This fall, NSPS met in Arlington, VA, for the Spring Meeting. This meeting was held at the same time as our regional conference. Spencer McCutcheon was in attendance as our young surveyor representative. There were 12 teams in attendance for the student competition, including UVU. Dan Perry traveled with the team. And while we missed seeing everyone at the Regional Conference this year, Utah was well represented at NSPS.

NSPS really rolled out the red carpet for these student teams with a monument scavenger hunt on day one and a skills competition on day two. After the scavenger hunt in the “City of Monuments,” we enjoyed a presentation by Dave Doyle, who retired as the chief geodetic surveyor in 2013. He added color and history to some of the monuments retrieved in the competition.

The day on the Hill was a great experience. More than 40 members from 24 states visited with more than 100 members of the House and Senate and their staffers.
I personally met with staffers from the offices of Sen. Lee, Sen. Romney, Rep. Owens, and Rep. Curtis. I requested action on two issues, a “Sense of the Congress” resolution and a continuation of the IMAGES Act.

The “Sense of the Congress” resolution states national support for the licensure of professionals. While licensure is a state issue, a congressional resolution would support our efforts to maintain licensure as a protection of the public’s health, safety, welfare and property.

Major Government Affairs NSPS Highlights in the past year:

• Secured a “geomatics” provision referencing land surveyors in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) PL 117-58
• Helped to introduce the FEMA Flood mapping reform IMAGES Act in the House.
• Helped to introduce the FLAIR Act, the FIRESHEDS Act, and MAPLand Act in both the House and the Senate.
• Won a $5 million appropriation amendment in the House on the Interior appropriations bill for FY2022.
• Secured report language in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of FY2022 for $3 million for NOAA’s Digital Coast, nearly a $5 million increase for USGS 3DEP, and increases for both USGS Streamgages and FEMA FNIP flood mapping.

During the general membership meeting, a motion to amend the by-laws to allow for a vacant position to be filled by appointment of the Executive Committee (Excom) to fulfill the term (usually less than a year) when there is a vacancy. The position would be pro-temp and only allow the seat to be filled and the appointee to serve for the time before the next general election.

CST

I have requested PowerPoint slides that others have used to highlight the benefits of the CST.

Membership Committee

I have asked the committee to draft a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for student members (one fee gets membership in UCLS and NSPS). Working towards a motion for the fall board meeting.

GOLF

Is anyone interested in participating in the Fall PAC golf tournament in Oklahoma?

Dale Robinson, PLS, UTAH NSPS Director