Reference Systems in Transition: A Wake-Up Call for the Geodesy Crisis

North America is preparing for one of the biggest geodetic changes in its history. Agencies in the United States, Canada, and Mexico are moving toward new reference systems such as NATRF2022, NAPGD2022, and a unified continental geoid. These updates will improve accuracy and modernize how positions and heights are measured, but there are growing concerns about the stability of the systems that support them. This article highlights what was shared at the 2025 SaGES conference and explains why the shift to modern reference frames is happening at the same time as a wider geodesy workforce crisis.