18 Header The Oregon Surveyor | Vol. 47, No. 2 Member Spotlight By Vanessa Salvia Daren Cone started his career off with the intention of studying mechanical engineering at Oregon State University right out of high school. He had a strong background in math along with a brother who did mechanical engineering in the Navy, which helped lead him in that direction. But he realized he didn’t like it that much. It’s something that many people say once they get a taste of engineering: Cone liked the idea of being outdoors, so being in an office every day wasn’t a good fit for his personality. “I ended up switching to forest engineering,” he says, “and surveying was a component of that so I really enjoyed that part.” He achieved a high score on his Fundamentals of Engineering/Engineer In Training test out of college, then went to work as an industrial forest engineer. “I interacted with surveyors because we contracted survey work out,” Cone says. “But I didn’t actually do survey work other than related to construction work up until about 2005, when I went out on my own.” At that point, Cone contracted with a local surveyor who was doing surveys for timber companies. Then, once he got licensed, he joined PLSO. “I joined because I thought that was a good way to keep current with what was going on and try to give back to the organization,” he says. Cone grew up in Klamath Falls, and it was this timber-oriented environment that helped point him in the direction of forest engineering. When he was just out of high school, he happened to get a job with Weyerhaeuser on a road crew. “I was running equipment one day when the Daren Cone, PE, PLS, CFEDS State Forests Engineer Oregon Department of Forestry, Salem Daren Cone on a construction control survey in the Elliot State Forest in 2015. Original GLO bearing tree established by Alonzo Gezner at the Section corner common to Sections 13, 14, 23, and 24, Township 16 South, Range 8 West, Lane County. Original stone for the corner common to Sections 28, 29, 32, 33 Township 9 South, Range 4 East. Stone was set by court-appointed surveyors from Linn and Marion counties to resolve issues with the Niagara Township site survey circa 1899. Oregon Department of Forestry retraced the line between Sections 28 and 29 following the 2020 Beachie Creek Fire.
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