Release Notes

• Improvements
• Summary of Application Functionality
• System/Computer Requirements
• List of Known Issues/Future Improvements

Improvements

Based on feedback we have received from DNR staff and the Application Development Team, we have implemented a number of improvements to the NHI Portal DNR Intranet Application.

The most significant changes in this release include new "Select by feature" functions to search by selecting a DNR property boundary or by delineating a free-form (multi-sided) polygon, and a new user interface for interacting with the map and activating the new search tools. Also, query performance has been improved.

New User Interface

New Interactive map tool interface - the new tool bar features the new polygon digitizing and feature selection tools (described below). You may “mouse over” each tool to get a brief description.

The Geographic Search Page has been reorganized. This page now contains new options for searching by State Natural Areas and DNR Managed Lands. The Town/Range/Section Search function (previously labeled as “Tabular”) on this page now automatically opens an interactive map window and displays the search area.

New Functions

Use an existing feature as your project area. This "Select by feature" function can be implemented in three ways:

• Interactive map Feature Select Tool This tool works by specifying the feature source (DNR property, State Natural Area, or watershed), then clicking in the map on a feature whose boundary you want to search with.
• Interactive map Identify Tool In the interactive map window, specify the “active” layer in the Layers tab that you want to find information about (you might need to zoom is some for it to be displayed); click the Identify tool to make it active; then click on a feature in the map to view more information about it. If the active layer is the DNR Managed Lands, State Natural Areas, or 24K Watersheds layer, you will see a button named “Select by these Features. Click the button to search using the identified feature.
• From the Geographic Search Page, select a State Natural Area or DNR managed land feature by name and use it to initiate a search. The Results and Map windows will be opened automatically.

Free-form Polygon Digitizing Tool This tool lets you click as many times as desire to define a search perimeter (i.e. polygon). Double-click to finish the polygon.

The Search by Town/Range/Section function on the Geographic Search page now automatically opens an interactive map window and shows the search area.

The "Results" menu option now regenerates and opens the Results window even if it was previously closed.

You can now select and zoom to the extent of a DNR Managed Land property using the map’s "Zoom To..." tab.

Data Related Issues

• Selecting with DNR Managed Lands and State Natural Areas: Caution! Land acquisitions are not immediately reflected in the DNR Managed Lands boundary layer. When using the feature selection tools, double-check the property boundaries to ensure they are representative of the area you want to search for. You can use the polygon digitizing tool if necessary.
• Selecting with DNR Managed Lands and State Natural Areas: note that some designated State Natural Areas are owned by DNR and will also be represented in the DNR Managed Lands layer. The boundaries may not always be identical.
• Gray Wolf screening guidance is now available from this page [PDF 46KB].

Known Issues

• Resizing the map window causes Project and Buffer graphics to disappear.
• Manually changing the active layer in table of contents (Layers tab) does not change the Select by Feature tool to the appropriate feature source.
• Queries using large property boundaries (e.g. Brule, NHAL) may time out and therefore not return query results..
• The map and results pages will not be generated until user responds to the project title dialog.

Summary of Application Functionality

This section outlines some of the basic functionality that the NHI Portal Application delivers. The main function of the NHI portal is to allow Users to conduct Database Queries on NHI data.

Geographic Area Search

• There is a Tabular Geographic Search, which allows the user to type in a Township, Range and Section and see the records from the project area, a 1-mile buffer as well as all the waterbodies that fall within 2 miles of the project site. The search also returns place-based information including the basin and ecological landscape.
• The Mapping Geographic Search lets the user select a location from a webmapping interface by area or line. As above, the application returns NHI data and place-based information for the appropriate screening buffer areas. A results set is generated and reports can be printed along with a map of the project area and buffers.
• There is also a General Search by area, which allows the user to find the records known from the County or Hydrologic Unit.

Element Search

• The user can also search the data for a particular element (species or natural community) they are interested in, and print out a report.
• The user can specify a number of other search criteria including: state or federal legal status, heritage state or global rank, or element (taxonomic) group.

Portal Output

• The application allows the user to print out summary and, detailed. The user can also download Microsoft Excel (.xls) files of the data.
• The user can also create maps of the project area and print them or save them as graphics files.

System/Computer Requirements

In order for Users to access the NHI Portal application, they must have:

• A Wisconsin Web Access Management System (WAMS) ID,
• Microsoft Internet Explorer,
• Internet access, and
• Be authorized by the Endangered Resources Planning & Protection Specialist

List of Known Issues/Future Improvements

There are a number of known issues with the software and functions that are not yet implemented. There are also a number of future improvements that DNR staff have suggested and provided as comments. Some fixes to bugs and improvement will be handled as staff time and budget allow. Below is a list of some of the main issues. For a more complete list of work we are planning on conducting.

• This site is best viewed in Microsoft Internet Explorer. We have recently found some incompatibility issues with the mapping portion of the NHI Portal when using Mozilla Firefox. We are working on a solution. In the meantime, you may use Mozilla Firefox but you will need to do your data search through the Geographic Area search rather than through the Portal Mapping.

• A number of staff recommended that additional GIS layers be added to the application. At this time the Wisconsin Wetlands Inventory layer and the Soils Layer are not available for use in the portal as they are not statewide layers. We are working on getting the utility lines layer into the Portal.

• Metadata: the metadata links in the mapping application are not working at this time.