Boundary Surveys: Part of Time, History, Land DVD and Postcard

Introducing "Boundary Surveys: Part of Time, History, Land". For years, Indian Trust lands have been plagued with substandard and in many cases conflicting surveys and survey-related services. This issue led the Secretary of the Interior to create and implement a new survey business service, called the Certified Federal Surveyor (CFedS) Program.

Learn More »

Congratulations to our New CFedS

Congratulations to the new class of CFedS Graduates.

Learn More »

Secretary Kempthorne encourages tribes to utilize CFedS for their surveying needs.

Secretary Kempthorne recently sent the following letter to the leadership of each recognized Tribe and Alaska Village. This is a significant endorsement of the CFedS program and demonstrates the importance the Department of the Interior places on this program.

Learn More »

Informational Video

You have found the official website for the Certified Federal Surveyors Program (CFedS). Co-administered by the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management and the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping (ACSM), the Program provides extensive training for Professional Land Surveyors in dealing with federal survey processes both on and off Indian lands. This website contains all the information you need to learn about, register for, or utilize the CFedS Program. The CFedS Training Program was designed by Dennis Mouland and Ron Scherler. To learn more about them click on the Program Coordinators link. We invite you to explore this site.

But first, a little history...

The Fiduciary Trust Model (FTM) was approved by the Secretary of the Interior in 2004. The FTM was designed to respond to deficiencies in the Department of Interior's trust responsibilities, and to outline a plan for Indian Trust reform. At this time no direct control will be asserted on the selection of surveyors working in Indian Country, Tribes, BIA, and other federal agencies with land management responsibilities adjoining Indian Trust lands will be strongly encouraged to select surveyors from the CFedS roster. The Certified Federal Surveyor Program (CFedS) is one of four specific action items approved in the cadastral component of that Model. It consists of training and testing packages to be offered to private land surveyors to elevate knowledge and skills for providing cadastral services on trust lands. The Program will assist BLM in aggressively pursuing the cadastral survey-related needs in Indian Country.