A Fence Beat Two Surveys in Louisiana

Acquisitive Prescription Wins in Louisiana

A Louisiana appeals court affirmed a judgment fixing a boundary at an old combination fence instead of the surveyed line, relying on acquisitive prescription and finding no manifest error below. The Colvins had ordered a 2022 survey; an earlier 2012 survey had itself referenced that same old fence. The record also features no-trespassing signs, floodlights, and a dead cow.

Why it matters: Your line can be correct and still not be the boundary, and the fence a predecessor noted in 2012 is part of the reason.

Colvin v. Jones, Louisiana Court of Appeal, via FindLaw →

Florida’s First Step Protocol Takes Effect

Correction, September 22, 2026. This item originally reported that Florida’s First Step protocol had taken effect, allowing applicants to sit for the licensure exam without the education or work requirements. That is wrong. HB 339 (2025) was withdrawn from consideration on May 3, 2025 and died in the Commerce Committee on June 16, 2025. No such protocol exists in Florida. The item was based on the House staff analysis of the bill, which describes what the bill would have done, without checking that the bill had failed. Thanks to the member who caught it.

Florida House of Representatives, staff analysis of HB 339 →

Still Waiting on the Vote That Retires NAD 83

NGS has said the FGCS vote to approve the modernized NSRS would come in 2026, with the current system replaced within a few months after. With the year two thirds gone, no approval notice has surfaced. The schedule has slipped before. If it passes, Trimble puts the shifts at 0.7 to 2.45 meters horizontally and -0.73 to -2.57 meters vertically.

Why it matters: Planning around a date NGS hasn’t hit yet is its own risk, and the metadata you write today decides who untangles it later.

Trimble Positioning Services →

NGS Project Tracker →

Nine Months Into the Drone Rules, the Bill Comes Due

DJI went onto the FCC Covered List in December, blocking new foreign-made models from the equipment authorization they need to enter the US market. Existing aircraft stay legal to fly, and a waiver keeps firmware updates coming through at least January 1, 2027. Compliant replacements run 50 to 100 percent more than the Matrice gear they replace.

Why it matters: Utility and infrastructure clients now score NDAA compliance in procurement, so a DJI fleet can lose points on bids it isn’t formally barred from.

SPH Engineering →

UAV Coach →

NCEES Wants Surveyors for the FS Exam Review

NCEES is looking for licensed surveyors and geomatics faculty to take part in an online knowledge content review of the Fundamentals of Surveying exam. The review decides what the exam covers, and it comes around only every 6 to 8 years. Miss this one and the next opportunity is most of a decade out.

Why it matters: That’s the same exam the Florida story turns into the profession’s main gate. Worth having surveyors in the room.

NCEES →