Info

North Country Surveying, Inc. is a surveying firm that provides all types of surveying and mapping services. We are located near Siren, Wisconsin. (location map) Our primary service area, for traditional land survey work, includes the Wisconsin Counties of Burnett, Polk, Washburn and Douglas. North Country Surveying, Inc. was originally founded as North Country Engineering, Inc. in 1972 by Robert D. Baker. Douglas & Diane Crane took over the business in 1979 and have operated it continuously since that time. Traditional land surveying work, includes boundary surveys, subdivision work, topographic work, and general site mapping. We perform most all types of survey work including general control surveys, geodetic control surveys, photogrammetric control surveys, level and elevation work, flood plain certificates, ALTA surveys, and construction stakeout. We have experience in providing geodetic survey services, including consulting for geodetic work and large scale mapping projects. Geodetic surveys cover large areas where the curvature of the earth is taken into consideration. Geographic coordinates of latitude and longitude are produced as the result of a geodetic survey. A revolution in geodetic survey work has occurred since the Global Positioning System (GPS) has been implemented. We have performed HARN (geodetic control) densification projects - both in conducting GPS observations and contract administration. We have considerable experience in conducting GPS surveys to establish geodetic coordinates on corners of the Public Land Survey System (PLSS). We have been involved in the land records modernization program in Wisconsin. The foundation of land records modernization is to map the location of all land information to real world coordinates (lat-long) with specified accuracy. Land information includes all information that can be related to a spot or area on the earth. This ultimately will include parcel and ownership information, address and building information, wetlands, zoning, land tenure, right-of-ways, land cover, land use....the list goes on and on. In the future, as more and more of this information is mapped, a tremendous amount of duplication of effort will be avoided because different types of land information will correlate together with specified accuracy. The cost of procuring some of this information can be staggering with present out-dated methods of storing most types of land information. Land records modernization will have a profound impact on how society approaches many issues. We have designed map projections for county geodetic coordinate systems. A map projection is a mathematical scheme that allows for conversion of geographic coordinates (latitude-longitude) to grid coordinates. The grid can be designed to be at average elevation of the county. This has major benefits for counties because grid distances are nearly equal to ground distances. In general, counties are responsible for hosting parcel ownership information. This system is extremely helpful for local surveyors, counties, and other users of property information because the mapping or grid coordinates reflect deed distances and areas. However, the information can be converted to any other map projection used by another agency, including state plane coordinates or UTM. These traditional grid coordinate systems are projected to sea level, which can distort deed distances and areas. We have successfully used STAR*NET networking least squares adjustment software since 1991 to compile large blocks of conventional survey traverse work for Burnett County. This has allowed the county to make excellent use of their existing considerable investment in PLSS corner recovery work that started in the early 1970's. New work is easily integrated into the existing networks and a readjustment is performed. Combining these conventional traverse networks with GPS measurements has worked extremely well, as long as the relative weighting of individual measurements is correct. We have developed methods of dealing with readjustments so that readjustments can be performed easily and whenever they are needed. We have worked with Burnett County to develop a high quality cadastral parcel mapping program. Parcel mapping is conducted only on Sections of the Public Land Survey System where the corners have been recovered, remonumented and properly mapped into the county coordinate system. Development of the parcel mapping program is a continuous process as new problems arise. We continue to work on a contractual basis for Burnett County in their parcel mapping program. Based on the success in Burnett County, we have started working with many other counties in Northwestern Wisconsin. We perform a consulting role which varies based on the needs of the individual county. We also perform consulting for private firms undertaking geodetic or large scale mapping projects that require the expertise that we can offer. These services can be tailored to meet your needs. We have worked with the Village of Frederic, WI in developing a set of very high quality base maps to be used in upcoming planning for the Village. PLSS corner recovery and maintenance work was completed along with mapping these corners into the Polk County Coordinate System using geodetic procedures. The final products included parcel mapping of five sections, zoning district mapping, and wetlands mapping. High quality one foot pixel digital orthophotos were also developed on the county coordinate system. A grant from the Wisconsin Land Information Board (WLIB) funded a significant portion of the project. We believe that this approach is a one time investment in the future. The corners of the public land survey system are not changing nor are the existing lots in the village. Now that these are mapped properly, the maps will serve the public forever! The principals of our company include: Douglas R. Crane, RLS WI, MS & BS UW-Madison Diane (Hen) Crane, President, BS UW-Madison Please contact us to see how we can help your mapping project be successful: North Country Surveying, Inc.