geocodingplsstownship-range-section
I recently had a request for TRS/PLSS data and I didn't know anything about it. I have researched it and it looks like it is purely mathematical (for the most part) based on geo-coordinates but I'm wondering if anyone would actually benefit from this information.
For example, in our address verification service, we could provide the TRS data as well as the lat/lon data for each address.
Im wondering what industries actually use the TRS/PLSS data scheme.
The national map is one source.
BLM Geocommunicator is another
There is a history of the plss system here
Depending on your location you will probably need the blm source data and the alt source data.
I recommend mapping the XY coordinates using QGIS. This will create a Point shapefile. There are many posts about how to do this. Next, if don't have the landgrid shapefile containing Township/Range/Section data, it should be easy to find on the Internet, search for "State Name" GIS data. Finally, Intersect the two shapefiles using QGIS. Each Point should now have Township/Range/Section attributes.
EDIT, if some Points do not Intersect the TRS Polygons, you can try the Hub Distance tool in MMQGIS plugin to attribute the Null TRS attribute. This tool adds a distance and a user defined Attribute. Closest Polygon
Best Answer
The primary industry that uses this is the real estate industry, and planning and government. The TRS system is the basis for the legal descriptions that describe the locations of land parcels in most of the United States.
Legal Description - Wikipedia
There are a number of ways that the bounds of a land parcel may be described, but at some point, whether at the parcel level, or subdivision level, it is tied back into the TRS system. The caveat to this is that it mostly applies to land west of the Mississippi aside from Texas, the states bordering the Great Lakes, and the southern states aside from Georgia.
There are likely other uses, but I think this is the primary, and most critical in the context of property ownership rights in the US.