The Bureau of Land Management's roots began around 1785, and for several years its main task was to survey federal land and help settle our new country. But BLM property information is listed according to ranges, townships and sections, whereas today's tools, such as Google Earth, pinpoint land according to latitude and longitude. However, there are tools to help you convert BLM property information into Google Earth's language.
Instructions
Converting Using EarthPoint
1. Go to the EarthPoint website.
2. Choose the "Township and Range" link under the "Subscriptions" section (no account or subscription is needed for this task).
3. Scroll down to the section titled "Convert Township, Range, and Section to Latitude and Longitude."
4. Fill in the "State," "Principal Meridian," "Township," "Range" and "Section" information. Entering the "Section" information is optional. As you make a choice for each category, the options in the following categories will change, so wait a second before you continue making your choice in each category.
5. Click the "Fly to Google Earth" button. You may receive a message that "EarthPoint is an application downloaded from the Internet. Are you sure you want to open it?" Click "Open" or "Yes."
Converting Using GeoCommunicator
6. Go to the GeoCommunicator website.
7. Click on the "Township GeoCoder" link in the left sidebar and choose the "GeoCoder" link.
8. Fill in the "State," "Principal Meridian," "Township," "Range" and "Section" information.
9. Click "Submit."
10. Enter the latitude and longitude GeoCommunicator submits into the "Fly To," or "Search" box in Google Earth and hit the "Enter" key. Latitude and longitude must be entered in decimal format in Google Earth.
Save the Latitude and Longitude in Google Earth
11. Save your search in Google Earth. EarthPoint titles the search "Earth Point Fly To." The search should be listed in the "Temporary Places" folder under the "Places" side panel in Google Earth.
12. Right-click on the "Earth Point Fly To" title and choose "Save to My Places."
13. Right-click on the title again and choose "Rename" if you want to name the search.
