MnGeo Parcels and Land Records Committee Statewide PLSS Data Set Bart Richardson IT Portfolio Manager,

The Original Public Land Survey System In the original thirteen colonies land boundaries are described with metes and bounds. The Public Land Survey System (PLSS) was developed by Thomas Jefferson and approved by the Continental Congress in 1785 as the Ordnance Act Northwest Ordinance of 1787 created for surveying and settling newly acquired lands

The Original Public Land Survey System The General Land Office (GLO) was established to facilitate disposal of lands west of the Appalachian Mountains that the U.S. government had acquired from the British after the end of the Revolutionary War. All lands in the public domain are subject to subdivision by this rectangular system of surveys, which is regulated by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

PLS Principal Meridians and Base Lines

The Original Public Land Survey System

PLSS in Minnesota Original Survey from 1847 to 1907 Surveyed in the 4 th and 5 th Principals Meridians. 8 Correction lines in the 4 th P.M. 6 Guide Meridians & 15 Standard Parallels in the 5 th P.M. T 26 to 71 N – R 1 to 32 W in the 4 th P.M. T 61 to 65 N – R 1 to 7 E in the 4 th P.M. T 101 to 168 N – R 3 to 49 W in the 5 th P.M. One Half Township – T58½N, R17W Two Half Ranges – T159N, R42½W & T160N, R42½W Contains ~ 2530 Townships ~ 84,000 Sections ~ 1,300,000 Government Lots and 40’s (Quarter- Quarter sections) ~ 53,000,000 acres of land

PLSS in Minnesota Original Survey from 1847 to 1907

PLS Control Point Inventory (CPI) CPI was built in dBase IV (DOS based) CPI information: –~828,866 points (August 3, 2009) –143,058 points are better than digitized positions for PLS Corners –125,747 Digitized positions (not including points for meander lines, reservation lines and county lines along rivers)

PLS Control Point Inventory (CPI) The PLSS40 layer used 123,861 control points –111,393 digitized points –12,468 points better than digitized positions

Control Points

CPI Management ESRI Parcel Fabric –Points, Lines, & Polygons tied to each other Control Points Lines built from points Polygons built from lines

CPI Management ESRI Parcel Fabric –Points, Lines, & Polygons tied to each other Control Points Lines built from points Polygons built from lines –Adjusting a control point corrects all associated polygons

CPI Management Nancy von Meyer –GIS and Land Records: The ArcGIS Parcel Data Model BLM –Geographic Coordinate Data Base (GCDB) –Cadastral National Spatial Data Infrastructure (CadNSDI) Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana/North Dakota, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming

CPI Management MnGeo –Statewide Parcel Dataset –Parcels and Land Records Committee Parcel standards for assembly PLSS coordination –In the future, PLSS Data Minn. DNR –Statewide Parcel Dataset –PLSS Data (static) County Surveyors –Parcel Dataset –PLSS Data (not static)

CPI Management MnGeo –Statewide Parcel Dataset –Parcels and Land Records Committee Parcel standards for assembly PLSS coordination –In the future, PLSS Data Minn. DNR –Statewide Parcel Dataset –PLSS Data (static) County Surveyors –Parcel Dataset –PLSS Data (not static)

Next Steps Conclusion Parcel data –Finish collecting and assembling parcel data –Manage data in a parcel fabric –Establish a process of automatically updating data from counties PLSS data –Starting with the DNR/BLM data, create a PLSS40 dataset in an ESRI Parcel Fabric –Collect surveyed Control Points from counties –Update PLSS dataset with surveyed Control Points –Establish a process of automatically updating data from counties Share all data with other state agencies

Next Steps Conclusion Contacts: –Dan Ross MnGeo –Jeff Storlie and Ryan Stovern St. Louis County –Hal Watson