Clay County Enhances PLSS with Remonumentation & ArcGIS Parcel Fabric

Planning and executing a countywide program to improve the accuracy of countywide control data.

Clay County, Minnesota, prioritizes sharing its parcel data with the public and other users. With data constantly on display, accuracy is critical.

The Public Land Survey System (PLSS) is the foundation on which the county’s land records data is built. It is essential for maintaining accurate data, supporting data-driven decisions, and linking historical data to present-day needs.

However, the county’s original control points lacked x,y coordinates, which necessitated improvements within ArcGIS Parcel Fabric to ensure more accurate parcel representation. For even greater accuracy, the county initiated a remonumentation program, which involved re-establishing and documenting the original survey points with precise coordinates.

This project was crucial to ensuring that parcel data remains reliable and up to date. In turn, this supports the county’s ongoing efforts to provide accurate and accessible land information.

The county’s multiyear remonumentation program consisted of three phases:

1. Surveyor resurveys the PLSS corners 
2. Move control points in the fabric
3. Align existing parcel layers to new or remonumented corner point locations

To drive the success of this program, the county undertook significant planning and careful preparation. Key tasks included deciding how the work would be done, whether by a contractor or internal staff, and securing and planning around funding. Clay County budgeted an annual amount to support the project.

The county also developed assumptions and rules for the alignment process to ensure consistency and accuracy. They took a systematic approach, breaking down the process into manageable chunks to maintain control and quality. Additionally, the county identified editors who were highly detail-oriented and well-versed in ArcGIS Parcel Fabric to oversee the alignment process.

With major tasks defined and a plan in place, surveyors began collecting data in the field, focusing on one area at a time. 

After the surveyors collected a substantial amount of new corner data and the county updated the control points in the fabric, the next step was to update the county’s parcel data to reflect the resurveyed corners. The county enlisted the help of Esri partner Pro-West & Associates, Clay County’s geographic information system (GIS) partner for 30 years, after realizing that more capacity was needed for such a large effort.

“We are a small department, with just myself working on Parcel Fabric; it quickly became clear that we couldn’t do this ourselves,” said Mandy Olson, GIS coordinator for Clay County. “In fact, we calculated that with current budgeted annual funding, completing the project could take up to 108 years! We needed a bigger team, and we needed experts.”

Working in Parcel Fabric, the project team established a process to align the data, whether moving parcels to a new control, aligning all features along PLSS boundaries, or moving parcels to a new control with weights on data.

The alignment process was completed for a defined area, before starting the cycle again in the next area.

“We have a robust workflow for the entire life cycle of the program, from resurveying in the field to aligning parcels to the correct control. As we work through each area, the process will continue until the entire county is complete,” said Olson. “Seeing progress is exciting and will be valuable to everyone who relies on us for accurate property information. We’re looking forward to seeing it through to completion.”

As the remonumentation process continues, Clay County is making improvements for users and adding value along the way.

A new online corner map will be rolled out shortly. This will put accurate data in the hands of those who need it as early as possible. It will have search capabilities to help users efficiently find the answers they need.