Land Surveyors Gather at Mount Rushmore to Mark America’s 250th and Roll Out Modernized Mapping System

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) - Professional land surveyors, state leaders, and federal officials gathered at Mount Rushmore National Memorial on Monday to commemorate America’s 250th anniversary and unveil a major upgrade to the nation’s foundational mapping infrastructure.

The ceremony, hosted jointly by the South Dakota Society of Professional Land Surveyors and the National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS), took place at an iconic backdrop honoring the profession: three of the four presidents carved into the granite face, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln, worked as land surveyors before taking office.

To mark the occasion, Governor Larry Rhoden officially proclaimed October 19, 2026, as Professional Land Surveyors Day in South Dakota. South Dakota Commissioner of School and Public Lands Brock Greenfield presented the executive proclamation at the ceremony, highlighting how accurate land surveys directly safeguard property rights and support public trust lands that fund education across the state.

Federal leaders from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Geodetic Survey (NGS) also used the national platform to roll out the modernized National Spatial Reference System (NSRS). The once in a generation overhaul shifts the country away from historical, passive ground measurements toward high precision, four dimensional satellite and GPS-driven positioning.

Rachael Dempsey, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Navigation, Observations, and Positioning at NOAA’s National Ocean Service, emphasized the direct impact this framework has on everyday citizens and key state industries like agriculture.

“Part of my role at the National Ocean Service is to oversee the National Geodetic Survey,” Dempsey said. “They are really responsible for all the positioning, charting, mapping, and geodetic understanding of our land throughout the United States. That foundation, as we’ve said many times today about the three surveyors on Mount Rushmore, are really the core of how we know where we are in time.”

Dempsey also pointed to growing workforce challenges, noting that the country is currently navigating a “geodesy crisis” as agencies and private firms work to recruit the next generation of mapping professionals needed to maintain critical infrastructure.

Following the ceremonial dedication of a commemorative mark at the memorial, attendees departed for technical tours across the Black Hills, including visits to Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse Memorial, and the Sanford Underground Research Facility in Lead, ahead of the NSPS Fall Board Meeting in Deadwood.

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