Busseron Creek Sullivan County, Indiana

BRCJ provided surveying services for the acquisition of a 3,950-acre property that included extensive wetlands. Much of this diverse property was previously part of a coal mining operation from the 1930’s to the mid-1990’s and was known as Minnehaha Fish and Wildlife Area from 1985-2016. The Retracement Survey also included preparing a 900 acre Department of Defense Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) Easement to permanently preserve land near the NSA Crane Lake Glendora Test Facility.

The key challenges for this project were the large scale of data that had to be collected in the field and research gathered from public and private records. The scope of this Retracement Survey included 116 parcels that spanned 18 square miles with a perimeter boundary length of 27 miles. The research documents included nearly 100 surveys that were reviewed in the process of evaluating the position of nearly 100 property corners and Public Land Survey System corners. The Busseron Creek Fish and Wildlife Area survey took several months to complete and was finalized by a survey that was recorded in the Sullivan County Recorder’s Office in 2024.  The property will be managed by DNR and preserved for habitat restoration.  All photo credits to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.