I have done this a few times the big question is are most ofyour lease boundaries aliquot parts or meets and bounds? Likely I'm going to
guess most are aliquot parts and a few meets and bounds. In this case start
with the most accurate set of PLSS data you can find for your area such
as
gis.blm.gov/arcgis/rest/services/Cadastr...SS_CadNSDI/MapServer
thenstart drawing the parcels snapping to the section lines. Generally I set up a
feature-class and enable attachments so that I can attach the TSR, lease, or
title documents to the feature in ArcGIS. On the meets and bounds some of them
you will be able to draw based of the distance and direction assuming the point
of beginning POB is something you can locate on the map. If you can't locate it
that may require a field visit to shoot the POB with high accuracy GNSS
equipment then once you are back in the office draw the parcel using distance
and direction tools tying it to the POB (control point). Another helpful trick
is if you have checkerboard lands obtain a copy of the counties parcel data.
Generally most counties don't keep tribal land in their database however you
can reverse this to confirm boundaries by simply looking for holes in the
county data. For example if you have a piece of trust or restricted land that
has non-tribal fee land on three sides you would have the counties opinion of
the location of those three sides. Last but not least when using legal
descriptions obtained from TSR documents you will find errors and when this
occurs start by reviewing the tract history documents to see if you can find
the issue and likewise use those adjoining county lot lines if possible. This
project will likely take some time but it’s worth it to take your time and do
it right the first time.
