This is from a county mark that was bluebooked. This county set 12" diameter concrete columns with a brass disk in top, then set a witness post (a 2" steel pipe with a sign attached) stamped with the station name...
RECOVERY NOTE BY US POWER SQUADRON 2007 (HOH)
FEBRUARY 2007 MARK IS NOW A VERTICAL 2-INCH ALUMINUM PIPE
FILLED WITH CONCRETE. IT IS 2 FEET HIGH AND HAS AN IDENTIFYING PLATE
BOLTED TO IT.
Is it possible to report these bogus reports and get them removed all together? For some reason I think it isn't... which is annoying.
Can't you just submit your own recovery note's online now?
http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/ngs-cgi-bin/recvy_entry_www.prl
They aren't surveyors...they get points for doing certain tasks, this is just one of them. (Although I think that this may have been discontinued.)
Take their report for what it's worth.
I see it this way:
If they say they found it, then I know at least something was there.
If they say they didn't find it, I go look anyway....seems to me from experience that at least 33% of the time the mark still exists.
From my experience finding marks they reported on, I suspect they were given a list with check boxes "Found" and "Not Found" and if they didn't have time to search they just checked "Not Found". Almost none of their reports I've seen have any further text. Their reports should NOT be interpreted as "We looked hard and couldn't find it" unless there is a statement to that effect.
I have also heard their BM reporting program has been discontinued.
I was told that they were in competition,who could find the most points in a day. In order to get bragging rights, passing on one that was going to be tough was a good idea...;-)
Anyone interested...
in explaining who these folks are and what they are doing? There's very little boat safety required where I am...
Power Squadrons and NGS
It’s my understanding that the organization, well known for its many excellences in maritime safety, took on reporting geodetic marks to the NGS as an extension of their volunteer work on nautical chart maintenance. There may have been some sort of competition among the many chapters for “public service points.” Many Power Squadrons reports were careful and sound, in the judgment of finders who came along after them. By those same lights, it seemed that increasing numbers of Power Squadron reports were of the sort Bill93 describes. The more reports to NGS, the more points. It can follow from that, unfortunately, that points could be received for “Not Found” reports, and, further and even more unfortunately, that marks can be “Not Found” from any armchair.
In any case, the administration of the Power Squadrons instructed its membership that USPSQD reports to NGS were to end on March 31, 2007. Individual members who had developed expertise and enthusiasm for the hobby could thenceforth submit as individuals, and probably many of them have. Web pages of individual Power Squadrons chapters can still be found that give instructions for NGS geodetic mark reporting.
As for removing these (and any other) bogus reports from the data sheets, the task would be immense, and any NGS staff member with the knowledge (not to mention confidence in his or her own guesswork) to carry it out already has more things to do than there is time for. It could also be argued that even a bogus entry in the historical chain of recoveries might be interesting or useful to somebody. Even rant fodder fills a need here and there 😉 .
Cheers,
Henry
Power Squadrons and NGS
If I find a mark previously not found I simply submit a recovery on that one saying I found it.
I found one not found in the 1970s (not found by the NGS). They thought it was destroyed by road construction but I found it 50' from the top of a high bank.
EW7762 STATION RECOVERY (1976)
EW7762
EW7762'RECOVERY NOTE BY NATIONAL GEODETIC SURVEY 1976 (ARA)
EW7762'THE STATION MARK AND REFERENCE MARK WERE SEARCHED FOR AND NOT
EW7762'FOUND. THEY ARE BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN DESTROYED BY GRADING IN
EW7762'HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION.
EW7762'
EW7762'AIRLINE DISTANCE AND DIRECTION FROM NEAREST TOWN
EW7762'13 MILES SOUTHEAST OF OXNARD.
EW7762
EW7762 STATION RECOVERY (2006)
EW7762
EW7762'RECOVERY NOTE BY CA DEPT PARKS REC 2006 (DBK)
EW7762'FOUND DRILL HOLE IN ROCK UNDISTURBED. STATION MARK DISK IS MISSING.
Power Squadrons and NGS
:good:
Cheers,
Henry