What "Professional Land Surveyor" means to me.

I saw the following note on a survey plan from 1976, recorded at the Cumberland County Registry of Deeds. I thought I would reflect. "No deed research has been performed by this surveyor to ascertain who owns what." This plan was done in a time when the field of Land Surveying was still developing, having been a part of Civil Engineering for some time. In the 1960's, in the State of Maine, the State began to license surveyors. At first, people who had some experience in surveying could register for licensure. These first licensed surveyors could be called "grandfathered surveyors". Some of these licensees represented some cutting edge ideas and techniques and some represented only a technician's based ability to measure. Clearly this "grandfathered surveyor" knew how to explain what he had and had not done. In 2001 the Maine Board of Licensure for Professional Land Surveyors revised its standards and now believes that the surveying community knows how to educate the public about our work product. We can, and I do, produce work that does not meet the standards. It must be noted when the standards are not met. Sometimes that is all that is needed. Since starting Wheeler Surveying in 1998 I have decided that I will meet the standards to the greatest extent that I can. My clients rely on my training and experience to produce a solid and defendable survey. I always want to leave a situation better than I found it, oftentimes meeting a high standard is the only way to assure a quality work product. Knowing "who owns what" is something that my clients expect me to know. I prefer to know the standards, meet the standards and call myself a Professional Land Surveyor.