9 Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon | www.plso.org Featured Article The Certified Federal Surveyor (CFedS) program is an intensive course designed to equip licensed surveyors with an unsurpassed Public Land Survey System (PLSS) knowledge base. Created in 2005 by the Bureau of Land Management, CFedS has become the hallmark program for surveyors wishing to provide cadastral services on federal trust lands while deepening their understanding of working within the PLSS. The non-PLSS surveyor can also benefit from the program by becoming more wellrounded in the many intricacies of our profession. The CFedS Program was initiated in 2005 under the direction of the Bureau of Land Management and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Its pilot group of applicants tested in February 2007 with 69 graduates. Mr. Tyler B. Parsons from Corvallis, Oregon, received the highest passing score of that first class. The program trains surveyors to deal with the unique problems found on Native American lands. While not replacing Federal Authority Surveys, CFedS provides an expedited and economical method to address certain types of survey-related issues. For example, many essential records are found only within the Bureau of Indian Affairs offices, so special procedures have been developed for Indian lands, and there are cultural and jurisdictional considerations that surveyors working on Native American land must be aware of. Other essential aspects of the courses include instruction on special survey rules and procedures, historical records investigation, and proper documentation and recording. THE CERTIFIED FEDERAL SURVEYOR (CFEDS) PROGRAM By Glen Thurow, New Mexico PS, CFedS Cadastral Surveying for the Public Lands of the United States is a specialized profession. Concerning federal lands, CFedS receive specific training to do the following: • Provide a consistent, timely, ef cient, and economic assessment of the need for boundary evidence relative to Indian trust assets • Permit expeditious processing of Indian trust asset transactions • Provide managers with a “cost-and- time-saving” tool that assists them in making appropriate determinations for solutions to Indian trust asset boundary issues • Protect and preserve Indian trust assets from boundary con icts, trespass, unauthorized use, and ambiguous land descriptions • Properly discharge the Secretary of the Interior’s trust responsibilities as to Indian trust assets with a high degree of pro ciency, integrity, and care • The survey of sites proposed for renewable energy leases involving significant investment and capital improvements • Surveying of high-value resources such as timber and minerals • The survey of high resource value treasured landscapes In early 2022, we embarked on a mission to modernize the CFedS offering, bringing the program online for the first time. While this was no small undertaking, I’m proud that the core seven-course training series is being delivered via www.cfeds. org. Close to 75 individuals are working through the material as of this writing, with another 514+ active professionals in 40 states among our ranks. In addition, continuing education courses are now online, with more being developed. Periodic enhancements to the website continue. Realizing the importance of a return on investment for existing CFedS and new registrants, a new emphasis on marketing the CFedS program to all potential stakeholders, with outreach to tribal, federal, and state entities, is contemplated. If you’re ready to join us, go to https:// cfeds.org/plans/cfeds-registration-options. For more detailed information about the CFedS program, visit the website https:// cfeds.org/resources or contact me directly by email at glen.thurow@cfeds.org, or by phone at (505) 274-8571. Glen Thurow has been a licensed surveyor in New Mexico since 1991. Glen also is a Certified Federal Surveyor and currently serves as the CFedS Training Coordinator. He owns Land Links Consulting Service, a survey/GIS educational development firm in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was appointed to the New Mexico Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Professional Surveyors in 2013. Glen served on the NCEES Examination Professional Surveying Committee and is a past member of the NCEES Law Enforcement and Education Committees. He is currently an Emeritus Member of the New Mexico Board of Licensure.
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