Methods

Data were assembled from different collectors, names are given in metadata. Measurements were conducted by hand.

Methods

Overview: Hard copy historical plat maps of Dane County in four year intervals from 1962to 2005 were digitized and converted to a GIS format using a process known as rectification, wherebycontrol points are set such that a point placed on the scanned image takes on the coordinates of thepoint chosen from the earliest GIS dataset, which for Dane County is from 2005. After a number ofcontrol points are set, the map is assigned the coordinates of the 2005 GIS dataset. In this way,the scanned plat map is now an image file with a distinct spatial location. Since the scanned platmaps do not have any attributes associated with the parcels, the third step is to assign attributesby working backwards from the 2005 GIS dataset. This process begins by making a copy of the 2005 GISdataset, then overlaying this new layer with the rectified scanned image. A subdivision choice isidentified where the parcel lines on the GIS layer are not in agreement with the scanned plat maps.The last step is to modify the copy of the 2005 GIS layer so that it matches the underlying plat map- in effect creating a historical GIS layer corresponding to the year of the plat map. When thelines that delineate a parcel appear in the GIS file but not the plat map, the multiple smallparcels in the 2005 GIS layer are merged together to represent the pre-subdivision parcel. Thisprocess is repeated for each historical year that plat maps are available. In the end, each timeperiod-1974 through 2000 in 4 year intervals-has a GIS file with all of the spatial attributes ofthe parcels.Land Atlas - Plat Books: The Land Atlas plat books were obtained for Dane County from theMadison Public Library, Stoughton Public Library and Robinson Map Library. With these materials onloan the pages were scanned at 150ppi in grayscale format; this process took place at the RobinsonMap Library. Once scanned, these images were georeferenced based on the 2000 digital parcel map.This process of rectification was done in Russell Labs using ESRI ArcMap 9.3. Control points such asroad intersections, were chosen to accurately georeference the 1997 scanned parcel map (1973 wasdone in this way as well). This process was done using a specific ArcGIS tool(View/Toolbars/Georeferencing). For the other years the scanned images were georeferenced based offthe four corners of the 1997 georeferenced scanned images. Georeferencing off the 1997 rectifiedimage allows for easier and quicker rectification but also facilitated detection of differencesbetween the scanned plats. The scanned image of the land ownership could be turned on and off foreasy comparison to the previous time set; these differences are the changes which were made on thedigital ownership map. We scanned and digitized the following years:Scanned plats: 1958, 1962, 1968, 1973, 1978, 1981, 1985, 1989, 1993, 1997, 2001, 2005Digitized plats: 1962, 1968, 1973, 1978, 1981, 1985, 1989, 1993, 1997, 2001, 2005Prepping the parcel Map: Digital parcel shapefiles for the years 2000 and 2005 wereprovided by the Dane County Land Information Office(http://www.countyofdane.com/lio/metadata/Parcels.htm) and were used as the starting reference.These datasets needed to be prepared for use. Many single parcels were represented by multiplecontiguous polygons. These were dissolved. (Multi-part, or non-contiguous polygons were notdissolved.) Here is the process to dissolve by NAME_CONT (contact name): Many polygons do not have acontact name. The majority of Madison and other towns do not have NAME_CONT, but most large parcelsdo. In order not to dissolve all of the parcels for which NAME_CONT is blank we did the following:Open the digital parcel shapefile and go to Selection/Select by Attributes. In this window choose thecorrect layer, chose method create new selection , scroll and double click NAME_CONT, then in thebottom both make sure it says [ "NAME_CONT" <>; ] (without brackets). This will select allpolygons which do not have an empty Name Contact attribute (empty value). From those polygonsselected they were aggregated based on the Name Contact field (parcels with the same NameContact were combined), where borders were contiguous. To do this the dissolve tool in DataManagement Tool/Generalization/Dissolve was used. Dissolve on field NAME_CONT and enter everyother field into the statistical fields menu. This was done without the multipart feature optionchecked, resulting in parcels only being combined when they share border. Keep these dissolvedpolygons highlighted. Once the dissolve process is complete use select by attributes tool again butthis time choose method of Add to Current Selection and say [ "NAME_CONT" = ]. This will provide adigital layer of polygons aggregated by name as well as nameless polygons to be manuallymanipulated.Parcel Map Manipulation: The goal from here was to, as accurately as possible, recreate adigital replica of the scanned parcel map, and aggregate up parcels with the same owner. This goalof replication is in regards to the linework as opposed to the owner name or any other informationin order to accurately capture the correct area as parcel size changed. This process of movingboundaries was independent of merging parcels. If individual scanned parcel boundaries are differentfrom the overlayed digital parcel shapefile, then the digital parcel linework must be changed. Asthis project utilizes both parcel shape and area, the parcels must be accurate. When mergingparcels, parcels with the same owner name, same owner connected on the plat map with an arrow, sameowner but separated by a road, or same owner and share a same point (two lots share a single pointat the corner) were merged to create a multi-part feature. Parcels with the same owner separated byanother parcel of a different owner with no points touching where not merged. This process ofreverse digitization was done using ArcMap. The already dissolved shapefile was copied to create onefile that was a historical record and one file to be edited to become the previous year (the nextyear back in time). With the digital parcel shapefile loaded, the rectified scanned plat maps werethen added. Once open, turn on the Editor Toolbar and Start Editing . The tools to use are thesketch tool and the merge tool. Quick keys where used (editor tool bar\customize) to speed thisprocess. To edit, zoom to a comfortable level (1:12,000) and slowly move across the townships in apattern which allows no areas to be missed (easiest to go township by township). When polygonsneeded to be reconstructed (the process of redrawing the parcel boundary linework), this was doneusing the sketch tool with either the create new polygon option or cut polygon option in theeditor toolbar. Using the sketch tool, with area highlighted, you can redraw the boundaries bycutting the polygons. Areas can be merged then recut to depict the underlying parcel map. If, forexample, a new development has gone in, many small parcels can be merged together to create a bigparcel, and then that large parcel can be broken into the parcels that were originally combined toform the subdivision. We can do this because the names in the attribute are not being preserved.This is a key note: THE OWNER NAME IS NOT A VARIABLE WE ARE CREATING, PRESERVING, OR OTHERWISEREPRESENTING. Once you merge the parcels, they will only maintain one of the names (and which nameis maintained is pretty much random). After the entire county is complete, go through again to checkthe new parcel shapefile, there will be mistakes. Snake through, going across the bottom one row ofsquares at a time. Examples of mistakes include primarily multi-part features that were exploded tochange one part, where the other parts would need to be re-merged. Another common correction arosebecause we typically worked on one township at a time, whereas ownership often crossed townships, soduring this second pass, we corrected cross-township ownership at the edges of the two scannedparcel maps. Finally, some roads which had been built into parcels (driveways) needed to be removedand these were not always caught during the first pass. Once the second run through is complete copythis shapefile so that it also has a back up.

Methods

Raw data (in English units) were assembled by Douglas Clark - Wisconsin State Climatologist. Data were converted to metric units and adjusted for temporal biases by Dale M. Robertson. For adjustments applied to various parameters see Robertson, 1989 Ph.D. Thesis UW-Madison. Adjusted data represent the BEST estimated daily data and may be raw data. Data collected at Washburn observatory, 8-1-1883 to 9-30-1904. Data collected at North Hall, 10-1-1904 to 12-31-1947 Data collected at Truax Field (Admin BLDG), 1-1-1948 to 12-31-1959. Data collected at Truax Field (Center of Field), 1-1-1960 to Present. Much of the data after 1990 were obtained in digital form from Ed Hopkins, UW-Meteorology. Data starting in 2002-05 were obtained from Sullivan at <a href="http://www.weather.gov/climate/index.php?wfo=mkx%20">http://www.weather.gov/climate/index.php?wfo=mkx</a> ,then go to CF6 and download monthly data to Madison_sullivan_conversion. Since Robertson (1989) adjusted all historical data to that collected from 1884-1989; no adjustments were applied to the recent data except for (1) wind and (2) estimated vapor pressure:(1) Wind after January 1997, and only wind from the southwest after November 2007, was extended by Dale M. Robertson and Yvonne Hsieh.In 1996, a discontinuity in the wind record was caused by change in observational techniques and sensor locations (Mckee et al. 2000). To address the non-climatic changes in wind speed, data from MSN were carefully compared with those collected from the tower of the Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Building at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, see http://ginsea.aos.wisc.edu/labs/mendota/index.htm. Hourly data from both sites (UMSN,hourly and UAOS,hourly) during 2003&ndash;2010 were used to form a 4&times;12 (four components of wind direction &times; 12 months) matrix (K4,12) of wind correction factors, yielding UAOS,daily= Ki,j&times;UMSN,daily. The comparison results indicated that the MSN weather station reported a higher magnitude in winds out of the east by 5% and lower magnitude in winds out of the west and south by 30% and 10%. The adjusted wind data (=Ki,j&times;UMSN,daily) were therefore employed and used in the model simulation. After adjustments, there was a decrease in wind velocities starting shortly before 1996. Overall the adjusted wind data had a decline in wind velocities of 16% from 1988&ndash;93 to 1994&ndash;2009) compared to a 7% decline at a nearby weather station with no known observational changes (St. Charles, Illinois; 150 km southeast of Lake Mendota). (2) Estimated vapor pressure was updated (after April 2002) by using the equation from DYRESM for estimation of vapor pressure (a function of both air temperature and dew point temperature); where a=7.5, b=237.3, and c=.7858.

Methods

BOOM SHOCKING1987:A standard WDNR electrofishing boat was used on Lake Mendota set at 300 volts and 2.5 amps (mean) DC, with a 20 % duty cycle and 60 pulses per second. On all sampling dates two people netted fish, the total electrofishing crew was three people. Shocking was divided into stations. For each station, the actual starting and ending time was recorded. Starting and ending points of each station were plotted on a nap. A 7.5 minute topographic map (published 1983) and a cartometer was used to develop a standardized shoreline mileage numbering scheme. Starting at the Yahara River outlet at Tenney Park and measuring counterclockwise, the shoreline was numbered according to the number of miles from the outlet. The length of shoreline shocked for each station was determined using the same maps. The objectives of the fall 1987 electrofishing was: to gather CPE data for comparison with previous surveys of the lake; develop a database for relating fall electroshocker CPE to predator density; collect fall predator diet data; make mark-recapture population estimates of YOY predators; and determine year-class-strength of some nonpredators (yellow perch, yellow bass, and white bass).1993: Electrofishing was used to continue marking largemouth and smallmouth bass (because of low CPE in fyke nets), to recapture fish marked in fyke netting, and to mark and recapture walleyes ( less than 11.0 in.) on Lake Mendota. Four person crews electrofished after sunset from May 05 to June 03, 1993. A standard WDNR electrofishing boat was used, set at about 300 volts and 15.0 amps (mean) DC, with a 20 % duty cycle at 60 pulses per second. On all sampling dates two people netted fish; thus, CPE data are given as catch per two netter hour or mile. Shocking was divided into stations. For each station the actual starting and ending time and the generator s meter times was recorded. Starting and ending points of each station were plotted on a map. 7.5 minute topographic maps (published in 1983) were used in addition to a cartometer to develop a standardized shoreline mileage numbering scheme. Starting at the Yahara River outlet at Tenney Park and measuring counterclockwise the shoreline was numbered according to the number of miles from the outlet. The length of shoreline shocked for each station was determined using these maps. The 4 person electroshocker crews were used again from September 20 to October 19. Fall shocking had several objectives: to gather CPE data for comparison with previous surveys of the lake; develop a database for relating fall electroshocker CPE to piscivore density; and make mark recapture population estimates of young of year (YOY) piscivores.1997:5/13/1997-5/20/1997: Electrofishing was completed at night on lakes: Mendota, Monona, and Waubesa. A standard WDNR electrofishing boat was used, set from 320-420 volts and 16-22 amps DC, with a 20 % duty cycle at 50 pulses per second. Two netters were used for each shocking event. At a particular station, starting and ending times where shocking took place were recorded. The location of the designated shocking stations is unknown.9/23/1997-10/14/1997: Electrofishing was completed at night on Mendota, Monona, Waubesa, and Wingra. A standard WDNR electrofishing boat was used, set from 315-400 volts and 16-24 amps DC, with a 20% duty cycle at 60 pulses per second. Two netters were used for each shocking event. Starting and ending time at each shocking station was listed. The location of the designated shocking stations is unknown.1998:Electrofishing was completed at night on Mendota, Monona, Wingra, and Waubesa from 5/12/1998- 10/28/1998. A standard WDNR electrofishing boat was used, set from 240-410 volts and 15-22 amps DC, with a 20% duty cycle at 50-100 pulses per second. Two netters were used for each shocking event. Starting and ending time at each shocking station was listed. The location of the designated shocking stations is unknown. FYKE NETTING1987:Fyke nets were fished daily from March 17 to April 24, 1987 on Lake Mendota. The nets were constructed of 1.25 inch (stretch) mesh with a lead length of 50 ft. (a few 25 ft. leads were used). The hoop diameter was 3 ft. and the frame measured 3 ft. by 6 ft. Total length of the net was 28 ft. plus the lead length. Nets were set in 48 unknown locations. Initially, effort was concentrated around traditional northern pike spawning sites (Cherokee Marsh, Sixmile Creek, Pheasant Branch Creek, and University Bay). As northern pike catch-per-effort (CPE) declined some nets were moved onto rocky shorelines of the lake to capture walleyes. All adult predators (northern pike, hybrid muskie, largemouth and smallmouth bass, walleye, gar, bowfin, and channel catfish) captured were tagged and scale sampled. Measurements on non-predator species captured in fyke nets were made one day per week. This sampling was used to index size structure and abundance, and to collect age and growth data. In each net, total length and weight of 20 fish of each species caught was measured, and the remaining caught were counted.1993:Same methods as 1987, except fyke nets were fished from 4/8/1993-4/29/1993 on Lake Mendota. The 1993 fyke net data also specifies the &ldquo;mile&rdquo; at which the fyke net was set. This is defined as the number of miles from the outlet of the Yahara River at Tenney Park, moving counterclockwise around the lake. In addition, abundance and lengths of non-gamefish species captured in fyke nets were recorded one day per week. Six nets were randomly selected to sample for non-gamefish data. This sampling was used to index size structure and abundance, and to collect age and growth data. In each randomly selected net, total length and weight was measured for 20 fish of each species, and the remaining caught were counted.1998:There is no formal documentation for the exact methods used for fyke netting from 3/3/1998-8/12/1998 on Lake Mendota. However, given that the data is similar to data collected in 1987 and 1993 it is speculated that the same methods were used.MINI-FYKE NETTING1989:There is no formal documentation for the exact methods used for mini-fyke netting on Lake Mendota and Lake Monona from 7/26/1989-8/25/1989. However, given that the data is similar to data collected from 1990-1993 it is speculated that the same methods were used. In the sampling year of 1989, mini-fyke nets were placed at 22 different unknown stations.1990-1993: Mini-fyke nets were fished on Lake Mendota and Lake Monona during July-September at 20, 29, 13, and 15 sites per month during 1990, 1991, 1992, and 1993, respectively to estimate year-class strength, relative abundance, and size structure of fishes in the littoral zone. Nets were constructed with 3/16 in. mesh, 2 ft. diameter hoops, 2 ft. x 3 ft. frame, and a 25 ft. lead. Sites were comparable to seine sites used in previous surveys. Sites included a variety of substrate types and macrophyte densities. To exclude turtles and large piscivores from minifyke nets, some nets were constructed with approximately 2 in. by 2 in. mesh at the entrance to the net. Thus, mini-fyke net data are most accurate for YOY fishes, and should not be used to make inferences about fishes larger than the exclusion mesh size. 1997:There is no formal documentation for the mini-fyke methods which were used on Lake Waubesa and Lake Wingra from 9/16/1997-9/18/1997. However, given that the data is similar to data collected in 1989, and 1990-1993, it is speculated that the methods used during 1997 are the same. SEINE NETTING1989, 1993: Monthly shoreline seining surveys were conducted on Lake Mendota and Lake Monona during June through September to estimate year class-strength, relative abundance, and size structure of the littoral zone fish community. Twenty sites were identified based on previous studies. Sites included a variety of substrate types and macrophyte densities. Seine hauls were made with a 25ft bag seine with 1/8 inch mesh pulled perpendicular to shore starting from a depth of 1 m. Twenty fish of each species were measured from each haul and any additional fish were counted. Gill Netting (1993)Experimental gill nets were fished in weekly periods during June through August, 1993. Gill nets were used to capture piscivores for population estimates of fish marked in fyke nets. All nets were constructed of five 2.5-4.5 in. mesh panels, and were 125 ft. long. Nets set in water shallower than 10 ft. were 3ft. high or less; all others were 6ft. high or less. Sampling locations were selected randomly from up to three strata: 1) offshore reef sets, 2) inshore sets, 6.0-9.9 ft. deep, and 3) mid-depth sets, 10-29.9 ft. deep. The exact location at which the gill nets were set on the lake is unknown because the latitude and longitude values which were recorded by the WDNR are invalid. Temperature and dissolved oxygen profiles were used to monitor the development of the thermocline and guide net placement during July and August. After the thermocline was established nets were set out to the 30 ft. contour or to the maximum depth with dissolved oxygen greater than 2 ppm. Walleye Age: Scale and Spine Analysis (1987) Scales were taken from walleye that were shocked during the fall of 1987 electrofishing events on Lake Mendota. Scales were taken from 10 fish per one-inch length increment. The scales were removed from behind the left pectoral fin, and from the nape on the left side on esocids. In addition, the second dorsal spine was removed from 10 walleyes per sex and inch increment (to age and compare with scale ages for fish over 20 inches). CREEL SURVEYS1989:Fishing pressure, catch rates, harvest, and exploitation rates were estimated from a randomized, access-point creel survey. The schedule was stratified into weekday and weekend/holiday day types. Shifts were selected randomly and were either 07:00-15:00 h or 15:00-23:00 h. In addition, two 23:00-03:00 h shifts and two 03:00-07:00 h shifts were sampled per month to estimate the same parameters during night time hours. During the ice fishing season (January-February) 22 access points around Lake Mendota and upstream to the Highway 113 bridge were sampled. The clerk counted the number of anglers starting and completing trips during the scheduled stop at each access point. During openwater (March-December) 13 access points were sampled; 10 were boat ramps and 3 were popular shore fishing sites<strong>. </strong>At each of these sites, an instantaneous count of shore anglers was made upon arrival at the site, continuous counts of anglers starting and completing trips at public and private access points were made. Boat occupants and ice fishing anglers were only interviewed if they were completing a trip. Both complete and incomplete interviews were made of shore anglers. Number caught and number kept of each species, and percent of time seeking a particular species were recorded. All predators possessed by anglers were measured, weighed, and inspected for finclips and tags. We measured a random sample of at least 20 fish of each non-predator species per day.1990-1993: Same as 1989, except 23 access points were used during the ice fishing season. In addition, 13 access points were sampled during the openwater (May-December) season; 9 sites were boat ramps and 4 sites were popular shore fishing sites. 1994-1999: No formal documentation exists, but given the similarity in the data and consistency through the years; it is speculated tha tthe methods are the same.