Wisconsin Land Survey Network

www.sco.wisc.edu

A Statewide (geospatial dataset) Representation of the PLSS

Public Land Survey System (PLSS)

Rectangular grid system of land

description used in Wisconsin:

original survey commenced – 1830’s

Land is described by location from a

principal meridian and baseline.

Further division of land into

townships, sections, quarter

sections, quarter-quarter sections.

DNR Landnet

WDNR, 1990s

Derived from USGS 24K topos

Statewide inventory of PLSS features

Framework for representing WDNR-

managed lands

Linkage to survey-level data

County PLSS data

is available!

Coordinate Accuracy

Section Corner Comparison:Landnet vs. Outagamie County

740 points used in accuracy analysis

Mean distance between Landnet and county corner points: 8.93 m

Maximum distance: 84.90 m

Minimum distance: 0.19 m

Coordinate Accuracy

SCO Project Goals & Objectives

Create an improved dataset of statewide PLSS data

Improved coordinates in participating counties

Integration of Landnet where local data unavailable

Replicable data model for statewide data integration

Broad access to data

Simple update and maintenance process

SCO Project Requirements

NAD83 (1991)

Store multiple coordinate values per corner point

Select one corner point for map display

Preserve Landnet coordinates and IDs (backwards compatibility to Landnet)

Accommodate third-level PLSS subdivision (quarter-quarter)

Requirements (cont.)

Persistent point contact information

Multiple URL storage per point

Topological consistency

Storage of external metadata

Highly portable deliverables

Forward compatibility to national standard

SCO Project Expectations Phase I:

Pilot study using 9 counties Solicit partners and support Finalize data model and data integration procedures Geodatabase of study counties PLSS data

Phase II: Statewide coverage (non-PLSS areas – long lots,

metes & bounds, etc.) Distribution network (web-mapping application,

download)

Pilot Project Study Area

Varied status of remonumentation

Abundance of diverse meander features

Non-PLSS data

Data availability

What’s in it for you? Updated dataset of PLSS points and polygons in

Wisconsin

PLSS points with greater accuracy where county data available

Robust metadata from county sources

Multiple delivery methods (geodatabase, shapefiles, GPS, KML, web-mapping application)

Regular update cycle

Why Are We Here?

Your chance to provide comments, critiques, suggestions

How would this dataset benefit you?

Brief online survey

Timothy KennedyProgram Specialist

608-890-3793ttkennedy@wisc.edu

Brenda HemsteadData Services Professional

608-263-4371hemstead@wisc.edu

ControlFinder

WHAIFinder

PLSSFinder

www.sco.wisc.edu