1/4 cor S17 & S20 T13N R20W P.M,M.

This may be a regional difference etc., but why drill a hole in the original Mon?

Granted we are supposed to measure the Mons to the level of precision dictated by our State Standards, but who is to say that the next surveyor would have used your DH spot for the Mon location?

We are supposed to perpetuate original monumentation. Does that include altering them?

I agree - We should just locate said stones and not alter them.
I've tied into stones set by William Penn and missed the "X" cut by a tenth. Using the original poster's logic that would mean I should have adjusted it. (NOT!)

> Found this corner this week. Land owner was unaware that it was in his yard. He'd lived there since 2001.
>

So someone graded and landscaped a lot and left the original stone undisturbed?
Or is this natural grade that just got mowed....
Either way, if indeed the stone is undisturbed and original I'm impressed!

As for drilling and setting a nail as remarked on by other posters, so what, you only marked the point you measured to for future reference by you or those who would follow you. Nothing wrong with that.

DJJ

Plenty wrong with that unless that action was placed in the public corner records. If I find what appears to be an original stone and found such additions without a record of who, why and what then I am suspicious and do more checks back into the GLO to verify. My feeling is that if the location is good and you want to upgrade the marker, then replace the stone with a brass cap on a 30" flanged steel pipe, set the unmodified stone alongside and reference the location. Then get the changes in the record. If unwilling to do that, leave it alone.
jud

For the "never disturb an original monument" crowd, here's the new Idaho Code effective today: Enjoy section 3.

55-1608. Professional land surveyor to reconstruct monuments. (1) In every case where a corner record of a survey corner is required to be filed or recorded under the provisions of this chapter, the professional land surveyor must reconstruct or rehabilitate the monument of such corner, and accessories to such corner.
(2) Any monument set shall conform to the provisions of section 54-1227, Idaho Code, and shall be surmounted with a cap of such material and size that can be permanently and legibly marked as prescribed by the manual of surveying instructions issued by the United States department of the interior, bureau of land management, including the license number of the professional land surveyor responsible for placing the monument. Monuments shall be marked such that measurements between them may be made to the nearest one-tenth (0.1) foot. If the monument is set by a public officer, it shall be marked by an appropriate official designation.
(3) When nonmetallic corner monuments were set in a survey conducted by an agency of the United States government, the corner location shall be remonumented with a monument conforming to the provisions of section 54-1227, Idaho Code, and shall be surmounted with a cap of such material and size that can be permanently and legibly marked as prescribed by the manual of surveying instructions issued by the United States department of the interior, bureau of land management, including the license number of the professional land surveyor responsible for placing the monument. Monuments shall be marked such that measurements between them may be made to the nearest one-tenth (0.1) foot. (Bold added for emphasis)

> Plenty wrong with that unless that action was placed in the public corner records. If I find what appears to be an original stone and found such additions without a record of who, why and what then I am suspicious and do more checks back into the GLO to verify. My feeling is that if the location is good and you want to upgrade the marker, then replace the stone with a brass cap on a 30" flanged steel pipe, set the unmodified stone alongside and reference the location. Then get the changes in the record. If unwilling to do that, leave it alone.
> jud

I agree that it should be placed in the record, and assume that it will be.
I research the GLO/BLM record and compare the size and nature of the monument and the ties to related corners and or accessories on all monuments, not just modified ones. I also agree that I would prefer to remonument the stone with a brass cap steel flanged pipe and deposit the original monument alongside.
I do not feel that the addition of a nail or chiseled cross at the point the surveyor tied to the corner automattically and fataly diqualifies it form acceptance as original evidence of it fit all other crteria.
DJJ

Foolishness. The entire stone is the monument. One merely needs to provide documentation that will direct anyone in the future to the stone. Put your entire traverse error there if the stone is big enough. The primary purpose of the bearing/distance calls is to direct you to the next monument, not some infinitesimal dot on the stone which will be some perceptible distance different when the next expert measurer comes along someday.

Here are some better pics.

you can see the "4" in this image - it appears that the portion of the stone that had the "1" on it has cracked off. The "-" appears to be on the break line.

The top of the stone was very rough and didn't appear to be previously marked. It it had been. I'd have measured to that point. As it was, I marked it to allow for a reproduceable measurement point. It will be tied again from a different instrument point, and the nail will give the crew the location I shot, if I'm not there when they come back. (probably wont be.) My survey when recorded along with an updated Corner rec will also show those who retrace me, where I measured to and what I did.. something about footsteps...... below is the last corner rec filed for this corner. both the trees used as rms are long dead and gone. Note what the surveyor said he did.

Cranky old men.

Having a reproducible measurement point is a good thing.

I wish BLM would put a center punch on top of their monument caps so we can all measure to the same place.

I usually use the line between the S and the number just for consistency:

S 1
-+--
S 12

I make a little magic marker mark which will normally last the duration of the project.

> Having a reproducible measurement point is a good thing.

I agree. The point (pun intended) of establishing a distinct measurement point isn't to define the position of the corner as much as it is to allow that corner to serve as an equal member of the measurement network to which it's connected. It's a means of perpetuating the time-consuming (and expensive) measurement work that went into determining the corner position so that it can be used in the future for other purposes.

I very rarely tie into a monument without marking the measurement point in some manner. Punch marks, drilled marks, scribed crosses are all legitimate means of accomplishing that, in my book.