Identifying and Measuring Amenity-Based Parcelization Patterns in Three Rural Wisconsin Townships

Abstract

The land division process, or parcelization, is considered a instrumental step in the change in rural landscapes from areas that rely on natural resource extraction to communities that package and sell the landscape itself for real estate development. The process of parcelization can have cumulative affects that ultimately alter landscape patterns. Despite a growing perception of an increased rate of parcelization in rural Wisconsin and elsewhere, the land division process has rarely been studied. Research that does look at parcelization trends only extends about twenty years back and is mainly tied to either the growing number of landowners or changes in average parcel size (Brown, 2003; Butler, 2004; LaPierre, 2005). Little attention has been given to any spatial dimension of parcel creation. Historic parcel information is stored in paper format, making it difficult to employ sophisticated spatial analysis. To overcome this, we interpreted paper plat maps and archived tax assessment rolls to accurately reconstruct historic parcel layers at various time periods utilizing Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in three rural Wisconsin communities. In addition, historic land cover and land use was also generated by interpreting archived aerial photos. Using multiple landscape ecology metrics, we documented and analyzed changes in both the parcel and physical landscape. Attaching landscape features to parcels also help us understand the extent that natural amenities influence parcelization. In this study, GIS provided the basis for the reconstruction and spatial analysis of parcelization of three townships in Columbia County, Wisconsin. By using landscape ecology principles, the spatial dynamics of parcel creation and resulting fragmentation provides a new direction in characterizing parcelization and potential land use change. While it is apparent that parcelization has occurred in each township, this research has allowed one to measure the spatial dynamics of parcel creation, something that has rarely been done before. Finally, examining the spatial pattern of parcel creation in each community and its relation to land use variables over time helps us assess the features that appear to drive parcelization. The results provide useful tools for communities looking to better understand factors that drive parcelization and to preserve large blocks of land for both habitat and farmland preservation.