Martinsdale/Deadmans Basin Reservoir Topographic and Retracement Surveys

The project’s topographic phase centered along 3.5 miles of the Deadman’s Basin outlet canal. Crews set up a control network and commenced the conventional ground survey of siphons and diversion structures and the topography below the top of channel banks. Another Stahly crew concurrently flew a UAV mission over the entire project corridor to provide high-resolution photogrammetry and derive contours of the upland areas. The combined field collection methods resulted in a very accurate and efficient model delivered ahead of the project deadline.

The boundary retracement was centered along the east half of Martinsdale Reservoir within Wheatland County. The reservoir falls along the Meagher/Wheatland County line along Range 11&12 E. In addition to researching the records of ownership, easement, and historical maps, retracement efforts entailed running from the Southwest township corner 6 miles to the Northwest township corner along the range & county line and locating numerous interior sections and historical monuments around the reservoir site. The broad extent of the retracement was due to the footprint of the reservoir inundating many of the controlling PLSS monuments when it was filled. The resulting boundary and posting along the site’s exterior aided the DNRC in determining where access to the site fell on the ground through private inholdings and clarified previously ambiguous ownership lines.  Stahly recorded the Retracement Certificate Of Survey and 13 Corner records in Meagher and Wheatland counties.