6/12/13 - Errors in section attributes were corrected in the PLSS poly layer, primarily within the Sisseton Reservation area and along the Red River.

This coverage represents the townships in the US Public Land Survey System for North Dakota and was created as a derivative of the township polygon layer. These layers were derived from the PLSS layer compiled from ND Public Service Commission data by staff of the North Dakota Geological Survey in 1993.

When my predecessors at the North Dakota Geological Survey left in 1993, they left little or no documentation as to how they compiled any of their GIS coverages. I took posession of their data early in 1994, and in my experience, this layer is a reasonable representation of the North Dakota PLSS. Bear in mind that it was developed at the 1:24,000 scale, which National Map Standards, (simply stated and generalizing to a certain extent) approximate a plus/minus 40ft accuracy. Having worked extensively with, maintained, and been the steward for this layer over the last 19 years, I know that it has a few areas that need some corrections, however, as a whole, it is a decent product. Currently, I plan to replace this layer with a GCDB based representation, but work on that will only progress once the GCDB is complete for North Dakota.

- Rod Bassler, GIS Coordinator, North Dakota State Water Commission, formerly GIS Coordinator for the North Dakota Geological Survey