Minnesota Public Land Survey Control Point Inventory
Larry D. Swenson, Special Projects Coordinator
Control Point Inventory System Developer
651-259-5419; fax 651-297-5818
Control Point Inventory Project Sponsors
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Minnesota Department of Transportation
Minnesota Land Management Information Center
The Public Land Survey Control Point Inventory System
The Public Land Survey Control Point Inventory is a repository database system of the public land survey corners for the State of Minnesota. It was developed in 1991 through a LCMR funded project organized by the Land Management Information Center. The Department of Natural Resources was in the process of developing a database to keep track of its 4,000+ corner certificates. In the planning meetings to develop the Control Point Inventory System the DNR system was demonstrated and was used as the pilot for the project. The base set of coordinate data for the Control Point Inventory was LMICs GISMO file (the Section corners from the USGS 7.5' Quadrangles). This file was converted from NAD 27 - UTM Zone 15 Coordinates to NAD 83 - Latitude and Longitude and County Coordinates. This CPI System has been distributed to all counties that have County Surveyors.
Control Point Inventory System Updates
The Public Land Survey Control Point Inventory Database System is being redesigned as a client-server database system which can be accessed through the Internet. The new system is being modeled using the corporate data model standards as established by the Minnesota Department of Transportation. The existing Control Point Inventory System will be maintained and updated as a tool for those who do not have access to the new system and as a source for updated information. The data in the existing control point inventory system is being updated from the information from Minnesota Department of Transportations GIS Base Map. The date and surveyor of the Original Public Land Survey has been added to the information about each PLS Township. Another update that is going to be implemented over the next couple of months is a direct link to the scanned Corner Certificates Images and Histories.