Rangeland Wildfires And Survey Monument Preservation

By: Michael L. Quartaroli, LS                                                                                       June 18, 2024

Rangeland landowners in California must be prepared for wildfires. Periodic wildfires are a crucial part of the ecology in California’s Rangeland, however because of climate change, the frequency and intensity of these wildfires is unprecedented. This increase in frequency and intensity is a new reality for Rangeland landowners in California. Practically every County in California has some Rangelands.

The Corral Fire started June 1st southwest of the City of Tracy in San Joaquin County’s Rangelands. Fueled by high winds, the blaze quickly spread across 14,168 acres of tall Rangeland grass. The burn area is comprised of GLO sectionalized lands with fencing on section and quarter section lines throughout the burn area. Ominously, the Corral Fire officially started the 2024 California wildfire season.

An overwhelming task lies ahead for landowners whose pastures and Rangelands were destroyed by the wildfire and left hundreds of miles of fencing to be repaired or replaced. An untold number of destroyed wooden fence posts, pickets, braces and stays that could easily be 100 years old will need to be replaced.

The expectation is that a fence between neighbors is erected on the boundary line between the two adjacent properties. A fence is more than just a fence when we recognize it as a boundary marker or property line monument. Fences represent evidence to be considered and evaluated. Landowners typically overlook the fact that survey monuments may be buried next to the fence post and may be disturbed or destroyed when the fence is removed and replaced. If the fence is removed whether by natural causes like fire, or any other reason before a land surveyor references and preserves the location, it may become a difficult and costly task for the land surveyor to reconstruct the location of the fence or to reestablish the position of the destroyed survey monuments.

California Civil Code Section 841 has a clear message about neighbors and fences:

Section 841(a): Adjoining landowners shall share equally in the responsibility for maintaining the boundaries and monuments between them.

Section 841(b)(1): Adjoining landowners are presumed to share an equal benefit from any fence dividing their properties and, unless otherwise agreed to by the parties in a written agreement, shall be presumed to be equally responsible for the reasonable costs of construction, maintenance, or necessary replacement of the fence.

In other words, neighbors should share in the cost of repairing and replacing fences on their boundary lines and to maintain the survey monuments between them.

The primary function and responsibility of County Surveyors is to ensure that property rights and public welfare are protected by providing survey monument preservation oversight for projects that could put survey monuments in jeopardy of being disturbed or destroyed. Wildfire destroyed fence repair and replacement, if implemented without a concurrent survey monument and boundary identification and preservation plan, will result in the forever loss of many historic cadastral survey monuments. Also lost forever is the enormous financial asset the survey monuments represent. Protecting and safeguarding the "Property of the Public” is the paramount message of Board Rule 476 – Code of Professional Conduct. "Property of the Public” includes all survey monuments in the Public Domain. Protecting the public means recognizing when complying with California Civil Code Section 841, U.S. Code Title 18, Section 1858 and PLS Act Section 8726 and other survey monument preservation related Code Sections is required. Repair and replacement of wildfire destroyed fences will put survey monuments in jeopardy of being disturbed or destroyed.

It is incumbent on the County Surveyor to advise the landowners of their legal obligation to designate a licensed land surveyor to be in "responsible charge” of survey monument preservation and other land surveying services for the fence repair and replacement effort. The landowners have no understanding of what survey monument preservation is and are reliant on the County Surveyor to oversee their land surveying related actions and to advise them of their legal obligations. In the absence of a statewide law specifically mandating that such activities as wildfire destroyed fence repair and replacement include a pro-active survey monument preservation component, it is up to the County Surveyor to interpret less specific current laws as worthy of enforcement in the face of destructive Rangeland Wildfires. If the County Surveyor does not oversee these repair and replacement efforts, then who will? This is necessary in order to prevent wholesale loss of survey monumentation and the subsequent boundary determination challenges such a loss would create. It is imperative that the landowners designate a licensed land surveyor to be in responsible charge of survey monument preservation and other land surveying services for the fence repair and replacement caused by wildfires.

The designated land surveyor can evaluate the ground disturbing potential of the fence repair and replacement efforts and determine which, if any, survey monuments are in jeopardy of being disturbed or destroyed, and must be referenced and preserved.

The County Surveyor may send a form letter, notifying landowners that the fence lines may be identifying property lines and there may be survey monuments at the base of fence posts. As landowners are planning to repair and replace wildfire destroyed fences, they should consider consulting a land surveyor. Survey monuments may be in jeopardy of being disturbed or destroyed.

All land surveyors need to raise the awareness level of survey monument preservation caused by Rangeland Wildfires.