Surveying Engineering
Ferris State University
SURE 325 - Principles of Geographic Information Systems

ISSUES FOR CONSTRUCTIVE ACTION

First: How little both, qualitatively and quantitatively, the private, and to a lesser extent the public, sectors truly know about the land, one of our choicest natural resources.

Second: That estrangement from full and accurate knowledge of the land diminishes our quality of life and the effectiveness of our government.

Third: When knowledge of the land, its geographical location, its resources, its potential, its value, its controls, its ownership, its encumbrances and its process of transfer are desired, the unreasonable imbalance that exists between access to quick, complete and authoritative knowledge and inconvenience and cost.

Fourth: That conceptually and practically vehicles are available for constructive change, together with modern technology to help accelerate such change.

Fifth: That fundamental change in the present land records system will beneficially result only from a confluence of continuing multi-discipline dialogue, cooperation and action premised upon the actual, not surmised, needs of users of the system and general public understanding and acceptance that the advantages of what is proposed exceed the disadvantages of what is disregarded.

Sixth: That meaningful reform will not come quickly, inexpensively or without conflict, but that the case for improvement and progress must be carried forward in thoughtful public discourse.

Judge John E. Fenton, Jr.
Massachusetts Land Court
Keynote Address
Proceedings of the Land Records Symposium
Orono, Maine
August 25-27, 1976
pp 3-4