News From the Partnership

Wisconsin’s Changing Landscapes: Anticipating the Effects of Local Land Use Decisions

By: Dana Lucero, WDNR and Rich Zdanowicz, US EPA Region 5

Land use and decisions about land uses are inherently local and personal. Indeed land use fosters a sense of place and defines the community character. Also true is that land use decisions have consequences. In particular, what you do on the surface of the land invariably affects the quality of the water in the rivers and lakes. For the past ten years, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has worked to define its role in supporting local decisions to ensure that they are environmentally responsible. The major roles that WDNR defined include: providing information, predicting impacts, suggesting alternatives, and advocating sound land use.

The enactment of the State’s Comprehensive Planning Law in 1999 provides an unprecedented opportunity for the state to engage its roles in the process of planning and land use decisions. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources invited community planners and planning consultants from across the state to participate in a workshop entitled Changing Landscapes: Anticipating the Effects of Local Land Use Decisions held on March 31 and April 1 in Madison, WI. Over the course of two days, eighty-eight community planners and planning consultants were introduced to seven web-based land use impact assessment tools, and were asked for feedback regarding the tools’ usefulness, affordability, and accessibility.

Members of the Midwest Spatial Decision Support Systems Partnership were also invited to participate in the State workshop. International City/County Management Association (ICMA), Purdue University, and EPA Region 5 staff presented several tools sponsored by the Partnership. This included:
- L-THIA, Long-Term Hydrologic Impact Assessment estimates changes in runoff, recharge, and nonpoint source pollution resulting from past or proposed land use changes.
- Windows to My Environment (WME), provides a geographic portal which integrates environmental information by local geography, including interactive mapping tools, data on ambient environmental conditions, and access to analytical reporting tools were highlighted.
- Environmental Planning for Small Communities, a educational software program, offers a one-stop introduction and tools to a wide range of environmental issues and decisions that affect small to medium-sized communities.

Generally speaking, L-THIA and WME were rated higher than the other tools in a number of categories including usefulness and educational quality.

The proceedings of the State workshop, including a Tool Summary and Tools Evaluation Summary are available on-line at the WDNR Community Planning and Land Use Management web site at: http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/es/science/landuse/index.htm

The Watershed Post

By: Stephanie M. Smith, Michigan State University

The Institute of Water Research at Michigan State University has a free e-newsletter that provides up-to-date information on projects related to natural resources and Geographic Information System technology in local communities and watersheds throughout the state of Michigan.

One recent article to note is the Know Your Watershed Updates: The Institute of Water Research is proud to announce the addition of statewide aerial photography to its watershed management website, “Know Your Watershed.” The new imagery allows a first-time user to pin-point a location on the map which assists in the usefulness and interpretation of the accompanying data layers. The Institute hopes that by providing this geographic tool to the public, that more watersheds will begin to consider the impacts that populations have on local water resources. Michigan State University, co-sponsors of the Midwest Spatial Decision Support Systems Partnership, is pleased to offer this tool free of charge to the public.

The Watershed Post Newsletter can be viewed at http://www.hydra.iwr.msu.edu/water/nl.asp. You can also subscribe to the free monthly e-newsletter, by contacting Stephanie M. Smith at fluker@msu.edu. As a subscriber, you will receive a monthly e-mail notifying you that the current newsletter is available.