The 15^th Annual Rocky Mountain Surveyors Summit

At the core of our profession is the boundary monument; most retracement disputes involve a choice to hold an existing monument, set a new monument, or choose between several existing monuments. This seminar is an in-depth discussion of basic theories and specific principles that form the basis of this critical decision, including the rules of construction, variations associated with riparian boundaries, and problems associated with ‘office surveys.’  Standards of research and a segment on modern survey retracement is included. (6 hrs.)

About Kristopher Kline, PLS, GSI

Kristopher M. Kline, president of 2Point, Inc., has a four-year Bachelor of Science degree (class of ’84) in General Science from Bridgewater College (Bridgewater, Virginia.) Kris has been involved in the surveying profession since graduation. 

He became licensed in North Carolina in1991 (P.L.S. L – 3374), and is a 1999 graduate of the North Carolina Society of Surveyors (NCSS) Institute. Kris served for 3 years as Chairman of the NCSS Education Committee. His present business focuses primarily on boundary and easement disputes. 

In 2003, Kris began offering continuing education courses in North Carolina on legal aspects of retracement. Since 2010, his teaching career has expanded to include conferences and seminars nationwide. Kris has presented several keynote addresses for state conventions. In 2020, Kris and his wife, Robyn, assumed administration of Surveyors Educational Seminars, a continuing education program originally developed by Dr. Ben Buckner, and later operated by Donald A. Wilson and his wife Christine.

In 2011, he began publishing the column “Unmistakable Marks” in Point of Beginning magazine, a national trade journal for surveying professionals. For 10 years, Kris submitted articles for the magazine, and he published more than 60 through 2020. These articles were intended for a national audience and generally focused on various legal aspects of boundary retracement. Kris now publishes on his blog at www.2point.net.

In August 2013, Kris published his first book, “Rooted in Stone: the Development of Adverse Possession in 20 Eastern States and the District of Columbia.” This text considers adverse possession and prescriptive easements from their early origins to the present day. Separate chapters are dedicated to variations between jurisdictions in the eastern United States.

His second book, “Riparian Boundaries and Rights of Navigation,” includes extensive discussion of the many definitions of the term “navigable.” This short volume was completed in 2015 and focuses on property rights along smaller rivers, streams, lakes and estuaries. It considers the inevitable confusion that results when modern definitions are applied to early grants and the effects of subsequent legislation on riparian rights.

Kris’ third book was released in December 2016. “How to Fix a Boundary Line” chronicles variations in the legal mechanisms related to unwritten property rights across the United States. Topics include acquiescence, part performance of oral contracts, adverse possession, estoppel and the doctrine of merger.

His fourth (2019) release, “Prescriptive Easements & Related Principles” focuses primarily on elements of prescriptive easement law and the effects of adverse use on existing easements. Private vs. public prescriptive ways, statutory vs. common law requirements, and standards for abandonment are included.

More recently, Kline authored the 2nd Edition of Washington State Common Law of Surveys and Property Boundaries, presently sold by the Land Surveyors Association of Washington.

His sixth book project, due out in 2024, is an in-depth study of riparian and littoral boundary issues, focusing on inland streams, rivers and lakes.