Wisconsin Land Information Association 2006 Annual Conference

WLIA 2006

Wisconsin Land Information Association 2006 Annual Conference

Navigating the Data Jungle

March 1–3, 2006
Kalahari Hotel and Convention Center
Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin

Preconference Workshops

Building your Communication Toolbox to Maximize Customer Services —Carol Cortez, UW Green Bay

Individuals who deal regularly with customers need a relatively large toolbox of communication skills to meet the many demands of internal and external customers. More importantly, those individuals need to be able to select and use the most effective tool for each customer service interaction. This workshop will assist participants in figuring out what communication tools are in their toolbox, what tools should be in their toolbox, and how to make the best use of all their communication tools to maker their customer service interactions more effective and satisfying.

Participants in this workshop will learn:

The seven C's of outstanding customer service
To identify the needs of customers by asking questions and listening effectively
How to use precise, concrete, jargon-free language to build customer rapport and diffuse difficult situations
How to communicate assertively rather than aggressively with customers
Which nonverbal behaviors enhance and undermine perceptions of professionalism and appropriateness during customer interactions
The power of language to inform, educate, calm, persuade and support others
How facial expressions, vocal qualities, gestures, and body movements can influence customer interactions

~Assessor CEU's have been applied for and this program qualifies for credits toward the ROD management program~

"What Color Is Your Personality" —Paul Ohlrogge, UW-Extension, Community Resource Development

This will be a hands-on workshop that focuses on bettering our work environment by understanding the personality of ourselves and those with whom we work. Understanding how people think and what motivates them is crucial in developing effective communication with co-workers, other office mates, family, and the public who we serve and work for. While attending this workshop, you will learn how to:

Quickly identify your personality style
Understand and appreciate the personalities of other people
Communicate and interact more effectively with others
Work more effectively in every relationship you have

You are invited to participate. This workshop has been presented to many groups throughout Wisconsin. University of Wisconsin-Extension Educators have many trained facilitators that work with the Colors Program. Leadership programs and networking conferences have used this as a tool for bettering workplace environments and understanding the public we deal with. It is a fun and very effective training and we are sure you will be very pleased.

Fundamentals of Map Design View Presentation [PDF-299 KB, 82 pages] —Brian McGee, ATC —Ted Koch, State Cartographers Office —Kent Peña, NRCS

It's easier than ever to produce a map. Even using a word processing program, most anyone can make a simple map. At the same time, it's easier than ever to miss the mark—to make a poor map. If you are designing and producing maps, but are unsure of the effectiveness of the final product then this workshop is for you. In this workshop you will learn basic principles of map design including the design process, communicating intended messages, design controls, visual variables, symbolization, and evaluating and critiquing the design of your maps and maps produced by others. With all the effort you put into building data for mapping and analysis, you need to be ready to achieve your desired impact through well-designed output.

A requirement is that you bring maps to the workshop produced by you or others in your organization. Through an interactive group exercise we will analyze maps produced by workshop participants. Bring a map and you will go home with a useful evaluation.

Topics Covered:

Planning and communicating better with maps
Map design concepts and steps
Objectives of design
Designing for applications and situations
Developing a critical eye for map design
Understanding visual variables
Graphic symbolization including the use of color, text, and patterns
Map layout
Understanding map design controls and limitations
Learning how to develop a consistent organizational "look" to your maps

Applying LiDAR data in Wisconsin Organizations —Kirk Contrucci, Tim Barnett, Jason Nyberg; Ayres Associates

Six Wisconsin counties and several municipalities completed LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) mapping project in the past 18 months. Several more are considering LiDAR projects in the near future. This workshop will focus on the application of LiDAR derived datasets in areas such as floodplain mapping, preliminary engineering design, change detection, forest inventories, and emergency response. We'll cover the basics of LiDAR Mission planning and execution, saving most of the workshop for focusing on how this data can be applied by local governments. Several real world examples of how LiDAR data is being applied by Wisconsin counties and municipalities will be demonstrated.

Geodatabase Design & Migration Strategies —Chris Liske and Chris Mavis, Esri

The objective of this workshop is to introduce and discuss the best practices for designing and implementing a Parcel Geodatabase. The workshop is primarily a lecture and discussion, but will include some supporting demonstrations. Topics will include an introduction to the geodatabase model, overview of the parcel geodatabase design process and workflow, important design considerations, data migration strategies and tools, development of a parcel related topology to maintain data spatial integrity, system integration with other databases such as AS400, and enterprise geodatabase concepts. This workshop is intended for anyone who is thinking about or is in the process of migrating their parcel data to the geodatabase.

Introduction to Parcel Editing in Geodatabase —Chris Liske and Chris Mavis, Esri

The objective of this workshop is to introduce users to the editing tools available in ArcGIS 9.1 for editing and maintaining parcel data in the geodatabase. The workshop includes a lecture, demonstrations, and a question and answer session. Topics will include a short review of the geodatabase, preparing the ArcMap editing environment, best practices for maintaining parcels using ArcGIS's advanced COGO editing tools, labeling and annotation tools, useful developer samples, and other editing tips and tricks. Demonstrations will focus on maintaining parcel data. This workshop is intended for anyone who maintain parcels or is interested in the advantages of managing and editing parcel data in the Geodatabase. Familiarity with Geodatabase is helpful, but not required.

ArcGIS 9x Tips and Tools View Presentation [PDF-190 KB, 14 pages] —Kendis Scharenbroich and Jennifer Ward, Pro West GIS

this workshop will demonstrate the newest functionality in ArcGIS 9.1. This workshop is also relevant for 9.0 users. Topics will include expanded geoprocessing tools, annotation and labeling improvements, mobile mapping toolbars, and more shortcut keys. We will also cover tips and tools that will make you a proficient ArcView 9.1 user, such as toolbar customizations, working with tables, cartography and printing tips, and advanced editing. A manual with step-by-step instruction will be provided. ArcGIS ArcView experience is beneficial.

How to Better Understand the GIS in Your PSAP —Julie Cipra, Crawford County 911, WI NENA Secretary —Mark Handlin, Lincoln County —Alan Blencoe, La Crosse Country, WI NENA President

Wondering where to begin with your mapping project and how it will affect your PSAP? Even with an in-house GIS Department, existing digital base maps are probably not CAD/911 ready. How do I know what to ask for and from whom? What kinds of map layers are available to us and which ones are necessities? What type of on-going maintenance is required and who will do this? How will your dispatchers read and use the new information available to them? Where is the problem; LEC, cellular provider, mapping vendor, CAD vendor, or operator? Come and learn from PSAP/GIS personnel who have made it through this process. Basic GIS terminology, what worked, what didn't, and a general Q & A period

Technical Sessions

Track 1: Surveying and Mapping

Geodatabase: Status and Partnership Discussion View Presentation 1 [PDF-245 KB, 14 pages] View Presentation 2 [PDF-1.39 MB, 24 pages —Ann Schachte, WDNR —Richard Vraga, USGS: The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) has initiated a project to convert its existing statewide 1:24,000 scale hydrography coverage to geodatabase format. The existing design supports many of the WDNR business needs, but lacks the ability to efficiently communicate with the federal standard, the National Hydrography Dataset (NHD). NHD is the nationwide hydrography database managed by the USGS, which has recently been converted from coverage to geodatabase format at 1:24,000 scale. EPA, USGS, and other federal agencies, as well as a majority of states, use NHD. It is in WDNR's best interest to be compatible with this federal standard, given our reporting requirements to EPA, and the desire to facilitate communication with other states. We will provide a brief overview of the NHD model and its capabilities and status updates on completing NHDgeo for Wisconsin. The remaining time will provide a forum for discussion with the WI NHD partners regarding stewardship and the future role of the surface water layer as a state enterprise framework component of a statewide GIS strategies plan.
Large Format Digital Mapping Cameras, Comparison and Application —Jeremy Conner, 3001, Inc.: For years, many have been trying to develop digital cameras that meet mapping standards. The LH Systems ADS40 digital aerial sensor and the Z/I Imaging Digital Mapping Camera (DMC) provide the first all-digital systems that meet ASPRS and NMAS mapping standards for orthophotography and 3D stereo compilation. Moreover, the consistency of the image capture avoids many of the problems of historically associated with film photography. 3001, Inc. is operating the first production ADS40 and DMC, and provides a comparison case study of the two sensors. The ADS40 is a push-broom-imaging device that captures data in image strips. The Z/I DMC is a frame-based system that captures individual images using eight synchronously operating CCD matrix-based array cameras. Discussion will include accuracy, applications of remotes sensing, and photogrammetric mapping.
Autocorrelation for Surface Generation View Presentation [PDF-1.08 MB, 27 pages] —Todd Thies and Karen Gehri, Ayres Associates: "Better, Faster, Cheaper" has been the unanimous demand from geographic data users. The geographic service community has responded with autocorrelation, a key surface generation technique that meets this demand. The industry has undergone dramatic changes with the exciting development of autocorrelation. Data vendors continue to look for key ways to leverage this technology for accuracy and efficiency. What is autocorrelation? What are the issues involved? this presentation covers autocorrelation as a new and evolving technology. It will focus on helping you make informed choices on your next imagery or mapping project.
An Overview of Digital Elevation Data in Wisconsin View Presentation [PDF-2.69 MB, 37 pages] —Jim Lacy, State Cartographers Office: Thanks in large part to the highly successful statewide Land Information Program, Wisconsin is covered by a wide range of digital elevation datasets. However, the source, format, and precision of these datasets varies significantly from location to location. Understanding what's available, and where to find it, is not a trivial task. The purpose of this presentation is to provide a review of elevation dataset fundamentals (DEM, DTM, TIN, etc.), discuss the current status of elevation data in Wisconsin, and Forecast what you should expect to see in the coming years.
Coupling Real-Time Weather Information and Satellite Imagery in Support of Emergency Management View Presentation [PDF-1.92 MB, 33 pages] —Sam Batzli, Eizi Toyoda, Peter Wolter, Tim Olsen, Glenda Roman, UW Madison: Change-detection techniques using satellite images are used to estimate damage of natural disasters such as tornados and floods. Damage location and extent were mapped for three tornados on August 18, 2005. It is potentially useful for emergency management or response agencies, if the information is provided in a timely manner. For this purpose, the authors are building a system to monitor warning issued by the National Weather Service, in collaboration with UW Space Science and Engineering Center and the Department of Atmospheric Sciences. The warnings contain location information that will be extracted and used to automatically identify and cross-reference satellite orbit/path locations. The system could send a text-message or e-mail to help alert Environmental Remote Sensing Center staff and others of the need and location of data acquisitions. Accelerating and streaming the imagery acquisition process will minimize the cost in time and money of image acquisition.
2010 Census Activities —Gail A. Krmenec, US Census Bureau: An update on the status of the MAF/TIGER Accuracy Improvement Program in Wisconsin plans for the Local Update of Census Addresses (LUCA) for 2010, criteria for the development of statistical areas, and options for participation in upcoming geographic partnership programs.
Hand-held/Mobile GIS Application View Presentation [PDF-366 KB, 19 pages] —Jon Schwichtenberg, SEH, Inc.: This presentation will show attendees the options available for hand held/Mobile GIS applications. The presenter will discuss several types of mobile applications and their function.
Impacts of Ordinary High Water Mark on Surveying, Parcel Mapping, Tax Listing, and Zoning Administration —Michael J. Romportl and Karl Jennrich, Oneida County: The location of the ordinary high water mark (OHWM) has been a very contentious issue in Wisconsin over the last several years. The location of the OHWM affects how land is surveyed, parcel mapped, listed on the tax roll, and developed. This presentation will include an overview of the historic perspective covering the original government surveys of water bodies, court cases, DNR administration, current surveys, tax listing, parcel mapping, update of legislation, and some zoning permit examples of how the OHWM affects development.
What's New With NRCS Soils Information? View Handout #1 [PDF-269 KB, 2 pages] View Handout #2 [PDF-44 KB, 2 pages] —Kent Pena and Carl Wacker, NRCS: An overview of other NRCS resources and assistance related to soils access and application within GIS. This will include the Soil Data Mart, public domain CD products, and specialized tabular data. We will demonstrate the USDA Web Soil Survey site, a web mapping application that provides secure public access to seamless national soils information. This site is a simple yet powerful way to access and analyze soils data that contributes to every aspect of public and private land use and development.
Preserving and Modernizing Historical Maps in Sun Prairie: Lessons Learned and Successes View Presentation [PDF-4.71 MB, 96 pages] —Andy Swartz, City of Sun Prairie —Jason Krueger, Continental Mapping: Andy Swartz and Jason Krueger will share their collaborative experiences in preserving and modernizing Sun Prairie maps that date back to 1868. The presentation will cover the need for the project, a primer on basic technologies for digitally capturing old maps and ortho photos, output formats, rectification for use in modern GIS, and project costs. The need for and day-to-day value to the City for accessible electronic archives of historical maps and ortho photography will be underscored. the presenters will be forthcoming with confessions on mistakes and pitfalls encountered during the project.

Track 2: Data Integration and Distribution

The Relationship of Real Property Listing and LIS in Waukesha County View Presentation [PDF-671 KB, 19 pages] —Don Dittmar and Mary Gormanson, Waukesha County: The activities of the County Real Property lister are critical in the creation and maintenance of digital tax parcel maps. Often, the roles of the Lister and the GIS staff creating the digital maps are not clearly defined and sometimes even appear to conflict. Determining what information the Lister needs to provide to the GIS staff to complete the mapping an dhow the GIS staff then completes the actual mapping is key to making the process work. Waukesha County has developed a workflow that assists both groups in completing their duties. This session will provide insight as to how the processes were integrated.
How Winnebago County GIS and Emergency Management Work as a Team View Presentation [PDF-1.13 MB, 25 pages] —Dave Levine and Linda Kollmann, Winnebago County: Winnebago County will share real success stories of the GIS and Emergency Management divisions working as a team in various emergency situations. Some of the team's efforts that will be discussed include: "Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act" off site plans, all hazards mitigation planning, 2004 flooding disaster in Omro, large scale event planning with EAA and Ducks Unlimited, Hydrite Chemical box car fire, and the 2001 wind storm.
Columbia County Integrated Land Records System View Presentation [PDF-590 KB, 30 pages] —Kristen Anderson, Pam Robson, Deb Raimer, Jill Kopp, Carol Weiss, Lisa Walker; Columbia County —Dean Yeazel, Compuware Corporation: The Land Records System (LRS) project goal is to modernize all land records related data, systems and workflows in the Register of Deeds, Land Information Department, and the Treasurer, and to incorporate business goals of additional departments in the future. The LRS has fully integrated the land records data sets using a single database that has checks and balances, eliminates data redundancies, has data integrity rules applied, and has the flexibility to integrate with the county's Enterprise GIS. In addition to migrating to a modern system that is better able to manage the complexity of the land records data, the project also provided an opportunity to examine and improve workflow internally and between departments. New technological implementations for improved business functions and data capture in land records have also benefited other departments. These technologies include the .NET environment, Active Directory, on-the-fly creation of Adobe PDF documents, bar coding, and scanning techniques.
How to Design a Geodatabase View Presentation [PDF-1.01 MB, 32 pages] —David Haines, R.A. Smith & Associates: Converting your data into a geodatabase may be an intimidating process, unless you know the resources that are available to you. This presentation will go through the steps of designing a geodatabase. The presentations will cover each step in the conceptual, logical, and physical geodatabase design process. Examples of Esri's ArcGIS Data models will be shown and the data model terminology and symbology used in the posters discussed. Lastly, there will be an overview of techniques for loading data into your geodatabase.
Feature-Level Transportation Data-Sharing Using Open Geospatial Consortium Web Feature Services Specifications View Presentation [PDF-641 KB, 33 pages] —Zhong-Ren Peng, UW Milwaukee: The objective of this presentation is to show the development of integration and sharing of Wisconsin transportation network data at the feature level in real time over the Web, which is compatible with the Web Feature Services (WFS) 1.1 specifications proposed by the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC). By feature level, we mean accessing and exchanging data at the individual feature (a location represented by a point, line, or a polygon) level rather than at the file level as is the common practice in data sharing. This is a project that is supported by the 2005 Cooperative Agreements Program of the Federal Geographic Data Committee. The goal of the project is to deploy OGC WFS interfaces using both Esri's ArcIMS WFS Connector/ArcGIS for Server technology and GeoServer, an open source software, to respond to user requests for transportation features, and to return the data that conforms to the draft ANSI/INCITS L1 Standard for the transportation theme in the format given by OGC Geography Markup Language (GML).
Moving Towards Integration: A Case Study from Washburn County —Nick Stadnyk and Doug Avoles, Applied Data Consultants —Mike Miller, Washburn County: A truly enterprise-wide GIS is still rare in today's land records environment. Most GIS development, particularly at the county level, has focused on data development and applications. This development has been very department-centric, focusing on the relatively narrow and specific needs of the individual departments. Vertical integration of GIS within a department is giving way to horizontal integration of GIS between departments and across a county as a whole. Since the inception of the Wisconsin Land Information Program, Washburn County has been struggling with consistent and integrated development of GIS data sets and land record maintenance due to several factors and circumstances. County staff recognized the need to examine current operations and develop a plan for moving towards better integration and management of its land information. This presentation will examine the conclusions, recommendations, and implementation strategies for making countywide land record integration a reality in Washburn County.
Navigating Survey Control Point Information for Wisconsin View Presentation [PDF-4.20 MB, 29 pages] —A.J. Wortley and Brenda Hemstead, State Cartographer's Office: Geodetic control information plays a crucial role in the development and registering framework data for applications, because it provides the spatial reference source to register all other spatial data. This presentation will demonstrate the latest technology behind our geodetic control clearinghouse application: ControlFinder (http://www.sco.wisc.edu.geocat/) to visually navigate and access geodetic control information for Wisconsin through a Web Feature Service (WFS) using a web browser or your own GIS software. Also find out how to publish local survey control information to the clearinghouse.
Property Management Portal in Clark and Barron Counties View Presentation [PDF-3.88 MB, 72 pages] —Barbara Petkovsek, Clark County —Duane Herbert, Barron County —Michael Blaska, WCA —Jason Hepp, Nazca: Clark and Barron Counties are the first two Wisconsin counties to install and operate a powerful new, innovative data-extraction and integration software specially adapted for land record access and management in Wisconsin. the Nazca Property Management Portal is advanced technology that accesses "live" data wherever it resides in disparate subsystems across the county enterprise, and even beyond; the data is integrated into pre-determined formats for commercial and public users who may access desired data and land records via the Internet. For county government, key value propositions of the Property Management Portal are added county revenue and improved internal efficiency. The Nazca Property Management Portal will be presented by Clark and Barron County officials, by Nazca, and by WCA Services, Inc., which has formed a strategic alliance to promote the Nazca Property Management Portal in Wisconsin.
Discovery in the Jungle: Geospatial One-Stop View Presentation [PDF-4.30 MB, 26 pages] —Dick Vraga, USGS —Mike Koutnik, Esri: This presentation will demonstrate the capabilities and advantages of using the Geospatial One-Stop. The Geospatial One-Stop, geodata.gov, serves as a public gateway for improving access to geospatial information and data under the Geospatial One-Stop e-government initiative. The geodata.gov portal is designed to facilitate communication and sharing of geographic data and resources to enhance government efficiency and improve citizen services. Geospatial One-Stop is one of 24 e-government initiatives sponsored by the Federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to enhance government efficiency and to improve citizen services. This portal will make it easier, faster and less expensive for all levels of government and the public to access geospatial information.
WiscLinc Clearinghouse and WiscMap: A Compass and Flashlight in Wisconsin's Data and Web Services Jungle View Presentation [PDF-1.25 MB, 28 pages] —A.J. Wortley and Catrine Lehrer-Brey, State Cartographer's Office: This presentation will give a brief tour of the newest Wisconsin Land Information Clearinghouse (WISCLINC) Web site and WiscMap interactive viewer created by the State Cartographer's Office. We'll show how you can use this growing catalog to locate Web sites and data, access downloads, and visualize interoperable map services for GIS data in Wisconsin. Find out how to contribute to the catalog or access tutorial information on authoring Web mapping services or visualizing them in an array of free and commercial clients, including Gaia, ArcGIS, and Google Earth.

Track 3: Politics, Policy & Administration

Welcome to WLIA: An Introduction to the Association View Presentation [PDF-73 KB, 38 pages] —Al Miller, UW Madison —D. David Moyer, D.D. Moyer & Associates

This discussion session is intended for new members, but is open to anyone interested in the WLIA. Learn about the origins of the "grassroots" effort to modernize Wisconsin's land records, the background that led to the formation of the association, and its vision to establish a network of geographic information systems throughout the state. Become aware of the organization's mission and goals, the development of technical standards and guides, and major accomplishments during the past seventeen years. Find out how the association goes about its business, who the members of WLIA are, and how the committees are established and structured. Become acquainted with the 2005 Draft Strategic Plan. Most importantly, learn how to get involved.

Geospatial Standards: WLIP Meets NSDI —Jerry Sullivan, WI DOA

This presentation will assess the current state of geospatial standards at the state and national levels. WLIA needs to exercise its adopted process for standards development, review, and adoption. Wisconsin's Enterprise GIS Standards are over a decade old, and in need of serious revision. Review of Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) data model content standards, symbology standards, and exchange standards have been discussed for more than a decade. Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) standards offer possibilities for bringing together a distributed confederation of nodes. The recently announced Geospatial BlueBook of Best Practices, and the Esri "GIS for the Nation" data models, can benefit Wisconsin GIS activities. A facilitated discussion will follow, to gauge audience interest and prioritization of needed standards efforts.

What's New with the Wisconsin County Coordinate System? A WLIA Task Force Report View Presentation [PDF-689 KB, 46 pages] —Ted Koch, State Cartographers Office —Alan Vonderohe, UW Madison

A year ago we reported to you on the work of the WLIA's Coordinate Systems Task Force, and the prospect of redefining the Wisconsin County Coordinate Systems to simplify their use. Over the past twelve months the Task Force reached the conclusion that redesign was the best alternative to improve the current situation. A redesign methodology was developed and tested. This session will report on that work and the results. We will explain the redesign approach, quantify the results, and suggest several steps for implementing the redesigned County Coordinate System throughout the state. This session will conclude with an open forum for discussion of coordinate system issues and uses.

Wisconsin's Enterprise State Agency GIS Strategy —David Mockert, GIO, WI DOA

A panel of state agency GIS managers will present the results of a strategic planning process conducted during the fall of 2005. The discussion will focus on the elements of Wisconsin's Enterprise State Agency GIS Strategy. These include the following: organizational design and governance; integration of agency land information plans with agency IT plans; enterprise geospatial data custodianship; creation of enterprise architecture and data standards; data security; server consolidation; development of a shared services catalog; and cooperative applications development.

Reconstruction of Land Administration in Post-Conflict Conditions View Presentation [PDF-158 KB, 15 pages] —David Stanfield, Terra Institute

The introduction of Information Communication Technology (ICT) into land registration organizations in post-conflict conditions can be very useful, but also faces severe constraints. The experiences in Kosovo, Albania and Afghanistan are analyzed to show the potential benefits and costs, and the conditions under which ICT can be profitably adapted to the reconstruction of land administration organizations in post-conflict conditions.

The Geospatial Workforce: Meeting Wisconsin's Future Needs View Presentation [PDF-862 KB, 43 pages] —Thomas Tym, WI Geographic Information Technology Association (GITA), Ruekert & Mielke

This presentation will offer perspectives on the present and future of the geospatial workforce. Discussion topics will include: professional and educational opportunities in Wisconsin and Nationwide, qualifications for entry level positions through management, recruiting strategies of area companies, business function and organizational structure, and compensation and other related job factors. The presentation will draw from recent studies, as well as the real life experience of geospatial professionals (employers and employees) from across Wisconsin.

Digital Orthophotos: What's in the Future? View Presentation [PDF-492 KB, 17 pages] —Ted Koch, State Cartographer's Office

Digital Orthophotos form the foundation for most public and private GIS operations. In Wisconsin and nationally, millions of dollars are invested each year in this data resource, providing us an invaluable record of our environment. In spite of all the imagery collected, we are still faced with holes in coverage; varying quality, accuracy and currency; and restrictions on use. What can we do to improve this situation? This presentation will cover some of the ideas at the state and national levels to change the process of digital orthophoto acquisition.

WLIA Emergency Management Task Force Findings View Presentation [PDF-190 KB, 23 pages] —Chris Diller, WI DOA, Department of Military Affairs

The Mission of the Emergency Management Task Force is to "identify the need and scope of a statewide homeland security geospatial strategy and make recommendations on the steps needed to implement such a strategy." The task force has developed a set of goals and is working toward delivering a final report to the WLIA board in March 2006. Hear what the Task Force has learned so far, and what steps we are taking to meet the mission and goals.

A Dialog of Flood Hazard Map Modernization: FEMA, DNR, & Counties Discuss the Ongoing Process —Amanda Schwoegler and Bob Watson, WI DNR —Al Lulloff, Association of Flood Plain Managers —Don Dittmar, Waukesha County —Kurt Wheeler, Rock County —Adam Dorn, Fond du Lac County

This presentation will take the format of a panel discussion with Al Lulloff of The Association of State Floodplain Managers acting as the facilitator. FEMA will overview the progress and status of the Flood Hazard Mapping Program in the State. The DNR will describe the role they currently are playing in the program. After which each county will briefly relay their status and experiences. The floor will then be open for questions and discussion. Our desire is to let other counties and municipalities gain from the experiences of the panel. We also hope this will facilitate further dialog among agencies in order to produce the most accurate Flood Hazard Map possible for the State of Wisconsin.

Planning on the Cutting Edge Requires Fine Honing: Planning Support System in Waupaca County —Douglas Miskowiak, UW Stevens Point

Comprehensive Planning in Waupaca County is a grassroots, multi-jurisdictional, multi-partner effort that successfully incorporated 'What-If,' a digital Planning Support System (PSS). The process has now employed 'What-If' for just over six months. Since then we've:

Provided opportunity to create over 250 suitability scenarios for the county and 33 municipalities using existing data from our County LIO.
Built the capacity of 14 planning professionals to run 'What-If.'
Fostered public engagement at 15 public meetings for hundreds of participants.

Over the next year our local plan commissions will apply suitability models, growth projections, and locally held public knowledge to create future land use maps that meet their communities' goals and objectives. The results will be transparent, defensible, and measurable. This presentation shares the application of 'What-If' from the drawing table to the public meeting. It also describes lessons learned and the honing required to make 'What-If' a success.

Track 4: Innovation and Applications

Using an ArcGIS for Server Web Service to Provide Natural Heritage Inventory Data View Presentation, Part 1 [PDF-397 KB, 21 pages] View Presentation, Part 2 [PDF-2.33 MB, 10 pages] View Presentation, Part 3 [PDF-939 KB, 10 pages] —Erik Sandin, Jefferey Shaw, and Jamelle Schlangen; WI DNR: ArcGIS for Server provides the ability to serve complicated or resource-intensive GIS logic from a central location. Web Services provide a way to deliver part of an application transparently to almost any user or to integrate into existing applications. The Wisconsin DNR's Bureau of Endangered Resources and GIS Section are using ArcGIS for Server Web Services to provide data from the Natural Heritage Inventory in the context of a Web Mapping application.
Implementation and Use of Next Generation Toolkit —Craig Surman, Chris Morse, Alex Dvoracek, Duane DeVerney; NRCS: Customer Service Toolkit 2004 (Toolkit) is the primary conservation planning tool used by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), conservation districts, and technical service providers (TSP). Toolkit is used for conservation planning and design, layout, and evaluation of approved conservation practices. Within Toolkit, users can create and check on customer data a National Conservation Planning Database (NCPDB). Users can also check out customer data from the NCPDB. In addition, the customer data is made available to the Performance Reporting System (PRS) and Protracts (NRCS contracting software). With the onset of these powerful new tools, redundancy in data entry has significantly declined.
Comprehensive Planning with In-House GIS View Presentation [PDF-2.54 MB, 30 pages] —Ken Jaworski, Foth & Van Dyke —Bill Shockley, Clark County: Clark County is finalizing a countywide comprehensive plan which complies with WI State Statute 66.1001. The Clark County comprehensive planning process started in 2000 receiving grant funding from the WI Department of Administration. Sixteen local towns, cities and villages joined Clark County in a multi-jurisdictional effort to update existing plans or create one for the first time. Clark County's fully functional GIS enabled the majority of land use inventory, base level mapping, community facilities and future land use to be created in-house. Background inventory and trend data was collected for all 46 local units of government. This data has been collected for the first-time in a digital format and is accessible as additional municipalities decide to create individual comprehensive plans. Significant savings were recognized by Clark County due to the technical ability to create, amend and print the mapping requirements under the comprehensive law. Utility and community facility data created with small, incorporated municipalities should provide valuable infrastructure planning for years to come.
GIS Consortium—An Alternative Approach to GIS for Small and Medium Sized Communities —Thomas A. Thomey, Municipal GIS Partners: Ten suburban communities in the Chicago (Illinois) area are working together to realize the benefits of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). This organization was formed in 1998 to provide an alternative to meeting the challenges of starting and sustaining GIS programs. This organization is called the GIS Consortium (GISC). The mission of the GIS Consortium is to reduce cost and risk of these programs for its members. The group manages these opposing objectives through collaboration. The purpose of the Consortium is to simulate a 'large' organization that can maximize purchasing power. The founders of the GIS Consortium recognized that staffing influenced both components of its mission. Staffing, therefore, is a major part of the structure of the organization. In addition, this organization provides standards, applications, and productivity processes. This presentation will investigate aspects of the GIS Consortium that have made it successful and will consider its applicability in other urban areas.
Automatic Generation of GIS Features Using Oracle and the SDE Java API —Rick Hammond, Woolpert, Inc.: This presentation will focus on the development of a server-based solution for the automatic creation of GIS features at the City of Indianapolis. The Department of Metropolitan Development and the Mayor's Action Center both log a significant number of permit requests and service requests, respectively, every day. Until recently, corresponding GIS features for these requests would have been created manually at irregular intervals. The development of these server based solutions has provided the automatic generation of corresponding ArcSDE GIS features as each new permit or service request is generated. These features are then immediately accessible and viewable for any GIS viewer or application that needs to access this data. This application is unique in that it integrates Oracle 9i, Oracle 10g and the ArcSDE 9/SDE Java API 9 functionality. This presentation will discuss the following topics: reasons for developing this type of application, application design/structure, application work flow, advantages of choosing this method, and issues that we faced and how they were addressed.
MapTEACH Gains Momentum: Progress for Place-Based Geospatial Education on the Alaskan Front —Bill Aldrich, UW Madison: Implementation of the first pilot for place-based education of local landscape from the contexts of geology, geospatial IT, and traditional knowledge is imminent for rural Alaskan students, teachers, and communities. This NSF-funded joint UW-Alaska MapTEACH project is moving forward in developing curricula, field kits, human resources, and pools of data (e.g. satellite imagery, and maps topographic and geologic). Elders and other learned members of the targeted Alaskan communities of Nome, Minto, Nenana, and Fairbanks continue to come forward providing their knowledge of the land even to guide the development of relevant datasets. The instructional team is learning from their own student assistants what may and may not work for the pupils in the pilot's capstone experience.
Thin Clients: Substantial Benefits? Learning to Leverage GIS View Presentation [PDF-3.87 MB, 28 pages] —Tim Olsen and Sam Batzli, UW Madison: Learn new ways that free, thin client GIS software is making it possible for novices with small computers to reach through the internet and shake down GIS giants for information. Unlike popular internet mapping sites and many map services that only allow access to images, i.e. map graphics, thin-client GIS allows users to pull selected spatial data from multiple sources, build their own 'maps', perform queries, and share their results with others far and wide. From satellite scenes, to air photos, vector files and real-time weather images, the volume of accessible data is growing exponentially. Whether they are emergency officials surveying storm damage, or students on a field trip, see how users can quickly meld their own geolocated data together with web-served spatial data and images to capitalize on public resources and communicate information at minimal cost.
Electronic Recording of Documents in Wisconsin View Presentation [PDF-3.83 MB, 49 pages] —Jane Licht, Dane County —Sharon Martin, Washington County —Cathy Williquette, Brown County: WRDA members continue to be on the forefront of electronic recording technology. Eleven county offices are accepting documents for recording electronically. Instead of receiving paper documents in the mail or by courier, these documents arrive electronically similar to email attachments. In 2003, only "Level 3" Satisfaction of Mortgage documents were being accepted from a few large national or state banks. Now, "Level 2" documents are also accepted, opening the door to many more types of documents and customers. Another development that will allow electronic recording of deeds is the Department of Revenue's electronic transfer return project. The substantial benefits of electronic recording for customers and county offices will be explained. As a greater percentage of documents are recorded electronically, the benefits will increase and the technology will transform notions of original documents. These items will be presented along with demonstrations of the technology.
Disaster Recovery: It Doesn't Have to Be a Disaster —Vanessa Laviada, Fidlar Software: Disaster Recovery is the ability to respond to an interruption in services by implementing a predetermined plan to restore an organization's critical business functions. This seminar is designed to assist county officials in understanding the need for such a plan and to begin thinking about ways they can adopt a plan for their office.
Electronic Real Estate Transfers in Wisconsin: The First Step in Clear Cutting the Data Jungle View Presentation [PDF-482 KB, 24 pages] —Jim Pahl-Washa, WI DOR: The presentation will describe how the Department of Revenue has implemented Electronic Real Estate Transfer Returns (e-RETR) in Wisconsin, and how this effort achieves a long-standing initiative to convert a complex paper process to an electronic filing and workflow management system. We'll summarize the technical and workflow barriers that are being resolved and the benefits for anyone that uses information from the sale or conveyance of property. The paper Real Estate Transfer Form (PE-500) has been regarded as one of the State's most paper intensive processes. Benefactors from electronically filed data include the property Grantor, Grantee, County Register of Deeds, County Real Property Tax Lister, County Treasurer, DOR Bureau of Property Tax, local assessors, private sellers of real estate, lenders, banks, attorneys, and title companies. We'll also touch on future benefits once deeds become electronic and the importance of electronic data for a multitude of applications.

Track 5:Technology Demonstration

Land Records Data Entry Automation —Mark Miller, Extract Systems: Land Record Data often drives many business decisions today. Maintaining and staying current with the influx of recorded instruments can be a daunting task. Recently, new technology has emerged in the marketplace to automatically capture data from unstructured land records. Automated Data Capture Software uses Optical Character Recognition Technology to convert scanned images to a digital format and then locate and extract data from the image using a set of sophisticated rules. Once the data is captured, it can be further massaged and manipulated to meet the specific needs of the organization or department. In addition to reducing data entry costs, this automation process increases the speed at which a county or title company makes data available to constituents, which in turn allows the constituents to make better business decisions. This presentation will discuss the myths and realities of using automation within your workflow and demonstrate some of today's latest data extraction technologies.
Practical Data Management in Spatial Technology —Scott Daniel, Ruekert/Mielke —Russ Nicloy, Master Graphics: MasterGraphics, Inc. and Rupert & Mielke realize government organizations, that build and manage infrastructure, need to: simplify complex processes; ensure data quality; work with multiple data formats, including CAD, GIS, and engineering data; share precise, accurate information with others; reduce employee learning time; and enhance public satisfaction. Our presentation will discuss solutions that combine professional services with Autodesk^® technology to help public works advisors plan, design, and manage infrastructure assets. Autodesk solutions use the same data throughout the process, eliminating costly and tedious data conversions, as well as the errors this process can introduce. These solutions comprise infrastructure-specific modules, such as cadastral, drainage, sewer, and water, that work together or as stand-alone applications. The modules are built on proven Autodesk software, with an underlying Oracle^® database that integrates all data types and formats across the project lifecycle. The presentation will include a presentation and live demo of the products.
mPower Integrator—Web GIS —Scott Hameister, mPower Technologies: mPower Technologies has developed a multi-platform GIS data distribution tool for Esri^® ArcIMS^® or Autodesk^® MapGuide^®, known as mPower Integrator™, that helps to facilitate the data or information side of maintaining and developing web-browser based GIS. mPower Integrator is now compatible with Esri arcSDE. mPower Integrator will speed up the publication of GIS/FM data for the web!
Web-Based GIS: Integrating GIS, External Databases, and Business Practices —Kendis Scharenbroich, Pro-West & Associates: Web-based GIS is an integrating technology, capable of performing a number of vital functions for City and County government. PWA will review the components and benefits of web-based GIS and how it can be implemented in various departments throughout an organization. Pro-West's web-based GIS product, WebFusion, will also be demonstrated. WebFusion, is highly customizable, and is a perfect solution for integrating spatial data with external databases and other third-party programs, such as Tax Parcel and CAMA databases, building permit and special assessment programs, one-call locate systems, wireless mobile applications, and infrastructure management systems.
Three-dimensional Visualization in Land-Use Planning: A New Way to Look Into Natural Resources View Presentation [PDF-318 KB, 22 pages] —Bruce A. Brown, Michael L. Czechanski, David M. Johnson, Peter Schoephoester; Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey: Conventional land-use planning is essentially a two-dimensional process. GIS technology has made it easier to stack and overlay two-dimensional maps to visualize possible development scenarios, but planning for groundwater development and protection, aggregate resources, and locating sites for landfills can only be done safely and efficiently with detailed knowledge of the third dimension. Tools for three-dimensional visualization range from simple cross sections and fence diagrams to computer based models. The basic data for any of these tools are publicly available records from well construction. We will demonstrate the use of three-dimensional visualization tools using examples from ongoing studies of natural arsenic contamination in the Fox River Valley, and aggregate and groundwater resource studies in Dane County and southeast Wisconsin.
Inventory of New Development Infrastructure for Immediate Integration into the GIS View Presentation [PDF-874 KB, 24 pages] —Andy Swartz, City of Sun Prairie: The City of Sun Prairie has implemented a system to integrate a GIS inventory of new infrastructure with the construction oversight process that is performed by a third party and funded by the developer. This initiative represents a change from the original plan to require submitted engineering record (as-built) drawing to be GIS friendly. In this session you will learn about the challenges and rewards to getting a complete, high quality, fully attributed, GIS inventory for water, sewer, sidewalk, etc. soon after construction. The GPS and geodatabase templates and methods will be demonstrated for your benefit.
Introduction to Semantic Web Technologies View Presentation [PDF-1.70 MB, 57 pages] —Nancy Wiegand, UW Madison: This talk introduces the vision of the Semantic Web and the technologies being developed to support this vision. The concept of an ontology will be explained along with an ontology representation language (OWL). OWL is based on RDF, which in turn was developed using XML. Formally describing domains using ontologies allows reasoning to infer information not explicitly stated. Although some communities have begun to develop their applications using ontologies, this is still more of a research area in the geospatial community. However, such technologies are being considered by the OGC and federal government agencies and will likely soon be here.
Don't Pass on IPAS—Revenue's Integrated Property Assessment System View Presentation [PDF-160 KB, 21 pages] —Jean Gerstner, Dan Davis, Jim Murphy; WI DOR: What is IPAS? Why did the Department of Revenue undertake this project? What benefits are there for me/my organization? What are the short-term objectives and the long-term vision? What is the timeframe? Who are the players? The DOR's Integrated Property Assessment System (IPAS) will eventually replace the majority of the State and Local Finance Division's computer systems with one integrated system. IPAS will enable more efficient manufacturing property assessment including M-Form e-filing; create a sales database that can be used by all stakeholders toward the creation of a state-wide property assessment database (for example, DOR will place Real Estate Transfer Return information in the database); make data more accessible for stakeholders via the internet; and include a Geographic Information System.
Who or What is Ramona? —Jerry Sullivan, WI DOA —A.J. Wortley, State Cartographer's Office: Wisconsin is one of 10 states which will pilot Ramona, the Random Access Metadata tool for Online National Assessments. Ramona is an initiative of the National States Geographic Information Council (NSGIC). Ramona is a critically important complement to the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI), a robust "living" inventory tool that will increase production of metadata. The essential internet accessible system requirements are: an inventory of geospatial data and data management policies, updated by data producers and custodians; search and query capability to discover information; stock and custom reports; status and trend maps regarding data availability and data management policies; production and update of FGDC-compliant metadata; a customizable browser; integration of OGC specifications; maintenance of a professional contacts directory; tracking future data production projects; security to ensure integrity of data; and differentiated user designations that allow for varying system features.
Wisconsin GetFacts for Comprehensive Planning+A1 —Bill Buckingham, Sarah Kemp, and Jim Beaudoin, UW Madison: Communities developing its comprehensive plan often have a difficult time collecting the necessary data for the nine elements of a comprehensive plan. To assist this effort the Applied Population Laboratory (APL) will demonstrate a new integrated Web site providing access to the necessary data for developing a comprehensive plan. In addition, the APL's new Census data extractor, GetFacts, will be displayed as a tool for mapping and extracting geographically enabled Census data. Features of the new integrated Web site will be demonstrated, blending the need for comprehensive planning data with Census geography and data available for manipulation in the user's desktop GIS.