CICEET Progress Report for the period 9/02/07 Through 3/01/08

Project Title: Planning for Superior Coastal Communities
Principal Investigator(s): Sue O’Halloran
Project Start Date: September 1, 2007

Figures

Figure 1

Figure 2

Task 2: Create a minor watershed map showing existing impervious surface and projected impervious surface based on 100% build-out of current zoning.

Task 3: Development of alternative growth scenarios for sensitive areas

Task 4: Coordinate access to maps and results of analyses for county staff for use in future zoning permit review and county planning efforts, such as the forestry and land and water resource management plans.

Task 5: Provide background information and latest research to local planners on how land cover and use impacts runoff and water quality.

Task 6: Attendance at full and subcommittee planning meetings and as appropriate throughout the planning process.

Tasks to meet objectives
Task 1: Obtain reports for natural resource element in existing County Plan and the 2006 1 ft resolution true color leaf-off ortho-imagery from Douglas County.

Task 2: Visually digitize impervious surfaces from the county's ortho-imagery and verify driveways when snow melts.

Task 3: Identify potential areas to undergo analysis based on development threats and vulnerability of minor watershed.

Task 4: Send project summary (see CICEET Project Matrix.xls) and contact list (see Douglas County CICEET Partners.doc) to project partners. Encourage feed back early in the project to faciliate smooth data transfer at the end of the project.

Task 5: Secure the latest research on how land cover and use impacts runoff and water quality. Meet with Douglas County Zoning and Planning Administrator and Northwest Regional Planning

Task 6: Commission Senior Planner to coordinate our project with their overall planning process. Attend planning committee meetings.

Progress on Tasks
Task 1: We received the ortho-imagery from the county and are currently compiling the reports that were listed in its existing plan.

Task 2: Digitization of impervious surfaces is complete for open lands, buildings, driveways, existing and new roads. (see DC Impervious Land Surface.pdf).

Task 3: We identified two minor watershed areas under development pressure based on discussions with the planning and zoning administrator.

Task 4: Personal communication with all partners is nearly completed. The project summary and contact list is complete and will be sent by early March.

Task 5: Attended the Wisconsin Society of American Foresters - "Statewide Training Conference - Integrating Forest Management and Forest Hydrology: Landscape to Site Level" on October 15 and 16, 2007 to obtain additional background in how forest management impacts runoff and water quality. Attended "Forest Resource Education for Municipal Officials" (FREMO) workshop in Annapolis, Md. Have obtained sources that will be the basis for our presentation on how forest practices impacts water resources.

Task 6: Began attending planning meetings in February. We have been named technical advisors to the committee and will continue to meet monthly. We will also work directly with the natural resource and land use element sub-committees. Met with the Senior Planner to discuss our presentation topics, schedule and mode of delivering our informaton (ie, watershed activities and a boat field trip) at the upcoming committee meetings.

Difficulties
Task 2: Verification has to wait until snow melts in the spring so final map won't be done until then.

Task 3: We will need the final watershed map, vulnerability assessments, and more discussions with the planning committee to develop alternative growth scenarios.

Task 4: Wanted to speak directly to everyone before sending documents. Waiting for a few call backs.

Task 6: We are a few months behind on our timeline because the Douglas County Comprehensive planning committee has been moving forward more slowly than anticipated.

Data Generated to date
The digitization of impervious land cover for Douglas County involved the creation of seven separate GIS data layers: ‘buildings’, ‘driveways’, ‘open land’, ‘new roads’, ‘gas lines’, ‘power lines’, and ‘other cleared easements’. The ‘open land’ database entries were classified by land type as: agricultural, residential, or paved. The data that was digitized for each database encompassed all of Douglas County, with the exceptions of the towns of Superior, Oliver, Lake Nebagamon, and Solon Springs. Each GIS data layer was on-screen digitized based on the analysis and interpretation of the 2006 aerial ortho-imagery.

The ‘buildings’ data layer contains building footprints for over 20,779 structures that cover 33 million square feet and are represented as polygon features.

The ‘driveways’ data layer contains 7,961 line features and covers 471 miles. Each driveway centerline segment was snapped to the adjacent ‘road centerline’ line segment.

In the ‘open land’ data layer, 2,436 entries were classified as agricultural, 6,045 as residential, and 94 as paved. All of the classes in the ‘open land’ database were digitized as polygon features and cover over 142 square miles. Of all the classifications, the agricultural class was the broadest category and included large swaths of cleared land that was presumably used for agriculture.

Using the ‘road centerline’ file provided by Douglas County, the majority of the ‘new roads’ data layer contains roads that would presumably be classified as trail or logging road types. The ‘new roads’ layer contains 1,211 road centerline line features and covers 536 miles.

The last three databases: ‘gas lines’, ‘power lines’ and ‘other cleared easements’, contain a total of 118 line features.

Project Objectives for Next Reporting Period

Objectives
Technical objectives

• Compilation of natural resource data layers: Base map, topography, impervious surface, land cover, soils, watersheds, surface water, groundwater, wetlands, water quality
• Digitize minor watershed boundaries
• Impervious surface build-out analysis for minor watersheds
• Calculate land cover coefficients for each major land cover type
• Update percentage of open and forested land cover by minor watershed
• Provide maps to county forestry and land records departments as completed

Non-technical objectives

• Compile and present information on connection between land use and water quality using current county land cover maps, watershed delineations and impervious surface analyses
• Assist with the interpretation of this information relating to water resource quality and quantity in the county

Work Plan to Meet Objectives

• Using NEMO format compile map layers into easily understandable maps (and accompanying data) that convey basic information on land cover, impervious surface amounts, build-out scenario and percentages of forest cover and open lands within major and minor watershed boundaries.
• Minimum of three presentations to planning committee incorporating this information into discussions about the natural/water resources in the county.
• Attendance at additional meetings of the natural, agricultural and cultural resource subcommittee, as requested.
• Assist the regional planner with modifying the county presentation for township level presentations that focus on town issues (15 townships are involved in planning at the town level, which will then be incorporated into the county plan).
• Evaluate representative watersheds for hydrologic and vulnerability analyses.
• Work with county land records and forestry departments to facilitate the transfer of GIS data layers and analyses developed through this project.

Expenditures
Expenditures for this reporting period are within the range of what we expected. Of our total first year budget of $118,749 we have expended $46,893. We feel that this is appropriate for the progress made to date.

What Else?
Flexibility is an important component in the success in this project. We need to be responsive to the scheduling, interests and concerns as well as the knowledge base of the planning committee. While this may affect the overall timeline that we originally proposed the end results in meeting our project goals will be reached on schedule.