Recent Funded Projects
Statewide Parcel & Public Land Survey System Project (Ver. 9) [Completed]
Sponsor: Wisconsin Land Information Program
Dates: Jan 2023 to Dec 2023
Amount: Approx $139,000
Synposis: Produce 9th version of the statewide parcel and Public Land Survey System databases using county data sources. The project is a collaboration with the Wisconsin Land Information Program and the state’s 72 county Land Information Offices.
SCO staff: Vogel, Wells, Kazmierczak, Bhandare, Veregin (PI)
WLIP partners: Peter Herreid & Davita Veselenak
Statewide Parcel & Public Land Survey System Project (Ver. 10)
Sponsor: Wisconsin Land Information Program
Dates: Jan 2024 to Dec 2024
Amount: Approx $150,000
Synposis: Produce 10th version of the statewide parcel and Public Land Survey System databases using county data sources. The project is a collaboration with the Wisconsin Land Information Program and the state’s 72 county Land Information Offices.
SCO staff: Vogel, Wells, Kazmierczak, Veregin (PI)
WLIP partners: Peter Herreid & Davita Veselenak
Advancing the Water Resource Goals of the Red Cliff Environmental Department [Completed]
Sponsor: Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Endowment
Dates: July 2022 to June 2023
Amount: Approx $108,000
Synposis: Cooperative project with Red Cliff Environmental Department’s Water Resource Program (WRP). The project assisted WRP to augment its hydrologic GIS database and apply GIS-based models to derive new data and evaluate surface water concerns.
SCO staff: Buschhaus, Fogel, Veregin (co-PI)
UW-Madison partner: Anita Thompson, biological Systems Engineering (co-PI)
SCO students: Johnson, McFarlane
Red Cliff partners: Linda Nguyen, Environmental Director; Allison Rakowski, Water Resources Manager; Jessica Jacobson, Wetlands Specialist
Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve Habitat Map Workflow [Completed]
Sponsor: UW–Madison Division of Extension Innovation Funding Initiative
Dates: Summer 2022
Synposis: Collaboration with Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) to develop remote sensing workflow for a high-resolution habitat map.
SCO staff: Veregin (co-PI)
SCO students: Bhandare, Li
NERR partner: Kirsten Rhude, Stewardship Coordinator (co-PI)
Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College partners: Carl Sack, GIS faculty & Zack Johnson, student
Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve Habitat Map
Sponsor: Wisconsin Idea Collaboration Grant, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research & Graduate Education, UW-Madison Division of Extension & WARF
Dates: Feb 2023 to Feb 2024
Amount: Approx $49,000
Synposis: Collect training data to support development of NERR habitat map using image classification methods.
SCO staff: Dennis, Veregin (co-PI)
NERR partner: Kirsten Rhude, Stewardship Coordinator (co-PI)
SCO students: Lockling, Susnik
Consultants: Carol Reschke & Kelly Beaster
Transferring Lake Superior NERR Habitat Mapping Tools and Methods to the Wisconsin- Minnesota St. Louis River Estuary
Sponsor: NERRS Science Collaborative
Dates: Oct 2023 to Sept 2024
Amount: Approx $139,000
Synposis: Transfer habitat mapping methods for Lake Superior NERR to entire St. Louis River estuary.
SCO staff: Buschhaus, Veregin (co-PI)
NERR partner: Kirsten Rhude, Stewardship Coord. (co-PI)
UM U-Spatial partners: Jeffery Thompson & Olena Boiko
UM-Duluth NRRI partner: Kristi Nixon
Consultants: Carol Reschke & Kelly Beaster
WICDI (Wisconsin Coastal-Management Data Infrastructure) [Completed]
Sponsor: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Project of Special Merit funded by the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Office for Coastal Management under the Coastal Zone Management Act, Grant #NA20NOS4190105.
Dates: Oct 2020 to June 2023
Amount: Approx $245,000
Synposis: Assist in flood mitigation planning with an emphasis on culvert mapping along the Lake Superior coast. WICDI is a partnership with the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program and State Geographic Information Office in the Wisconsin Department of Administration.
SCO staff: (FY23 only) Burgess, Buschhaus, Lacy, Bhandare, Hasinoff, Kazmierczak, Wells, Veregin (UW–Madison PI)
SCO students: Siegfried, Bhandare
UW-Madison Partners: Anita Thompson
Department of Administration Staff: Kate Angel, Todd Brieby, Jim Giglierano
CALM (Collaborative Action for Lake Michigan) [Completed]
Sponsor: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Project of Special Merit funded by the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Office for Coastal Management under the Coastal Zone Management Act, Grant #NA21NOS4190032
Dates: Oct 2021 to June 2023
Amount: Approx $92,000
Synposis: Increase coastal resilience in the Lake Michigan region by assisting communities develop and revise coastal hazard policies. Project led by Wisconsin Sea Grant.
SCO Staff: (FY23 only) Burgess, Veregin
Wisconsin Sea Grant Staff: Adam Bechle, David Hart
Department of Administration Staff: Lydia Salus, Kate Angel, Todd Brieby, Jim Giglierano
Ashland County Flood Exposure/ Vulnerability Mapping
Sponsor: Wisconsin Coastal Management Program and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Office for Coastal Management under the Coastal Zone Management Act, Grant #NA22NOS4190085
Date: Sept. 2022 to Dec. 2023
Amount: Approx $49,000
Synposis: Build a GIS database depicting various dimensions of flood exposure & vulnerability in northern Ashland County, including small-area population estimates derived through dasymetric mapping.
SCO staff: Dennis, Buschhaus, Hasinoff, Wells, Veregin (PI)
SCO students: Siegfried, Bhandare
Dane County Heritage Oaks
Sponsor: Dane County Tree Board
Dates: Summer 2023
Amount: Approx $1700
Synposis: Assist Dane County Tree Board complete an inventory of oak trees estimated to be over 200 years old.
SCO staff: Hasinoff, Veregin
Partner: Matt Noone, Capital Area Regional Planning Comm.
Division of Community Corrections Regional Atlas
Sponsor: Wisconsin Dept. of Corrections
Dates: Fall 2021 to Summer 2022
Amount: Approx $7000
Synposis: A 40+ page atlas was created to help Division of Community Corrections managers visualize the locations of approximately 50,000 clients.
SCO staff: Lacy
SCO students: Hasinoff, Ren
Wisconsin Highway Map GIS Layers
Sponsor: Wisconsin Dept. of Transportation
Dates: Jan 2023 to June 2024
Amount: Approx $20,000
Synposis: Help WisDOT convert the official state highway map to a GIS environment by preparing generalized data layers for hydrography and administrative boundaries.
SCO staff: Veregin, Vogel
SCO students: Traudt, Wiegand
Update to Municipal Urban-Rural Classification
Sponsor: Wisconsin Office of Rural Health
Date: Summer 2023
Amount: Approx $5000
Synposis: Update Wisconsin Office of Rural Health’s Municipal Urban-Rural Classification with new data and document improvements to workflow.
SCO staff: Buschhaus, Veregin
Featured Internal Projects
GeoData@Wisconsin (Lacy, Elza, Ren, ten Bensel, Jaime Martindale – Robinson Map Library)
GeoData@Wisconsin is a statewide geospatial data discovery geoportal maintained cooperatively with the UW Robinson Map Library. We continually add new collections of data to the geoportal, and maintain the technical infrastructure required to ensure the tool is reliable and easy to use.
Historic Aerial Imagery Access (Lacy, Elza, Ren, ten Bensel, Jaime Martindale – Robinson Map Library)
Working closely with the UW Robinson Map Library, we are working to significantly expand the availability of downloadable historic aerial imagery. This work builds upon the past success of our WHAIFinder application. Current efforts are focused on acquiring and processing imagery from the 1950s through 1980s, developing a detailed database to track individual historic air photos, and beginning work on updates needed in the WHAFinder app.
LiDAR Data Inventory Map (Elza, Lacy, Wells)
The LiDAR Data Inventory is an interactive status map showing the patchwork of LiDAR datasets available throughout Wisconsin. In FY23 we made considerable behind-the-scenes updates to the tool. Users are now directed to GeoData@Wisconsin to discover and download specific Wisconsin elevation datasets.
Culvert Inventory (Elza, Lacy, Burgess, Johnson, McFarlane)
SCO staff and students developed an interactive mapping application that displays the WICDI (Wisconsin Coastal-Management data Infrastructure) culvert database. Users can browse to any location in the state, and view detailed culvert information provided by nearly 30 partner agencies.
SCO Web Updates (Elza, Hasinoff, Lacy, Vogel)
Our website is one of our main outreach mechanisms used to support both professional and general public map/GIS users. We continue to work on maintaining content, as well as updating the software and other infrastructure needed to keep the site up and running.
Survey Control Finder (Elza, Vogel)
The Survey Control Finder application has been updated to integrate feedback from the Wisconsin County Surveyors Association (WCSA) membership. These improvements include the introduction of horizontal accuracy color-coding and the implementation of display coordinate precision constraints.
SCO Application Infrastructure (Elza)
We continue to innovate in our web application development and update efforts, using the newest technologies to provide more efficient application management while also providing our students with opportunities to fine-tune their skillsets.
Statewide Parcel Map Application (Elza, Vogel)
The Statewide Parcel Map application underwent a significant overhaul with the release of the current V9 Parcel layer. This redesign integrated up-to-date JavaScript libraries and utilized ESRI’s latest version of Experience Builder – Developer Edition. These updates will facilitate a more streamlined application management workflow for future Parcel Project iterations.
Parcel Validation Tool (Vogel, Wells, Kazmierczak, Kunz, Bhandare, ted Bensel, Ren)
The Parcel Validation Tool underwent a comprehensive redesign, which included the development of a new graphical user interface (GUI), the removal of external component dependencies, and updates to the backend. This was a substantial move towards transitioning the tool to a fully open-source platform, eliminating the necessity for ESRI license validation.
Cartographic Phantoms (Hasinoff, Veregin)
A “Fast Phantom Finder” utility was created to identify cartographic phantoms – places that once existed but are no longer recognizable places – based on information extracted from the statewide parcel layer. We apprised the US Geological Survey of these phantoms and some were reclassified in the federal official names repository, known as GNIS. The analysis was extended to all known unincorporated communities in the state to identify possible phantoms. This information is being used by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation to fine-tune content selection for the state highway map.
Culvert Vulnerability (Bhandare, Wells, Buschhaus, Veregin, Anita Thompson – Biological Systems Engineering)
We are developing a culvert vulnerability model using the US Geological Survey’s StreamStats spatial analytical tool to determine a given culvert’s ability to accommodate the expected discharge associated with an annual exceedance flood probability event. This model is being used to provide a planning-level evaluation of culvert vulnerability.