"Four Hundred Years England to the Bayou".
When the Law You Ignored Was Older Than the Nation Itself

A surveyor's failure to understand where boundary law came from, and why the man who ran the line always controls the man who came after him, turned a routine retracement into a Supreme Court case.

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Perfect for Truck Time

No Screen Required

40 Years Experience

We Don't Teach History. We Show You Why It Still Controls Your Survey Today.

You're not memorizing dates and dead men's names. You're standing at a corner in the Wisconsin wilderness, bearing trees blazed, post set, and 169 years later, that corner still controls. You need to explain to a judge, an attorney, or an opposing expert why the man who ran the original line has authority that no modern measurement can override.

The History from England to the Bayou courses include:

  • 15-Minute Micro-Lessons
  • Bite-sized episodes fit any schedule. Pause when you arrive at the site, resume when you leave.
  • Professional Production
  • Voice-over narration, sound design, and scoring. No robotic voices or echoey webinar audio.

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Why Continuing Education Courses Usually Fall Short

(And why this course is different)
×

Traditional CE Courses

  • ⊘ Memorizing survey history dates with no connection to modern practice.
  • ⊘ Timelines of the PLSS that never explain why original corners still control today.
  • ⊘ Discussions of Gunter's Chain as a curiosity, not the reason monuments beat measurements.
  • ⊘ Legal cases presented as history lessons, not warnings about what happens when you get it wrong.
✓

Survey Life CE CoursesNEW

  • ★ Why English manor courts in 1680 created the rule you'll cite in your next deposition.
  • ★ How a 66-foot chain's limitations became the legal foundation for monument over distance.
  • ★ The Wisconsin wilderness, where corners set in 1839 still control surveys done with GPS.
  • ★ Cragin v. Powell, the bayou case where the Supreme Court told every surveyor who came after exactly where they stood.

COURSE OVERVIEW

England to the Bayou. History of Boundary Law.
ONLINE COURSE

A four-hundred-year journey through the legal foundations that still control every survey you do today. Learn why the rules governing monuments, measurements, and original intent weren't invented by American courts, they were inherited from English chancery, refined by a 66-foot chain, and permanently cemented by a Supreme Court case in a Louisiana bayou.

This course isn't just about history; it's about understanding why the law is what it is, so you can defend every decision you make in the field. We follow boundary law from English manor disputes through the Gunter's Chain era, across the Wisconsin wilderness where deputy surveyors built a framework controlling 75% of American land, to Cragin v. Powell, where the Supreme Court answered the question every retracing surveyor faces. You'll discover why the man who ran the original line has authority that no modern measurement, no better equipment, and no subsequent survey can override. Every corner you hold or reject either honors four hundred years of legal precedent or ignores it. This is about knowing where the law came from, so you know exactly where you stand.

  • 1 Hour (4 x 15min Audio Lessons)
  • Includes Assessment & Certificate

Single Course
$25
1 HR CE Credit
Survey History - England to the Bayou Course
One Year Access
Certificate Included
GET INSTANT ACCESS

TRUSTED BY A SECURE PAYMENT SERVICE

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Our Confidence Guarantee

Refund Policy & Course Standards - Because your completion certificate is issued immediately upon course completion, all sales are final and refunds cannot be issued. Survey Life CE courses are developed in alignment with NCEES continuing education guidelines and are designed specifically for professional land surveyors. Each course is built from over 40 years of real-world field experience and presented through deep-immersion narrative instruction focused on real surveying situations, legal principles, and professional decision-making.

"You're not just getting your CE credits - you're investing in professional development that will actually make you a better surveyor." – Dan Provolt, PLS

40 Years of Survey Investigation in Your Earbuds, On Your Off Time

In the process of researching, gathering stories, and crafting a better way for all of us as surveyors to learn, I discovered a wealth of knowledge out there, just waiting to be heard. These lessons draw not only from my own forty years in the field, but from the shared experiences of countless surveyors.

As I assembled these narratives, I revisited my own past mistakes, near misses, small triumphs, and moments of clarity. But more importantly, I recognized how many of the challenges we face, boundary puzzles, legal conflicts, ethical dilemmas, and split-second field decisions, are universal across our profession.

You're not just buying CE credits. You're investing in professional development that will actually make you a better surveyor.

  • Licensed PLS (30 Years)
  • Survey Business Owner (23 Years)
  • Expert Witness
  • Boundary Solutions
  • Registered Course Developer

Frequently Asked Questions

All Survey Life CE courses comply with NCEES (National Council of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors) Continuing Professional Competency Guidelines. Our 40-year PLS instructor, Course and time tracking, Student Dashboard Records, Automated certificates of course completion, Course Quiz and certification of passing score. The Course subject matter applies directly towards improving the surveyor's knowledge and training. Our Audio delivery method is explicitly approved by NCEES Model Rules Section 2.3.1(c)  

Survey Life CE courses are in alignment with the requirements of NCEES and the following list of states that do not require pre-approval, but do rely on the above standards. The states not listed either do not require continuing education or have particular state-centered pre-approval courses.

Tap the URL on your cell phone or, if on your lap top, Drag across and right-click on your state URL below. Select the"open" option to access their Continuing Education Requirements page. 

It is your responsibility, as a licensed Land Surveyor, to check your state's Continuing Education Requirements.

ALABAMA 
https://bels.alabama.gov/faqs/

ALASKA     https://www.commerce.alaska.gov/web/cbpl/professionallicensing/boardofarchitectsengineersandlandsurveyors.aspx           

ARKANSAS                                                                     https://labor.arkansas.gov/licensing/state-board-of-licensure-for-professional-engineers-and-professional-surveyors/license-renewal/

COLORADO                                                                                                     

https://dpo.colorado.gov/AES/CE

IDAHO   

https://dopl.idaho.gov/ipels/ipels-cpd/

ILLINOIS

https://idfpr.illinois.gov/content/dam/soi/en/web/idfpr/forms/dpr/ls-renewal-pdh-requirements.pdf

IOWA

https://www.legis.iowa.gov/law/administrativeRules/rules?agency=193C&chapter=7&pubDate=02-04-2026

KANSAS

https://www.ksbtp.ks.gov/for-individuals/continuing-education/guidelines

LOUISIANA

https://www.lapels.com/docs/CPD/CPD_Audit_Transition_Examples.pdf

MAINE

https://www.maine.gov/pfr/professionallicensing/professions/board-licensure-professional-land-surveyors

MICHIGAN

https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/michigan/department-licensing-and-regulatory-affairs/bureau-of-professional-licensing/professional-surveyors/professional-surveyors/part-5

MINNESOTA

https://mn.gov/aelslagid/continuinged.html

MISSISSIPPI

https://www.pepls.ms.gov/continuing-education

MONTANA

https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/montana/ARM-24-183-2105

NEBRASKA

https://nbels.nebraska.gov/profdev.html

NEVADA

https://nvbpels.org/continuing-education/

NEW MEXICO

https://www.sblpes.state.nm.us/license-renewal/

NORTH CAROLINA

https://www.ncbels.org/continuing-education/individuals/

NORTH DAKOTA

https://ndpelsboard.org/continuing-education/

OHIO

https://peps.ohio.gov/education-and-verification/continuing-education/provider-guidelines

OKLAHOMA

https://oklahoma.gov/pes/current-licensees-and-firms-/continuing-education-requirements.html

OREGON

https://www.oregon.gov/osbeels/maintaining/Pages/Continuing-Education-Information.aspx

PENNSYLVANIA

https://pcpg.org/ContinuingEdFAQs

SOUTH CAROLINA

https://llr.sc.gov/eng/PDF_Files/CPC.PDF

SOUTH DAKOTA

https://dlr.sd.gov/btp/forms_applications.aspx

TEXAS

https://pels.texas.gov/lscep.htm

UTAH

https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/utah/Utah-Admin-Code-R156-22-304

VIRGINIA

https://law.lis.virginia.gov/admincode/title18/agency10/chapter20/section683/

WASHINGTON

https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=196-16&full=true

WEST VIRGINIA

https://wvbps.wv.gov/law

WISCONSON

https://dsps.wi.gov/Pages/Professions/LandSurveyorProfessional/CE.aspx

WYOMING

https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/wyoming/037-4-Wyo-Code-R-SS-4-2

Absolutely! That's exactly what Survey Life CE is designed for. Plug in headphones or connect to your truck's audio system and listen while you drive to and from work. While eating lunch or waiting at the job site. Just be safe and attentive while operating vehicles.

After completing each 1-hour tracked course (four 15-minute lessons) along with a personal sign-off testifying the passing of the quiz with 75% or higher, you'll instantly receive a downloadable certificate of completion.

If you fail the quiz you'll be able to re-listen to the audio lessons and retake the quiz.


Knowing History Is Not Optional.Understand It to Survive.

Turn your mandatory CE requirement into courtroom-ready expertise with the course that traces the rules you follow today, back to the English manor court, and the Supreme Court case that settled it for good.

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