted into the Union May 11, 1858 (11 Stat. 166 and 285); records with the Secretary of State, Business Services Division, at Saint Paul. Mississippi. Included in the territory of the Thirteen Original States and admitted into the Union December 10, 1817 (3 Stat. 348 and 472); records with the Secretary of State’s Office at Jackson. Missouri. Acquired under the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and admitted into the Union August 10, 1821 (3 Stat. 545, 645, and 797); records with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Geological Survey—Land Survey at Rolla. Montana. Acquired under the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and with the Oregon Territory, title to which was established in 1846; admitted into the Union November 8, 1889 (25 Stat. 676; 26 Stat. 1551); records in the State Office of the BLM at Billings and NARA Records Center at Denver, Colorado. Nebraska. Acquired under the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and admitted into the Union March 1, 1867 (13 Stat. 47; 14 Stat. 391 and 820); records with the State Surveyor at Lincoln. Nevada. Ceded by Mexico in 1848 and admitted into the Union October 31, 1864 (13 Stat. L 30 and 749); records in the State Office of the BLM at Reno and NARA Records Center at San Bruno, California. New Mexico. Included in the lands annexed with Texas in 1845, with lands ceded by Mexico in 1848, and the Gadsden Purchase in 1853; admitted into the Union January 6, 1912 (36 Stat. 557; 37 Stat. 39 and 1723); records in the State Office of the BLM at Santa Fe. North Dakota. Included with lands acquired under the Louisiana Purchase in 1803; admitted into the Union November 2, 1889 (25 Stat. 676; 26 Stat. 1548); records with the State Water Commission at Bismarck. Ohio. Included in the territory of the Thirteen Original States and admitted into the Union November 29, 1802 (2 Stat. 173 and 201); records with the Auditor of State at Columbus. Oklahoma. Acquired under the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and with lands annexed with Texas in 1845; admitted into the Union 17 Chapter I - The General Plan Manual of Surveying Instructions November 16, 1907 (34 Stat. 267; 35 Stat. 2160); records in the Eastern States Office of the BLM at Springfield, Virginia. Oregon. Included in the Oregon Territory, title to which was established in 1846; admitted into the Union February 14, 1859 (11 Stat. 383); records in the State Office of the BLM at Portland. South Dakota. Included with lands acquired under the Louisiana Purchase in 1803; admitted into the Union November 2, 1889 (25 Stat. 676; 26 Stat. 1549); records with the State Archives at Pierre. Utah. Ceded by Mexico in 1848 and admitted into the Union January 4, 1896 (28 Stat. 107; 29 Stat. 876); records in the State Office of the BLM at Salt Lake City. Washington. Included in the Oregon Territory, title to which was established in 1846; admitted into the Union November 11, 1889 (25 Stat. 676; 26 Stat. 1552); records in the Oregon State Office of the BLM at Portland, Oregon. Wisconsin. Included in the territory of the Thirteen Original States and admitted into the Union May 29, 1848 (9 Stat. 56, 178 and 233); records with the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands at Madison. Wyoming. Included with lands acquired under the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, with lands annexed with Texas in 1845, with lands included in the Oregon Territory, title to which was established in 1846, and with lands ceded by Mexico in 1848; admitted into the Union July 10, 1890 (26 Stat. 222); records in the State Office of the BLM at Cheyenne. The Non-Public Land States 1-33. Twenty States and the District of Columbia were not created out of the public domain. Generally, any Federal interest lands in those States fall into the cat- egory of acquired lands. The survey original records for the States formed from the original colonies, 18 Eastern States, and the District of Columbia are retained at the Eastern States Office of the BLM at Springfield, Virginia. The duplicate original records are held at local government offices. The two remaining non-public land States are Hawaii and Texas. The survey original records for Hawaii are retained at the California State Office of the BLM at Sacramento and the duplicate original records are held in the Washington Office and are on file at the Eastern States Office at Springfield. The survey original records for Texas are held in the NARA and the duplicate origi- nal records are held in the Washington Office and are on file at the Eastern States Office at Springfield. The Director of the BLM has administrative authority in questions relating to the official marking of the bound- aries of Federal interest lands, where survey or resurvey is required, and to the extension of official surveys to include parcels of land to be acquired or exchanged. 18 Chapter I Notes - The General Plan Manual of Surveying Instructions Purpose and Scope of the Manual 1-5(n). Corners established in an administrative sur- vey by BLM employees, by other Federal departments and agencies, or by or for an Indian tribe, unless sub- ject to special enactment, cannot be considered official United States corners unless and until they are accepted by the authorized officer of the BLM. In the absence of official acceptance by the BLM, users rely on such cor- ners at their own peril (Longview Fibre Co., 135 IBLA 170, 185 (1996)). Source of Law 1-7(n). In cases of Federal interest lands that at some point in time were not in Federal control, such as acquired lands, lands beneath navigable waters, and for- eign sovereign private land grants, the location of the boundary by application of Federal laws and rules is but an intermediate step of the official survey. In most such cases, boundaries were originally defined or confirmed by the application of Federal laws and rules, but dur- ing a resurvey, the application of State or foreign sover- eign laws and rules not consistent with Federal laws and rules may be required, including evaluating unwritten rights. In some cases the original boundaries were cre- ated under the law of a foreign sovereign. Guidance on these subjects is purposely stated in very general terms. Special instructions should be issued in cases requiring the interpretation of State or foreign sovereign laws. Basic Surveying Principles and Practices 1-8(n). Details of the general plan and its methods go beyond the scope of textbooks on surveying. The application of the general plan to the land tenure sys- tem requires an understanding of the application of the rules of evidence governing the location of boundaries. Surveys of Federal interest lands require detective work for ancient marks, which are often obscured by poor materials or workmanship, or both, and subject to aging, misidentification, and destruction. Surveying within the land tenure system of the various States requires knowl- edge of (1) record systems stretching back over centu- ries, (2) the availability of the records in specific locales, (3) whether surveys and related records were subject to recordation or not, and (4) the relevancy of records to each boundary location case. Experience has proven that knowledge of the proper use of current and past instrumentation to obtain and observe direction and distance is a prerequisite to properly executing a cadastral survey according to the general plan and its methods. Thorough discussion of past and present field procedures and mathematical processes for determining direction of lines is readily available in instrument manuals, textbooks, and previ- ous editions of this Manual, and is therefore omitted in this edition. Development of the Manual 1-10(n). Originally, the Land Ordinance of May 20, 1785, itself served as the survey instructions. There is no record of additional instructions to or from the Chief Geographer. More detailed regulations and instructions, improv- ing the system for greater accuracy, permanency, and uniformity, were issued in book form as Manuals. These early Manuals of instructions were prepared by Surveying District Surveyors General, issued to their Deputy Surveyors, and pertained to a single district. The earliest known and extant instructions by a Surveyor General were issued in 1804 by Jared Mansfield. Knowledge of the specific Manual require- ments for original surveys is key to the proper perfor- mance of subsequent surveys. 1-11(n). The early Manuals emphasized original sur- veys and contained little mention of retracements or resurveys. The need for increased instruction for the resurvey of public lands was marked by passage of the General Resurvey Act of March 3, 1909, as amended June 25, 1910 (43 U.S.C. 772). Retracement and resur- vey responsibilities were further expanded with pas- sage of the Act of September 21, 1918 (43 U.S.C. 773), which provides a general authorization for the defini- tion of boundaries of those lands to which title has passed from Federal control. The first full Manual discussion of resurveys was contained in the Advance Sheets, published June 16, 1919, and became part of the Manual of 1930. The notes presented here elaborate on or continue to discuss the topics presented in chapter I. The section numbers correspond to the section numbers in the chapter and are followed by “(n)” to indicate that they are additional notes. Chapter I Notes 19 Chapter I Notes - The General Plan Manual of Surveying Instructions The Manual Supplements 1-12(n). (1) The subject matter under this title first appeared in the decisions of the Department of the Interior in 1883 (1 Pub. Lands Dec. 339, first edition) and 1887 (1 Pub. Lands Dec. 671, revised edition). There have been several revisions and extensions of this guide. Definitions 1-13(n). Section 2 of Title 43 of the United States Code assigns responsibility to the Secretary to consider for survey and sale that which the United States acquired from another sovereign and determine what was prop- erly public lands of the United States and what was properly related to “private land claims” (e.g., grants from the Spanish Crown or Mexican Government). Depending on how the public lands were classified and/ or disposed of, different survey principles might apply. For instance, with respect to mining claims and entries under the 1872 Mining Law, lode claims and tunnel sites were described by the metes-and-bounds method, while placer claims and millsites were described by the rectangular survey system. If public domain lands or “public lands” were classified as “townsites,” the GLO would accept entries that were described in terms of the rectangular survey system, metes-and-bounds, or lot and block methods. By contrast, for public lands clas- sified as, for instance, “agricultural lands” or “grazing lands” or “timber lands,” the GLO would only accept entries or claims described by the rectangular survey system. The acquisitions from foreign sovereign powers were subject to prior rights and confirmation by the Federal Government. Lands to which this Manual and the authority of official surveys apply include the following three classes, all falling within the borders of the original public domain (figure 1-1) or otherwise under the direct political juris- diction of the United States: (1) Public domain lands: Lands owned and administered by the United States within the original public domain that have remained in Federal ownership. (2) Acquired lands: Lands owned and admin- istered by the United States that were not part of the original public domain or such lands that were part of the original public domain but that were alienated and later returned to Federal ownership. (3) Non-Federal, private, or alienated7 lands: Lands not owned or administered by the United States that were not part of the original public domain or lands that were part of the original public domain that were alienated. The spectrum of Federal interest in land includes pos- sessory interests, such as ownership in fee simple; an estate held in trust for a beneficiary, such as Indian trust land; or fractional interests such as split estates, reserved mineral rights on patented land (including fractional interests in minerals); and nonpossessory interests in the use of land, such as easements, rights-of-way, leases, or permits. Federal interests are often physically intermingled with non-Federal ownership. The surveyor must ascertain the land status of every parcel surveyed as an integral part of any boundary determination. For surveys where public domain land is not involved, the procedures must necessarily be brought into harmony with the appropri- ate State or foreign sovereign law and the decisions of the courts of competent jurisdiction. In general usage, the status of any particular parcel of land is obtained from an accumulation of information relating to the parcel. Examples of status information are: the legal description; whether surveyed or unsur- veyed; rights or privileges attached, if any; whether classified as mineral or agricultural lands; applicable withdrawals, orders, or special laws; and other pertinent information that may influence the operation of the laws related to the use or disposal of the parcel. Land sta- tus does influence which of various boundary laws and rules are controlling and the court of competent juris- diction for resolution of disputes. Administration 1-14(n). Private or other non-Federal landowners wish- ing to contribute funds for an official survey should consult the relevant regulations and contact the Chief Cadastral Surveyor of the BLM State Office with juris- diction where the land is located. 7 Alienated lands are non-Federal lands that have been conveyed out of Federal ownership through valid operation of law. Much of the original public domain has been alienated; however, where a Federal interest in the land remains, the land has been returned to Federal ownership, or the land has a reversionary interest or is anticipated to be acquired, official surveys are used to identify the boundaries. 20 Chapter I Notes - The General Plan Manual of Surveying Instructions The lack of specific instruction by this Manual for surveys of Federal lands outside the original public domain is not intended to inhibit appropriate action by the Federal Government to mark and define boundaries of Federal interest lands. Special instructions for such surveys will be issued upon receipt of a proper request. Such instructions would address technical and admin- istrative matters. As a general rule, however, adminis- trative aspects of such surveys would follow the proce- dures outlined in this Manual. Navigable Waters 1-16(n). The United States held the lands beneath navi- gable waters in the territories “in trust” for the future States that would be created. Title to the lands beneath navigable waters passed to the State upon statehood unless a contrary intention was definitely declared or otherwise rendered in clear and specific words, or unless a prior confirmed claim embraces the lands beneath navigable waters. Some States have conveyed title to their lands beneath navigable waters or portions thereof. Lands beneath navigable waters do not include the beds of streams in lands now or heretofore constituting a part of the public lands of the United States if such streams were not meandered in connection with the public sur- vey of such lands under the laws of the United States and if the title to the beds of such streams was lawfully patented or conveyed by the United States or any State to any person (67 Stat. 29; 43 U.S.C. 1301(f)). (See dis- cussions on meandering in chapter III and water bound- aries in chapter VIII.) Surveying and Survey Administration Laws 1-20(n). The Land Ordinance of May 20, 1785, provided for townships 6 miles square laid out in ranges extend- ing westward from the Ohio River. The townships were numbered from south to north and the ranges from east to west. The region embraced by the surveys under this law forms a part of the State of Ohio. In these initial sur- veys, all lines were run on the true meridian. Only exte- rior lines of the townships were surveyed and mile cor- ners established. Plats were marked by townships with protracted subdivisions, called lots, of 1 mile square. The Land Ordinance directed that surveys were to be made by surveyors appointed by the States, under the direction of the Chief Geographer of the United States. The Geographer was to transmit the survey plats to the Board of Treasury, which was to record the same and conduct the land sales. The whole expense of surveying was not to exceed $2 per mile. Land was to be sold for not less than $1 per acre cash, in units of 640 acres or more. The Northwest Territory Ordinance of July 13, 1787, was the first general legislation by the Congress on the subject of real property. Since its passage, free and unconditional alienation is the rule of the Federal Government in the disposal of the public domain. The Ordinance contains the basic propositions as to land tenures of the laws of the United States and of most of the States and became the foundation of the same stat- utes in all the public land States and territories. By this Ordinance, new States were to be admitted on an equal footing with the original States (affirmed by the Act of August 7, 1789 (1 Stat. 50), under the Constitution). The Act of September 2, 1789 (1 Stat. 65), created the Department of Treasury. The Secretary of the Treasury was to execute the services relating to the sale of the lands belonging to the United States, including the sur- vey function. The Act of May 18, 1796 (1 Stat. 464; 43 U.S.C. 52, 751, and 931), provides that half of the townships were to be subdivided into four section blocks, and the rule for numbering of sections within the township was changed to that which is practiced today. This Act also created the office of Surveyor General within the Department of Treasury, charged with the duty of all surveying and platting of the public lands. The Surveyor General begins receiving written instruc- tions from the Secretary of the Treasury. The Surveyor General was to engage skillful surveyors as his deputy surveyors; frame regulations and instructions for the governance of his deputies; and prepare three survey plats, two sets of field notes and one set of descrip- tive notes for each township survey to be submitted to the Secretary who was to direct the land sales.8 The Secretary of State was to record the conveyances of land, called patents. The whole expense of surveying was not to exceed $3 per mile. Land was sold on terms, for not less than $2 per acre, in units of 640 acres or more. The Act of March 1, 1800 (2 Stat. 14), established the important principle that the li