New stations published in the WISCORS and WI-HMP networks
GPX format now available in ControlFinder and PLSSFinder.
Quick Links HMP Brochure Active Network ControlFinder
The National Adjustment of 2011 (NAD 83 (2011)) was just released. Learn how the effects of technology have influenced the various horizontal adjustments.
Quick Links WisDOT WISCORS Access Passive Network (HMP) Contact ControlFinder The WisDOT Geodetic Survey Unit has developed a Wisconsin Continuously Operating Reference Stations (WISCORS) Network...
Progress continues, despite some setbacks, towards the completion of the WI-HMP and WISCORS networks.
ControlFinder continues to grow as an integrated, online catalog of Wisconsin's geodetic control data.
Our office has been the key point of contact for federal (USGS and NGS) control for over 30 years. In our continuing effort to make this information more accessible as a central point of access, we developed ControlFinder. Our newest version of Control Finder is builton a robust open-source software stack enabling better...
The results are in from surveying Wisconsin in a day.
A survey crew taking a break. The PLSS in Wisconsin was put in place essentially continuously beginning in 1832 and concluding in the north in the 1866. Township boundaries were surveyed first; sections were filled in later. A variety of contractors did the work for the General Land Office (GLO). Surveyors followed written "Instructions" from the Surveyor General (located in Cincinnati, OH through 1839, then relocated to Dubuque,...
Quick Links ControlFinder Data Dictionary PLSSFinder Data Dictionary How to add your data Adding data to ControlFinder or PLSSFinder is easy: simply provide, at minimum, the point name/id, coordinates, heights, units, datums, accuracy (if available), and metadata (if possible). The preferred formats are GeoDatabase, ArcInfo shapefile (.shp), Microsoft Excel (.xls), dBASE (.dbf), MS Access (.mdb), or Comma Separated Volumes (.csv) are also acceptable. The data should be...
This handbook is a technical guide and resource for those who work with geospatial information in Wisconsin. It provides a brief overview of the history, evolution, and basics of Wisconsin’s coordinate reference systems, and compiles in one place the technical specifications for systems most commonly used in the state....
Marathon County's control added July 2011.
Coordinates of PLSS corners Mapping coordinates can be determined for a PLSS corner. Since the range of accuracy in coordinate values can be large, users of the information need to understand clearly how the values were produced in order to avoid misuse. Search for metadata, and contact the producer if questions remain. The highest accuracy PLSS-corner coordinate values are typically a result of work using "survey-grade" GPS receivers. Contact the County Surveyor or County Land Information Office. (Prior to the 1990's much of this work would have been done through traditional traverse work). Less robust GPS...
Metes and Bounds Metes and Bounds survey method courtesy of the San Francisco Estuary Institute. This method of property description has a long history and is probably the most understandable to people unfamiliar with surveying methods and jargon. Essentially, the description follows a path around the perimeter of a piece of land, calling out a series of points (and the lines between them) that are related to each other by geometry. The...
The PLSS has a long history in the U.S. as the dominant system of describing and dividing land west of the Eastern seaboard. Only a few areas of Wisconsin were settled early enough to have legally recognized land boundary systems in place prior to the PLSS being developed here. Generally, these are land grants in the Green Bay area, early French (and then American) settlements in Green Bay and Prairie du Chien, and early Indian reservations. PLSS grid sample in...
Statistics: Northmost township: T53N, R3W (Apostle Islands, Ashland County) Eastmost township: T, R30E (Washington & Rock Islands, Door County) Westmost township: T36N, R20W (northwestern Polk County) Thomas Jefferson: The concept for the PLSS was championed by Thomas Jefferson as part of his goal to develop a nation of "yeoman farmers", each of whom would make a living on 160 acres they owned themselves. The Federal Government would subdivide its lands for this purpose. For a history, see the book "Measuring America: How an Untamed Wilderness Shaped the United States...
By state statute, the county is custodian of PLSS corners. A common activity by counties is the marking of corners with sturdy, modern monuments, a process called remonumentation. In a number of counties, this work has been completed. PLSS corner monuments and associated witness posts. In determining the correct location of a PLSS corner, a land surveyor considers a variety of records and field evidence. The goal is to identify an unambiguous location and...
The Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey created a useful and informative educational document that is a guide to understanding PLSS. "
A variety of map types include a representation of the PLSS. These maps cover a range of scales and accuracies. USGS topo maps (section lines) USGS Topographic Map The most common general base maps covering the entirety of Wisconsin, the U.S. Geological Survey's topographic map series, all depict the PLSS. The sources from which these compilations were constructed are varied both in spatial...
Wisconsin Dept. of Regulation & Licensing Information on laws, rules, policies, licensing, services, and resources Wisconsin Organizations: WSLS (Wisconsin Society of Land Surveyors) WCSA (Wisconsin County Surveyors Association): contact Kathy Swingle, WCSA Secretary MASC (Madison Area...
Accuracy Standards Geodetic control surveys are usually performed to establish a basic control network (framework) from which supplemental surveying and mapping work are performed. The required accuracy for a control survey depends primarily on its purpose. Factors that affect accuracy are type and condition of equipment used, field procedures adopted, and the experience and capabilities of personnel employed. Geodetic Control Standard (2008 FGDC...
Quick Links SCO PLSS Finder WI DNR Landnet PLSS Explained This page contains an introduction and overview of the Public Land Survey System (PLSS) in Wisconsin. Championed by Thomas Jefferson and spurring onward the westward expansion of our young country in 1785, the PLSS is the primary land...
Quick Links Online Station Condition Report Form County Surveyor's Directory Land Information Offices Contact Us Surveying relies on physical reference objects placed in the ground. While temporary stakes are what...
WI-SDMS Translator v2.2.3 (replaced WISCON) WI-SDMS Translator is supported and maintained by WisDOT, replacing the unsupported WISCON program. This new WisDOT customized software tool transforms coordinate values between geographic (lat/long), State Plane Coordinates (SPC), Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM), Wisconsin Transverse Mercator (WTM), Wisconsin County Coordinate Systems (WCCS), and Wisconsin Coordinate Reference Systems (WISCRS). Datums supported include NAD27, NAD83(1986), NAD83(1991), NGVD29, NAVD 88, the new geoids and horizontal/vertical control adjustments...
Quick Links ControlFinder PLSSFinder Survey Station Condition Report Form Wis. County Surveyor's Assoc. This section provides information on surveying in Wisconsin primarily as...
(Completed April 2011) The Wisconsin State Cartographer's Office recently launched new versions of ControlFinder and PLSSFinder. The new applications are built on open source software, including GeoMoose, OpenLayers, JQuery, MapServer, and PostGIS/Postgresql. The apps also make use of the Google Maps API for base map display. Control and corner point information for these applications comes from county, state and federal contributors, including the National Geodetic Survey (NGS), the US...
Point of Beginning magazine recently highlighted the efforts of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s Geodetic Surveys Unit.
Several new features have been added to the SCO's online web application for locating geodetic control.
The National Spatial Reference System now has a permanent station named RON RIPP GPS. The station, set in a very attractively built and landscaped area in Indian Lake County Park near Madison, was officially dedicated on November 1, 2006.
