Township, Range and Section

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Introduction
One of the databases that makes it easy to map your farm or ranch is PLSS. You can read more about it in Wikipedia​
A basic building block with which we work is a quarter quarter section (qqsection), which is oftentimes a 40 acre parcel. You can add any of them to your farm definition. For standard qq sections we have an algorithmic approximate generation of quarter quarter quarter quarter sections (q4section), which allows building blocks down to a 2.5 acre parcel.
Our database also contains lots, which are irregular size and shape due to the curvature of the Earth.
In order to use full PLSS functionality and search by township, range and section you will need to log into the system using a Google, Facebook or Twitter account. This will also allow saving of the project so that you can work in stages.
Farm parcel identification
Our system identifies every qqsection by drilling down some hierarchical information about it:
Meridian - identified by the name, for example "Boise Meridian"
Township - identified by Township index and direction from baseline, for example "7S", which means seventh township south of baseline
Range - identified by Township index and direction from the principal meridian, for example "4E", which means fourth township east of the meridian
Section - identified by Section number within a township, for example "22"
quarter quarter identified by four letter location designator, for example "NENW", which means northeast quarter of northwest quarter of the section
On our items list display the qqsection is represented as "Boise Meridian 7S 4E 22 NENW"
To identify q4sections we just add additional four letters to location designator for example "Boise Meridian 7S 4E 22 NWNWSWNW"
Searching for PLLS legal descriptions on the map
In order to use PLSS on the map you have to switch to map view first. Use the earth icon for that. When you click any point on the map it sends the query to our backend system with the coordinates of clicked point. We try to find any qqsection (or other shape) that contains this location. If we find it we will display it - see Figure 1. We also display a box with qqsection description. There is a link inside it which allows you to add this qqsection to your current farm project.
Figure 1: Main view with qqsection found
Near the top left corner of map view you will find a checkbox allowing you to enable q4section lookup. If you check the box our algorithms will also search among generated q4sections. If we find a qqsection you will see something similar to Figure 2. The q4section is selected, but we also display a qqsection containing it. If there are no q4sections containing the clicked point we can display normal qqsection or lot instead
Figure 2: Main view with q4section found
Sometimes we cannot find any parcels in our database. In that case you will see a message like on Figure 3.
Figure 3: Nothing is found in PLSS database
Using a legal description dialog
If you are still on the map view then go back to project view by clicking the menu icon in the top left corner.
You can find the Legal description dialog in the dropdown Inputs menu on the left - see Figure 4.
Figure 4: Invoke legal description dialog
When you open this dialog you should see something similar to Figure 5. This dialog has three tabs, which you can switch at the bottom. The first tab, shown on this screenshot, is a section selection tab.
Data in section selection area is pre-populated based on PLLS database, so you will find only valid options for State, Meridian, Township, Range and Section fields. Available values change dynamically according to your selections. For example when you choose Meridian and Township values, then Range and Section fields will contain only values compatible with your choice.
Figure 5: Legal description dialog, section selection tab
When you have your section selected then you can go to section map tab, shown on Figure 6. In this tab you can quickly mark qqsections, or lots, you would like to add to your farm. It's enough to touch the right qqsection square. All qqsections added to your farm will be marked with a checkbox
If your farm contains all qqsections from a single quarter section then you can switch to qsection view. You can also select and deselect all elements using a single button.
Figure 6: Legal description dialog, section map area
Regular qqsections contain additional Q4 link which opens the map of q4sections within this qqsection. You can see this view on Figure 7. It works in the same way as the main section map, but on the smaller than 40 acre elements. When you click "Finish q4 edit" button your changes will be moved to the section map.
Figure 7: Legal description dialog, q4section view
On Figure 8 you can see the following elements added to the farm:
1 qqsection from southwest quarter of northwest quarter of the section (SW NW)
1 qqsection from northwest quarter of southwest quarter of the section (NW SW)
It is important to note that your changes introduced in the dialog are not saved until you click Save button. You can also discard them using Cancel button. It's possible to introduce changes in more then one section at once.
To make it easier for you to manage larger projects with multiple sections we introduced the third area - pending changes. You can see it on Figure 8. It contains the list of sections which were selected in section selection tab together with the summary of changes done for each of them. Every entry in this list is a link. If you click it the section is selected automatically in section selection tab
When you click Save button you will see how all changes done in the dialog are applied to your farm definition.
You can use this dialog not only to add new items to your farm definition, but also to remove existing ones. It's enough to open this dialog, uncheck unneeded elements and click Save.
Figure 8: Legal description dialog, section map tab with some elements selected
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Introduction
Farm parcel identification
Searching for PLLS legal descriptions on the map
Using a legal description dialog