The New Year is not just an exciting time for people hoping to change themselves with their resolutions; it is also an exciting time for businesses nationwide. A New Year means a new start, an opportunity to start fresh and unencumbered. There is only the future ahead of you and the worthwhile projects that will occupy your time.
At BLAZE Design Inc., we love this time of the year, not just for the crisp feelings of new hope, but also for how the land looks. What separates us from other land surveying & and land use planning firms is that we work during all seasons. From our website, “BLAZE Design Inc. gives construction firms a head start on spring projects by completing surveying projects during the winter. This ensures all construction and development projects meet their deadlines.”
Completing surveying projects during the winter is exhilarating, reminiscent of how land surveying must have been right after the Revolutionary War, when Americans were determined to settle the land, east to west, the time when almost every parcel of land was uncharted. Although exhilarating, surveying was a rough business, as discussed by Vicki Gerdes in this DL-Online article. She talks with Tom Harper, the principal land surveyor for Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) District 4 in Detroit Lakes.
Regarding the era of Wild West surveying, Harper says, “The federal government owned all the land at one time. Before the land could be sold, it had to be surveyed. So they (Congress) contracted with various surveyors to do the job.”
These were big jobs and given the technology at the time, some of the points and lines used weren’t laid out perfectly, but these points and lines are final. There is no going back but studying the grid as established by these early surveyors is a fascinating look at the hard work they had to do to tighten America’s grip on the land and how all of us are indebted to them.
Surveying has definitely evolved over the centuries, but its heart and soul remains the same: The relationship between man and nature. That relationship has also evolved over the years and when viewed through the lens of surveying, you learn a lot. If you are in the Minnesota area, you have the opportunity to explore this in more detail by looking at how the Great Minnesota Township Grid was created, which is on exhibit at the Becker County Museum in Detroit Lakes.
If you are looking to get a head start on spring projects and need a survey, contact BLAZE Design Inc., and Happy New Year.