About Don

Mr. Donald O. Viele is an exceptionally successful author and is the founder and CEO of Donald O. Viele Professional Land Surveying P.C. Mr. Viele has over forty-One (41) years of professional business and land surveying experience working throughout New York State, City of New York with consultation services in Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Land surveying is a generational profession in the Viele family as he is a second consecutive generation land surveyor, with ties to over six generations of land surveyors within the Viele family. Including Col. Egbert L. Viele, professional engineer better known for the famous Viele Map of Manhattan.

Don started his career as a youngster walking through the woods with his father, measuring and finding property markers, learning about the topography of the lands, understanding blaze marks and stone walls. While learning at a young age the importance of understanding the lands and how they connected with adjoining neighbors within the surrounding area. Don found a gift of being able to read and interpret deeds and old maps with evidence found on the site.

As time lead on, Don found himself holding several positions in the land surveying field in his father’s land surveying firm, such as senior instrument operator, senior crew chief, conducting deed research, reading and interpreting deeds and old maps, and completing hand drawn maps for clients.  His years of field experience expanded to the inner workings of the family business, which grew to several locations throughout upstate New York.  Don was tasked in operating the business from marketing, client relations, managing crews and office staff, office computations to deliverable’s.  His experience included multiple town board meetings in counties through New York for Sub-divisions, zoning, Lot-improvements and more for client approvals of their projects. Fast forward; when Don, himself, became a Licensed Land Surveyor, he bought a professional building that housed his Surveying practice along with a Real Estate company.

Mr. Viele is also a successful author, co-authoring a law book specific to Real Property Law covering aspects of Native American Lands, Water Boundary, Encroachments, Fence Law, Public Lands, Navigable & Non-Navigable waters and their associated bounds to name a few chapters.  Mr. Viele is known for the ability to transcribe old deeds, Letters Patents, descriptions of bounds, reading of historical maps, Lands Underwater, High – Low Water marks, and the importance of identifying Stream & Brook Hydraulic locations for engineers.

Over the last several years Don has been working with a firm, managing, developing and growing their struggling survey division to what it has become today, a multi-million dollar company within the industry. Having offices located in three states and employing over twenty land surveyors.

Additionally, his experience includes forensic surveying, emergency response and project crisis management relative to infrastructure. Some examples include working alongside FEMA and other government entities during both Hurricane Irene and Super Storm Sandy. Don is always willing to assist during crisis level events.

Today, Don’s passion is to share his experience’s and challenges learned from the industry of Surveying with the next generation of surveyors and pioneers.