A forum to “Align County Surveying and Parcel Mapping Efforts in Wisconsin” is scheduled for March 12, 2015 at UW-Stevens Point’s Dreyfus University Center. This forum is free and is intended to initiate a community-wide dialog and education about county surveying and tax parcel mapping activities in Wisconsin. The forum will bring together Wisconsin’s County Surveyors, County Land Information Officers and GIS staff, Real Property Listers, state agency GIS Coordinators, UW faculty and staff, members of the state’s geospatial community, and the general public.
By statute, the state is required to develop and post a statewide parcel map online by 2017, by integrating county parcel data. The economic benefits of statewide parcel data are potentially enormous. According to the National Research Council, the parcel layer is an information rich database with broad utility to local, state, and federal agencies. However, inaccuracies exist in Wisconsin’s parcel fabric, in part because the state PLSS has not been fully remonumented with survey-grade coordinates in every county.
An up-to-date PLSS network for the state is an important component of an accurate statewide parcel map, and should be funded. At the same time, we cannot wait until the PLSS network is fully remonumented to begin work on the statewide parcel map. Where is the common ground between these two important goals?
This forum will bring community members together to educate and initiate a process to improve alignment, coordination, and prioritization of surveying activities and parcel mapping efforts within and between counties. These efforts are necessary to ensure that parcel maps are accurate, that gaps and overlaps do not occur along county boundaries, and that map users have confidence in their results. These efforts will also help ensure that PLSS remonumentation is an achievable goal for the state. Ultimately these efforts will allow for more effective and efficient utilization of parcel maps by the public, researchers, government officials, public policy advocates, non-profits, state agency representatives, and private-sector companies.
Mark your calendars to attend! In the coming weeks a web page will be created with more information and registration details. Watch for emails and/or information on the State Cartographer’s Office website.
Preliminary Agenda
9:00-9:15am Welcome, introduction and overview
9:15-10:15am Mini-presentations on county PLSS remonumentation and parcel mapping
10:15-10:45am Break
10:45-noon Break out session 1: Challenges
noon-12:45pm Lunch (hors d’oeuvres)
12:45-1:45pm Mini-presentations on county PLSS remonumentation and parcel mapping
1:45-2:15pm Break
2:15-3:00pm Break out session 2: Solutions
3:00-3:30pm Break out group reports
3:30-4:00pm Conclusion: Results and next steps
This event is sponsored by the State Cartographer’s Office through a grant from the UW-Madison Office of University Relations.
For any questions, please contact either Brenda Hemstead or Howard Veregin.