Witness TreeConsultingDennis J. Mouland, PLS

About our new logo

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The witness tree shown was drawn by a gentleman named Ted Drummond. He was a 30 year employee for DOI and drew the current Interior seal (with the buffalo). The tree drawing was first used in a Corner Restoration Circular in 1952, shortly after GLO became BLM. He and others drew some great pictures of survey evidence and restoration processes.

Services

Witness Tree Consulting provides four distinct services:

BOOKS - Dennis Mouland has written six books; two technical and four historical fiction.

  1. "Ethics for the Professional Surveyor", 2nd Edition (2020) Discussion of many ethical issues
  2. "Public Lands Retracement in the 21st Century", (2021) Textbook on PLSS
  3. "Thence I Run", (2020), Early 20th century GLO crew in Arizona, based on a true story
  4. "Arrastra", (2021), Modern day mineral claim retracement in Colorado
  5. "The Martian Land Office", (2024), Part 1 of 3 of the red Sierra Series, The establishment of a land office on Mars, which quickly turns to a political hot potato on both planets
  6. "Azide Plus", (2025), Part 2 of 3 of the Red Sierra series with more intrigue, on Mars and Earth.

Seminar Services for Professional Associations

Your state or local (Chapter) Professional organizations have used Dennis Mouland for 33 years at over 325 conferences and workshops. The current list of seminar topics available for your association is shown here:

General Topics

  1. To Accept or Not To Accept: That is the Question – A full day course on the fundamental question every surveyor must ask at every corner point of every survey: Do I accept the evidence or reject it? This course will challenge your personal litmus tests for acceptance or rejection. It then goes to the law to find the answer, which might surprise many!

  1. Thinking Beyond Technology – A half day course on the negative impacts technology has had on society and on the survey profession in particular. It forces us to examine how we do things in the field and office versus how we should be doing things.

  1. Charm School for Professional Surveyors – A half day course on how our appearance, attitudes, and communication skills impact our profession as a whole, and our own business success. At times humorous, at other times very pointed, this course will challenge your world view of how you impact the rest of the profession as well as yourself.

  1. Professionalism Everyday! – A half day course on the many ways we can be "professional" everyday in our survey career. Starting with basic definitions, it moves on to several specific things the Surveyor should be doing.

PLSS Specific Topics

  1. Lotted Sections Workshop – A full day class on subdivision of sections, regular, elongated, fractional, closing, and three mile method surveys.

  1. Restoration of Lost Corners – A full day class that explores all seven methods used in the BLM Manual to restore lost corners. Focuses on application, proper math, and principles of proportioning.

  1. PLSS 21st Century – A full day course that evaluates the intent of the PLSS and the issues we must now deal with to try to make it work. Reviews all major aspects of PLSS work including unwritten rights issues.

  1. Corner Evidence Analysis – A full day class on PLSS records research, corner search, and evidence analysis. Discusses the more common questions on confusing evidence, how to use accessories, and how to make a permanent improvement to your corner search skills.

 

  1. “The Most Meaningful Changes in the 2009 Manual of Surveying Instructions”
    2. –This is a half day (five changes) or full day (ten changes) seminar that introduces much of the new thinking exposed in the latest edition of the Manual. Some of these are controversial both in and out of the BLM and provide additional considerations in some of the more complex issues facing the modern retracement surveyor. From corner evidence analysis and acceptance to the use of witness corners, this course will get you started on a good grasp of the new edition.

     

  1. Corner Evidence Analysis – A full day class on PLSS records research, corner search, and evidence analysis. Discusses the more common questions on confusing evidence, how to use accessories, and how to make a permanent improvement to your corner search skills.

  1. "Subdivision of Fractional Sections"-- This is a half day course on the subject, and focuses on the definition of fractional sections, the federal laws on the subject, and the practical application of the law in the many ways fractional sections show up in the record.

  1. "Dealing with Completion and Extension Surveys in the PLSS" - A full day course that shows the importance of the record and lotting on the plats to determine where one might have double corners, bearing breaks, and other phenomena reserved for the township not surveyed all at the same time. The course has examples from most western states.

  1. "Witness Corner Policies in the 2009 Manual of Surveying Instructions" -- A one-to-two-hour course on the WC policies, which have changed since the 1973 Manual. Includes discussions on how retroactive these type changes are in our retracement work.

  1. "Controlling Intermediate Corners" -- A half day course on dealing with the many CIC's in the PLSS. Includes meander corners, both types of witness corners, line trees, witness points, closing corners, crossing closing corners, and previously set subdivisional corners.

  1. NEW! "Where the Manual is Silent" -- A full day course that expands on a number of topics never addressed by GLO or BLM in retracement issues in the PLSS. This course goes into the details of what we need to consider to still be within the scope of the law, as well as what we need to document to show our peers why we did what we did. Examples: Lost corners in section subs, multiple WC's at a section corner, and why the Grant Boundary Method will not work for many non-rectangular entities.

  1. “Working Against State Lines” -   A 3 or 4 hour course on the survey issues, plus the political and economic issues one must encounter when working along a state line, and many Indian reservation boundaries.

  1. “Sometimes Proportioning is REALLY Dumb” -   A 3 or 4 hour course on seven situations where proportioning lost corners is not the best solution.

Advertised Courses brought to your area

Periodically we advertise and produce a quality course in your state, offering alternatives to Distance Learning, conference attendance at far-away locations, or other means of meeting your education goals and needs. Courses shown as "sponsored by WTC" are the courses we are offering independent of any professional associations. Click here to see where we will be.

Consulting Services on Complex Boundary Projects

Whether it is a riparian issue, complex PLSS problems involving completion or extension surveys, or you just want another set of eyes to review your boundary work, we are here to help. Click here for the Contact page.