With Bazett’s photo mapping, legal surveying just got a lot more precise

Two centuries ago, the simple sextants, magnetic compasses and chronometers of David Thompson, Lewis and Clark and Captain Cook were enough to lay the framework for European settlement of western North America. Today’s pace, density and monetary value of settlement and development all demand higher precision, reliability and speed. Dave Bazett of Port Hardy’s and Courtenay’s Bazett Land Surveying has earned a reputation in today’s science of geomatics. His specialty since starting his own company in Port Hardy in 1979 is “remote work with logistical challenges.” He mounts a medium-format Hasselblad camera on his Cessna 185 float plane, hooked up to a Global Positioning System, to expose discrepancies between legal boundaries and actual developments. His work recently...