The document provides details on Daniel Muth's experience and qualifications as a private land surveyor. He has over 30 years of experience in land surveying, including owning his own surveying business and working for other surveying firms. He holds professional surveying licenses in multiple states. He obtained a Bachelor's degree in surveying from New Mexico State University.

1. A private land
surveyor’s use of gcdb
Daniel R. Muth PLS

2. Experience 2005-2008 Self Employed
Owner / Operator
Providing Land Surveying Services to Eastern Arizona and Western New Mexico.
1999-2005 Pettigrew & Associates Hobbs, NM
Surveying Dept. Team Lead
Management of Surveying Technical Staff both office and field
Project Manager and Customer Support Representative.
Training Team Lead for Surveying operations (GPS).
1995-1999 Western States Surveying Parker, CO
Project Surveyor
CDOT – TMOSS Topographic surveying, I-25 corridor
Various Construction Projects
Boundary Surveying Activity
1982-1995 James E. Muth RLS Springerville, AZ
Party-Chief
Crew Supervisor.
Multiple Boundary Surveying Projects.
Apprenticeship during School.
Education 1991-1995 New Mexico State University
B.S. Surveying with emphasis on Boundary and Legal Principles
Co-operative Education Agreement with the DOI, Bureau of Land Management, Cadastral
Survey
Arizona State Office
Registartions AZ RLS #31028, NM PS #13239, TX RPLS#5588, CO PLS #31937
Affiliations Arizona Professional Land Surveyors, New Mexico Professional Surveyors, Texas Professional
Surveyors, Professional Surveyors of Colorado, National Society of Professional Surveyors, New
Mexico State University Surveying Engineering Advisory Council, FarmHouse Fraternity.

3. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Dr. Kurt Wurm, Associate Professor, Surveying Engineering, New Mexico State
University ~ http://web.nmsu.edu/~kwurm/
Steve Hansen, Chief Cadastral Surveyor, Arizona State Office, BLM
American Surveyor Magazine -
http://www.amerisurv.com/PDF/TheAmericanSurveyor_Wurm-
GCDBCornerRecovery_Jul-Aug2007.pdf
Jim Muth ~ Father and Mentor

4. Data “is like a box of chocolates. You never
know what your gonna get”
Forrest Gump - 1994

5. Sources of DATA
• BLM GCDB National Homepage ~ http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/more/gcdb.html
• USDA FS Data Clearing House ~ http://svinetfc4.fs.fed.us/clearinghouse/index.html
• Arizona State Cartographis Office ~ http://sco.az.gov/
• Arizona Geographic Information Council ~ http://agic.az.gov/
• New Mexico Resource Geographic Information System Program ~ http://rgis.unm.edu/
• NM Office of the State Engineer ~ http://www.ose.state.nm.us/water-info/gis-
data/EBTAG.html
• USDAFSRegion 3 Data ~ http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/gis/aps_gis.shtml
• USDOIBLM State office GCDB Coordinator

6. Types of DATA
• Shape files
• Raster Images
• GMM LX Files
• GPX files
• GMM “Flat Files”
• PCCS archive data

7. DATUMS
• Many State, County, City,
and Federal Agencies rely
on North American Datum
1927 and North American
Vertical Datum 1929, for
much of their data.
• Including GCDB, USGS, ect.
• A few a agencies have
made the conversion to
North American Datum
1983 and North
American Vertical
Datum 1988, for their
data
• Which adjustment?????

8. Making the Data Usable
• WinGMM ~ http://web.nmsu.edu/~kwurm/Software.html
• CAD software with Geospatial capabilities
• Surveying GPS software

9. WARNING
• Pay close attention to software setup:
– Units
– Datum
– Conversions
• Pay close attention to DATASET:
– Units
– Datum
– Conversions
• Pay close attention to “automatic” datum shifts

10. “ADJUSTMENTS”
Stick with what you know………………
• WinnGMM is a VERY powerful FREE software.
– Not for the “beginner”
– Need firm grasp of Least Squares Adjustment Principles
– Can be EXACTLY WRONG
– Garbage in / Garbage out.
• Use for datum conversion
– NAD27 to NAD83
– Change Mean Elevation for State Plane Coordinate calculations.
– Verification of Record Data
– Refine search areas by adding control and adjusting
• Finalize data
– Use “autoprop” to subdivide sections and calculation “Lost” corners
– Export coordinates for final drafting.

11. “THINGS TO WATCH FOR”
• Most if not all GMM flat files are setup for SPC or UTM
– Pay attention to datum of GCDB project
– Pay attention to Units of GCDB project
– Pay attention to Elevation of GCDB project
• Numbers that don’t make sense……….
– Pay attention to the Latitude and Longitudes in the “LX” file
– Unsolicited Datum shifts can waste time in the field and office
– Pay attention to datum shifts by CAD software
• Compiled data
– Raster images as base map
– Shape files for graphical reference
– GCDB “*.dxf”for graphical reference
– COR file coordinate reference

12. “WHAT TO EXPECT”
Search area size relative to “date” of original survey and “control”
used by GCDB operator
• Used survey ties to NGS Control when availible
• Used Static GPS observations when practical
• Digitized control from quadrangles when necessary.
• Look at project adjustment parameters
– Older surveys (1870’s to early 1900’s) and method of control the larger the area (+/-)
100 – 200 feet
– Circa 1900’s-1960’s and method of control (+/-) 10 – 30 feet
– Circa 1970’s – to date and method of control (+/-) 3-5 feet
• Optimal conditions yield 3 to 5 feet
• Worst case +/- 200 feet.

13. Townships 1 & 2 South, Ranges 20 and 21 West, NMPM
Catron County, New Mexico
Ridgeway Arizona Oil Corp Helium/CO2 Project
Reliability of GLO data from Circa 1920’s

14. Corner of Townships 11 North & 10 North, Ranges 30 and 31 East, G&SRM,
Apache County, Arizona
Ridgeway Arizona Oil Corp. St. Johns Helium/CO2 Project
Challenges of Local Control Circa 1970’s vs. GLO Record data Circa 1880’s

15. Township 11 North, Range 30 East, G&SRM, Apache County, Arizona
Sections 22, 23 & 24
Ridgeway Arizona Oil Corp. St. Johns Helium and CO2 Project
Differences between Local Control and GLO Record

16. Township 7 North Range 21 West NMPM Cibola County New Mexico
Sections 2 & 3
Dependent Resurvey for conveyance to the Zuni Nation

17. Township 7 North Range 21 West, NMPM, Cibola County, New Mexico
Secions 10, 11 and 12

18. Township 7 North Range 21 West, NMPM, Cibola County, New Mexico
Sections 13, 14 and 15

20. Found Section corner

21. Found Mile Marker #31 Zuni Reservation Boundary

22. Found Mile Marker #30 Zuni Reservation Boundary

23. Found Section Corner

24. Pandora’s Box
GCDB is a useful compliment to today’s tools availiable to the
Land Surveyor. However, as the case with any tool; it lends
itself to abuse.
GCDB derived coordinates are being used as an anchor to the
GIS land net. Abuse of this data by these practices will yield
flawed decisions
“Cogo-Commandos” now have the staking sheet they have
always dreamed of.

25. Pandora’s Box
The New Basis of Bearing:
“The Basis Of Bearing for this survey was the Geographic Coordinate Data Base
as provided by the BLM.”

26. “Stupid is as stupid does”
Forrest Gump - 1994