Grant and Cole Dorman own Highland Surveying, a residential surveying company in Bonners Ferry. While artificial intelligence can be helpful in some of their work, they have found that a human touch has been very helpful for North Idaho. 

They describe their work as detective work, as boundary mapping requires several different elements. 

“The role as the licensed surveyor is to make a boundary determination,” Grant Dorman said. “In order to do that, I have to take into account all the evidence available. That means deed evidence, map and survey evidence from other surveyors, what’s on the ground, what corners do we find, what fences are there, what do the neighbors say?” 

“For me, a lot of times I feel like it’s just a treasure hunt,” Cole Dorman said. 

Grant Dorman spoke about how he became a licensed surveyor, a process that takes about eight years. 

“When I was young, I got out of the Navy and decided to pursue a degree in civil engineering,” Grant Dorman said. “One of the things I didn’t like about engineering was the idea of being stuck in an office for the rest of my life. This is kind of an interesting hybrid of field and office work, and it touches on a lot of professions, like law, history and the physical sciences. It’s always something new.” 

Cole Dorman began his surveying career in 2018. 

“I started when I was 12, working with my dad on timber surveys,” Cole Dorman said. “I’ve always loved being outside. I really enjoy the diversity of it.” 

GPS is the technology they use most frequently and is the most helpful.  

“When I first started surveying, GPS had already come out, but its application to surveying was in its infancy,” Grant Dorman said. “Over 25 years it’s gotten much better.” 

“Something that took us all day now only takes us a couple of hours,” Cole Dorman said. 

Part of the job involves determining land boundaries, which can put surveyors in the middle of disputes. 

“Often enough, we go into a survey when the client hiring us says, ‘I have a boundary dispute with my neighbor,’” Cole Dorman said. “We let the client know up front we’re not advocating for them or the other property owner. We’re just surveying the line where it is. Sometimes it goes where the client thinks it does, and sometimes it goes where the neighbor thinks it does.” 

“Because most of the work we do is boundary surveying, I feel like there’s little that AI can provide presently,” Grant Dorman said. “Once more data is available online, I think there would be more of a place for it. But in Boundary County, if you want to research a map, you walk into the county recorder and open a binder.” 

“Until that data is in some sort of electronic repository, how is AI going to be able to help us?” Grant Dorman said. “It takes a human to walk in, ask nicely and get another human who wants to help provide information.” 

Cole Dorman said he is not worried his job will become obsolete. 

“If you can be more efficient, that’s great, but I would definitely not say AI is going to take over the job,” he said. 

“In North Idaho, a lot of the land is owned by older generations that aren’t really embracing technology,” Grant Dorman said. “Being willing to have that old-fashioned interaction is going to go a long way.” 

“I think that’s something you can leverage,” Cole Dorman said. “If other people are using AI, having that human interaction is huge.” 

While drones are not commonly needed for boundary surveys, Cole Dorman said there are situations where the technology could be useful. 

“For most of the projects we do, like boundary surveys, you’re not needing a drone for that style of work,” he said. “There are opportunities to use it for building a topographic map. As Boundary County grows, there will be more of that, but it’s never going to be like a big city.” 

The Dormans also spoke about the fact that they’re able to work together as father and son. 

“He’s a great guy,” Grant Dorman said. “I became a surveyor because I wanted to be out in the field. Now I find myself rarely out there. He’s doing most of the field work, which is a natural progression of the profession.” 

“I did surveying with my dad when I was younger, but then transitioned into construction,” Cole Dorman said. “I like the fact that he’s on board and I get to work with him, but I know that won’t be forever.” 

Both value their connection to the community. 

“I love Boundary County,” Cole Dorman said. “I saw an opportunity in surveying, and that’s why I’m going down that path. I really enjoy working in this community.” 

“I appreciate the opportunity to be part of the community by offering a professional service that I feel is needed,” Grant Dorman said. “I’m grateful.”