Mission Statement

It is the Mission of SDSPLS to "facilitate and promote Professional Land Surveying." Our Mission is accomplished through efforts to:

• protect the public welfare;
• promote public confidence in the profession;
• assist members to enhance their professional stature through opportunities for continuing education;
• provide a unified voice for the surveying profession in South Dakota;
• provide liaison services to the National Society of Professional Surveyors and other organizations;
• encourage prospective candidates to enter the profession;
• support basic surveying education;
• aid in the development of good business practices among the membership;
• support sound laws, rules and regulations important to the profession;
• research and promote legislation supportive of the profession; and
• honor members who have rendered distinguished service to the surveying profession.

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Code of Ethics

The Fundamental Principles

Professional Surveyors uphold and advance the integrity, honor and dignity of the surveying profession by:

1. Using their knowledge and skill for the advancement of human welfare;
2. Being honest and impartial, serving with fidelity the public, their employers, and clients;
3. Striving to increase the competence and prestige of the surveying profession; and
4. Supporting their professional and technical societies.

The Fundamental Canons

Professional Surveyors shall:

1. Hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public in the performance of their professional duties;
2. Perform services only in the areas of their competence;
3. Issue public statements only in an objective and truthful manner;
4. Act in professional matters for each employer or client as faithful agents or trustees, and shall avoid conflicts of interest;
5. Build their professional reputation on the merit of their services and shall not compete unfairly with others;
6. Act in such a manner as to uphold and enhance the honor, integrity, and dignity of their profession;
7. Continue their professional development throughout their careers and shall provide opportunities for the professional development of those surveyors and mapping scientists under their supervision.

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Organization Status

SDSPLS is a non-profit professional society organized under Internal Revenue Service section 501(c)(6). Classifications of membership include:

Member

1. Any person licensed to practice the profession of surveying, according to state or provincial statutes;
2. A GS-1373 employee classified as a Land Surveyor or Supervisory Land Surveyor;
3. An academician holding a bachelor's or higher degree and the rank of assistant professor or higher rank and teaching in an ABET or CAB accredited or a state land surveying registration board surveying program;
4. A practicing surveyor or surveying teacher who has attained a minimum of six years experience in responsible charge of surveying activities or four years of education and two years of experience may submit credentials for consideration.

LSIT

• Any person who has successfully completed the LSIT examination according to state or provincial statutes.

Technician

• Any person who has successfully completed any level of the Certified Surveying Technician program as administered by and through the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping and the National Society of Professional Surveyors.

Associate

1. Pre-professional: Any person who by their employment is actively engaged in a program leading to a career in the profession of surveying;
2. Subscriber: Any person with an associative interest in surveying whose qualifications do not meet the requirements of Member, LSIT, or Technician.

Student

• Any person who is a full-time student studying surveying or related fields.

Sustaining

• Any person or organization, either individuals, partnerships, or corporations, who or which are engaged either in the manufacture or distribution of surveying instruments, equipment, or supplies, or in the compilation or reproduction of maps, or in the performance of services for land surveyors.

Return to top   Download membership application

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Programs

SDSPLS sponsors a variety of professional, pre-professional, and public education/public relations programs, including:

• continuing professional development seminars;
• surveying student scholarships;
• technical training programs;
• Trig-Star high school trigonometry competition and awards;
• government liaison partnerships;
• compilation and publication of state-wide recommended guidelines for surveying practice;
• historical preservation of surveying artifacts and perpetuation of historical surveying monuments;
• the National Surveyor's Hall of Fame.

Return to top   Download scholarship application   Download Trig-Star application

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