Agenda

Webinar instructions will be emailed before the date of the webinar.
Please log into the webinar 15 – 30 minutes before start time.

Wednesday, August 16, 2023 
11:00 am – 3:30 pm CDT (incl. two 15-min breaks)


Presented by Wendy Lathrop, PLS, CFM, CFS

What is a “Railroad” by Law? (and why does it matter?) 

  • Highway or utility – public rights and railroad responsibilities 
  • The effects of railroads on development of the US 
  • The evolution of the regulatory framework affecting railroads in the US  

Railroad Records and Regulation 

  • Finding information about physical, legal, and historical railroad aspects 
  • The birth of Rails to Trails 
  • Railroad abandonment
      • What “abandonment” means, physically and legally
      • The process for abandonment

Examining the Extent, Type, Location and  Time/Duration of Railroad Rights 

  • Deciphering if railroads acquired ownership or easement or other rights 
  • The extent of railroad rights, and significance to landowners and railroads 
  • Shared uses of the railroad corridor 
  • Decisions relating to Rails to Trails


Webinar Instructions

All attendees must log-on through their own email – attendees may not watch together if they wish to earn continuing education credit. HalfMoon Education Inc. must be able to prove attendance if either the attendee or HalfMoon Education Inc. is audited.

Certificates of completion can be downloaded in PDF form upon passing a short quiz. A link to the quiz will be sent to each qualifying attendee immediately after the webinar. The certificate can be downloaded from the Results page of the quiz upon scoring 80% or higher.

Webinars are presented via GoToWebinar, an easy-to-use application that can be run on most systems and tablets. Instructions and login information will be provided in an email sent close to the date of the webinar. It is highly recommended that you download, install and test the application before the webinar begins by clicking on the link in the email.

GoToWebinar App requirements:
Windows 7 – 10 or Mac OSX Mavericks (10.9) – macOS Catalina (10.15)

Web Browser:
The two most recent version of the following browsers:
Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Microsoft Edge
Internet Explorer v11 (or later) with Flash enabled

Internet connection: Minimum of 1Mbps       Hardware: 2GB RAM or more

For more information, visit the Support section at www.gotowebinar.com

Credits

Professional Engineers:
4.0 PDHs

Land Surveyors:
4.0 PDHs

Practicing Institute of Engineering:
4.0 PDHs


Continuing Education Credit Information

This webinar is open to the public and is designed to qualify for 4.0 PDHs for professional engineers and land surveyors in most states that allow this learning method. Please refer to specific state rules to determine eligibility. 

HalfMoon Education is an approved continuing education sponsor for engineers in Florida (Provider No. 0004647), Indiana (License No. CE21700059), Maryland, New Jersey (Approval No. 24GP00000700) and North Carolina (S-0130). HalfMoon Education is deemed an approved continuing education sponsor for New York engineers and land surveyors via its registration with the Practicing Institute of Engineering.  

This webinar has been evaluated by the Practicing Institute of Engineering (PIE) for compliance with the NYS Mandatory Continuing Education Requirements and pre-approved for 4.0 PDHs for New York engineers and land surveyors. 

HalfMoon Education is an approved continuing education sponsor for land surveyors licensed in Indiana (License No. CE10600325), Maryland, and North Carolina (S-0130). 

The Missouri Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Professional Land Surveyors and Professional Landscape Architects has approved this course for 4.0 PDUs for land surveyors. 

This course has been registered with the Florida Board of Professional Surveyors and Mappers for 4.0 CE credits. 

Attendance will be monitored, and attendance certificates will be available after the webinar for those who attend the entire course and score a minimum 80% on the quiz that follows the course (multiple attempts allowed). 

On-Demand Credits

The preceding credit information only applies to the live presentation. This course in an on-demand format may not be eligible for the same credits as the live presentation; please consult your licensing board(s) to ensure that a structured, asynchronous learning format is appropriate. 

Speakers

Wendy Lathrop, PLS, CFM, CFS

President and Owner of Cadastral Consulting, LLC

Ms. Lathrop is licensed as a professional land surveyor in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland, and as a professional planner in New Jersey. She holds a master’s degree in Environmental Policy and has been involved in surveying since 1974 in projects ranging from construction to boundary to environmental land use disputes. Ms. Lathrop is also a certified floodplain manager through the Association of State Flood Plain Managers (ASFPM) and a Certified Floodplain Surveyor through the New Jersey Society of Professional Land Surveyors. A former adjunct instructor at Mercer County College in New Jersey, she has also taught as part of the team for the licensing exam review course at Drexel University in Pennsylvania. Ms. Lathrop has been teaching seminars for surveyors since 1986 and has been writing articles for surveyors since 1983. She is a contributing editor for The American Surveyor magazine, and she has four articles included in the American Bar Association’s text, Land Surveys: A Guide for Lawyers and Other Professionals. She and Stephen V. Estopinal, PLS, PE co–authored a book titled Professional Surveyors and Real Property Descriptions: Composition, Construction, and Comprehension, published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. in 2011. She is also on the faculty of GeoLearn, a web-based educational provider. Ms. Lathrop is a past president of the New Jersey Society of Professional Land Surveyors and of the National Society of Professional Surveyors, and she has served on the Board of Directors for the American Association for Geodetic Surveying.