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This page last updated: 04/11/2007
Metadata created using Minnesota Geographic Metadata Guidelines
| Originator | Minnesota Land Management Information Center (LMIC), Minnesota Planning |
| Abstract | This data set was created from surveys of state-owned timber conducted by the Minnesota Board of Timber Commissioners between 1895-1905. The surveys were conducted for a number of public land survey sections scattered throughout the forested northern half of Minnesota, mostly comprising school, indemnity school and swamp lands. The paper records consist of approximately 2,500 pages, with plat maps and assessments indicating the extent, value and condition of timber resources for each section. Each page has a map of one PLS section accompanied by text answers to 13 standard questions about timber species, product volumes, access and susceptibility to fire. The surveyors were instructed to trace swamps, roads and lakes on the section map; occasionally, they also made supplemental text notes directly on the maps. In addition to information about tree species and volume, the surveyors often noted the location of cultural features such as sawmills. Some sections were resurveyed several times as different tree species became commercially important or as surveyors needed to assess damage from natural or human causes. The amount of detail and completeness varies from survey to survey since they were conducted by a number of people over a period of time. In addition, the resurveys often noted only what had changed and thus did not include a map or complete answers to the 13 questions. The information on the paper records has been captured in several digital formats: 1. non-georeferenced scans; 2. geo-referenced scans; 3. vector files of the polygons, lines and points on the maps; and 4. a database of the text information accompanying the maps. This metadata record applies to both the non-georeferenced and georeferenced scanned images. |
| Browse Graphic | View a sample of the data. |
| Time Period of Content Date | 1900 |
| Currentness Reference | 1895 - 1905 |
| Access Constraints | None |
| Use Constraints | Redistribution Conditions: In obtaining these data, it is understood that you and/or your organization have the right to use them for any internal purpose. If you modify them, you should document those changes in a metadata record that should accompany all redistributed data. If you transmit or provide these data in any form to another user, the data MUST be accompanied by a copy of LMIC's disclaimer NOTICE.TXT and all documentation provided with the original data set including the full metadata record. |
| Distributor Organization | Minnesota Historical Society |
| Ordering Instructions | Three CD set available at no charge. Contact distributor. For errors discovered after the CDs were made, corrected files will be posted for free download at: ftp://ftp.lmic.state.mn.us/pub/data/phys_biol/landuse/mhs_timber/ |
| Online Linkage | none available |
Go to Section:
1. Identification Information
2. Data Quality Information
3. Spatial Data Organization Information
4. Spatial Reference Information
5. Entity and Attribute Information
6. Distribution Information
7. Metadata Reference Information
| Section 1 | Identification Information | Top of page | ||
| Originator | Minnesota Land Management Information Center (LMIC), Minnesota Planning | |||
| Title | Reports of Estimates and Appraisals of the Timber Commissioners Board, 1895-1905: Image Format | |||
| Abstract | This data set was created from surveys of state-owned timber conducted by the Minnesota Board of Timber Commissioners between 1895-1905. The surveys were conducted for a number of public land survey sections scattered throughout the forested northern half of Minnesota, mostly comprising school, indemnity school and swamp lands. The paper records consist of approximately 2,500 pages, with plat maps and assessments indicating the extent, value and condition of timber resources for each section. Each page has a map of one PLS section accompanied by text answers to 13 standard questions about timber species, product volumes, access and susceptibility to fire. The surveyors were instructed to trace swamps, roads and lakes on the section map; occasionally, they also made supplemental text notes directly on the maps. In addition to information about tree species and volume, the surveyors often noted the location of cultural features such as sawmills. Some sections were resurveyed several times as different tree species became commercially important or as surveyors needed to assess damage from natural or human causes. The amount of detail and completeness varies from survey to survey since they were conducted by a number of people over a period of time. In addition, the resurveys often noted only what had changed and thus did not include a map or complete answers to the 13 questions. The information on the paper records has been captured in several digital formats: 1. non-georeferenced scans; 2. geo-referenced scans; 3. vector files of the polygons, lines and points on the maps; and 4. a database of the text information accompanying the maps. This metadata record applies to both the non-georeferenced and georeferenced scanned images. |
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| Purpose | Purpose of the Original Surveys: The original paper surveys were undertaken to provide the Board of Timber Commissioners with information it needed to manage timber on state lands. The Board was created by the Minnesota state legislature in 1895 and was composed of the governor, the state auditor and state treasurer. Its overall charge was the care, conservation and sale of state timber. Most of this timber was situated on school, indemnity school and swamp lands. It accomplished these functions by issuing permits to cut timber on state lands, receiving settlements for other types of authorized timber cutting, determining and penalizing instances of illegal cutting (timber trespass), and coordinating with the Surveyor General of Logs and Lumber to appraise the logs actually harvested. The law required a current (within three years) estimate and appraisal of timber prior to the issuance of a cutting permit and specified the information that was to be recorded. Timber estimators were to personally enter their reports of these examinations into a book kept by the land commissioner, to be known as the record of appraisals and to constitute 'the original record of such examinations, estimates and appraisals.' These paper records reflect the difficulties government faced in the oversight of disparate and scattered parcels of land, as well as the haphazard nature of 19th century record keeping. Within that context, the Reports of Estimates and Appraisals of the Timber Commissioners Board represent the most coherent, accurate and broadest data set available. As such, they can serve as a benchmark against which to measure other collections. Ideally, as other data sets are identified and digitized, they can together establish a critical mass of information that will allow the comparative analysis of the environment in Minnesota across time, from the 1850s to the present. Purpose of the Digital Data The digital data sets were created in several formats in order to make the paper information accessible to a wide range of applications. The original non-georeferenced scans are available as records of exactly what the surveyor recorded and for use as illustration. The georeferenced scans can also be used as illustration or as a backdrop to other georeferenced data. The vector and database information can be used in geographic information systems, and the database information can also be analyzed with database or spreadsheet software. Historical timber information can be used to build an understanding of presettlement vegetation. The volumes of forest products, i.e., board feet, logs, post and ties, can provide valuable quantitative information. When this data is used with other sources, such as bearing trees, a picture of the landscape can emerge. In addition, this data provides information on infrastructure features such as houses, saw mills and roads. |
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| Time Period of Content Date | 1900 | |||
| Currentness Reference | 1895 - 1905 | |||
| Progress | Complete | |||
| Maintenance and Update Frequency | Corrections made as needed. Revised files will be posted for free download at: ftp://ftp.lmic.state.mn.us/pub/data/phys_biol/landuse/mhs_timber/ | |||
| Spatial Extent of Data | The NE forested area of MN. Counties containing at least one surveyed section: Aitkin, Becker, Beltrami, Carlton, Cass, Clearwater, Cook, Crow Wing, Hubbard, Itasca, Kanabec, Koochiching, Lake, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Pine, St. Louis, Todd and Wadena. | |||
| Bounding Coordinates | -95.7 -89.9 48.6 45.9 |
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| Place Keywords | Minnesota, Aitkin, Becker, Beltrami, Carlton, Cass, Clearwater, Cook, Crow Wing, Hubbard, Itasca, Kanabec, Koochiching, Lake, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Pine, St. Louis, Todd, Wadena. | |||
| Theme Keywords | biota, Timber, Timberland, Lumber, Logs, Forest, Trees, Presettlement Vegetation, Historical Vegetation, Land Cover | |||
| Theme Keyword Thesaurus | ISO 19115 Topic Category | |||
| Access Constraints | None | |||
| Use Constraints | Redistribution Conditions: In obtaining these data, it is understood that you and/or your organization have the right to use them for any internal purpose. If you modify them, you should document those changes in a metadata record that should accompany all redistributed data. If you transmit or provide these data in any form to another user, the data MUST be accompanied by a copy of LMIC's disclaimer NOTICE.TXT and all documentation provided with the original data set including the full metadata record. | |||
| Contact Person Information | Norman W. Anderson,
GIS Applications Manager Minnesota Land Management Information Center (LMIC) 658 Cedar Street, 300 Centennial Building St. Paul, MN 55155 Phone: 651-201-2483 FAX: 651-296-3698 E-mail: clearing.house@state.mn.us | |||
| Browse Graphic | View a sample of the data. | |||
| Browse Graphic File Description | Sample scan of Township 47N, Range 25W, Section 36 in Aitkin County | |||
| Associated Data Sets | 1. Vector files digitized from the timber record maps: http://www.lmic.state.mn.us/chouse/metadata/tmbr_vec.html and a database of the information from the timber record: http://www.lmic.state.mn.us/chouse/metadata/tmbr_db.html 2. The original paper records of the timber surveys are held at the State Archives Department, Minnesota Historical Society. Minnesota Board of Timber Commissioners. Reports of Estimates and Appraisals, 1895-1905. Minnesota Historical Society. State Archives Microfilm 271. Library Minnesota Historical Society 345 Kellogg Blvd. W St. Paul, MN 55102 651-296-2143 www.mnhs.org/library/about/index.html 3. Control Point Generated PLS: The Dept. of Natural Resources' 1:24,000-scale public land survey layer detailed to the quarter-quarter PLS section and government lot level. See http://deli.dnr.state.mn.us/metadata/full/pls40ne3.html 4. Bearing Trees: a point database showing bearing trees used as references or landmarks during the original Minnesota Public Land Survey. See http://deli.dnr.state.mn.us/metadata/full/btreept3.html 5. Presettlement Vegetation of Minnesota: a data set based on Marschner's original analysis of Public Land Survey notes and landscape patterns. See http://deli.dnr.state.mn.us/metadata/full/prvegpy1.html |
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| Section 2 | Data Quality Information | Top of full metadata | Top of page | |
| Attribute Accuracy | The surveyors did not use symbology consistently to identify features. A single surveyor might even have changed his symbology through time. Some unlabelled areas can be confusing. In many cases, the surveyor reviewed only the quarter-quarter section that he was required to survey, and thus the unlabelled area would likely be 'undefined'. In other cases, it was clear that the surveyor reviewed the entire section by identifying lowland, lakes and rivers; the unlabelled area would likely be 'upland'. A significant number of the maps were somewhere in between and the surveyor's intent is not clear. In the initial survey of a section, any area that does not have a polygon can be considered undefined in most cases. |
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| Logical Consistency | N/A | |||
| Completeness | About half the images did not contain point, line or polygon data. Usually these were resurveys done when property conditions changed, for example, due to fire or logging; some sections were surveyed up to five times in the time period of the report. Re-surveys generally only noted what had changed and typically contained text information written in the map area, such as timber product volumes or land ownership, as well as varying amounts of text information from questions 1 - 13 on the report form. | |||
| Horizontal Positional Accuracy | 1. All georeferenced images that contained point, line or polygon information were in the background of a check print used to proof the vector data; DNR Control Point PLS data was also printed in the background. [this caught positional errors?] 2. A 1% [5%?] random sample of georeferenced files, whether or not they had vector data, were checked to verify that the clipped image fit within the DNR Control Point PLS data. [on-screen or paper checkplot?] 3. The file sizes of the remaining georeferenced images (those without vector data that had not been reviewed in check #2) were examined to ensure that they fell within an acceptable range. [what did this catch?] Some positional error may have been introduced during the onscreen registration and rectification process (see Lineage). Due to PLS surveying irregularities, such as extended lot lines, it was sometimes difficult to determine which reference point to use in the process of rectification. In addition, the task was repetitive and thus the accuracy of clicking on the control points likely varied. Checks #1 and #2 above caught [some? most?] of this error; the files that did not undergo these checks may still contain some error. |
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| Vertical Positional Accuracy | Not applicable | |||
| Lineage | The Timberland Survey Records data set was developed at LMIC for the Minnesota Historical Society. Funding was provided by the Minnesota Future Resources Fund as recommended by the Legislative Commission on Minnesota Resources. Original 'Processed' Images: A total of 2,506 pages were scanned from the four volumes (A, B1, B2 & C) of the report by Perfect Image of Kirkland, WA. The approximately 12 inch x 18 inch pages were scanned at 800 ppi (pixels per inch) by a roll feed scanner. Each image is named after its volume and page. Perfect Image then despeckled and rotated the images. Despeckling was done at a low level to produce a cleaner image by removing artifacts often introduced in the scanning process. When necessary, images were rotated to create a 'straight' page. An angle could be introduced in the images during the scanning process when each page was manually fed into the scanner. All scanned images were printed and compared to the original paper record to verify that the scanning was of acceptable quality and that the files were named correctly. Georeferenced Images: LMIC created these images from the original 'processed' images. The processed images were georeferenced to the DNR PLS county data using ESRI's Arc/Info REGISTER and RECTIFY commands. Typically the section was georeferenced by matching the four image section corners to the corresponding corners in the PLS data. This is a visual process and the 'on screen' representation was maximized on the computer monitor to produce the best fit. Two products were created: 1. a geo-referenced full page and 2. a geo-referenced image of just the section map, i.e., a clipped full page. |
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| Source Scale Denominator | 13300 | |||
| Section 3 | Spatial Data Organization Information | Top of full metadata | Top of page | |
| Native Data Set Environment | Arc/Info, Version 8.0.2 | |||
| Geographic Reference for Tabular Data | Township, Range, Direction and Section | |||
| Spatial Object Type | Vector | |||
| Vendor Specific Object Types | Arc, Polygon, Node & Label Point | |||
| Tiling Scheme | PLS Section | |||
| Section 4 | Spatial Reference Information | Top of full metadata | Top of page | |
| Horizontal Coordinate Scheme | UTM | |||
| Ellipsoid | GRS80 | |||
| Horizontal Datum | NAD83 | |||
| Horizontal Units | Meters | |||
| Distance Resolution | ||||
| Altitude Datum | Not applicable | |||
| Altitude Units | Not applicable | |||
| Depth Datum | Not applicable | |||
| Depth Units | Not applicable | |||
| UTM Zone Number | 15E | |||
| Section 5 | Entity and Attribute Information | Top of full metadata | Top of page | |
| Entity and Attribute Overview | LMIC consulted with Dr. Rod Squires from the University of Minnesota Dept. of Geography to translate the following abbreviations and codes used on the maps (this may not be a comprehensive list): c., ced = Cedar cd, cds = Cord(s) IS = Indemnity School M = Thousand Board Feet not pat = Not Patented r.r. = Railroad S, SW = Swamp Land SCH = School Land SI = State Institutional t.t. = Tamarac(k) Ties U = University Land UM = ?? University of Minnesota Note: The meaning of check marks that the surveyors put on the maps is not clear. |
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| Entity and Attribute Detailed Citation | ||||
| Section 6 | Distribution Information | Top of full metadata | Top of page | |
| Publisher | Minnesota Land Management Information Center (LMIC) | |||
| Publication Date | 06/2001 | |||
| Contact Person Information | Robert Horton Head of State Archives, State Archivist Minnesota Historical Society 345 Kellogg Blvd. West St. Paul, MN 55102-1906 Phone: 651-215-5866 FAX: 651-296-9961 E-mail: robert.horton@mnhs.org |
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| Distributor's Data Set Identifier | tmbr_img - Timber Inventory - Images | |||
| Distribution Liability | DISTRIBUTION LIABILITY STATEMENT For data delivered on-line or by physical media by The Land Management Information Center or the Minnesota Historical Society Limitations: Although extensive effort has been made to produce error free and complete data, all geographic information has limitations due to the scale, resolution, date and interpretation of the original source materials. You should consult available data documentation (metadata) for these particular data to determine their limitations and the precision to which they depict distance, direction, location or other geographic characteristics. These data may be subject to periodic change without prior notification. No Warranty: These data are provided as is, without any warranty whatsoever, including but not limited to any warranty as to their performance, merchantability, or fitness for any particular purpose. Liability: The entire risk as to the results of the use of these data is assumed by the user. LMIC and MHS are not responsible for any interpretation or conclusions based on these data made by those who acquire or use it. LMIC and MHS shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, special, incidental, compensatory or consequential damages or third party claims resulting from the use of these data, even if LMIC or MHS has been advised of the possibility of such potential loss or damage. In States that do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, you may not use these data. Redistribution Conditions: In obtaining these data from LMIC or MHS, it is understood that you and/or your organization have the right to use them for any internal purpose. If you modify them, you should document those changes in a metadata record that should accompany all redistributed data. If you transmit or provide these data in any form to another user, the data MUST be accompanied by a copy of this disclaimer and all documentation provided with the original data set including the full metadata record. Data Delivered on Electronic Media: If these data have been requested from LMIC or MHS on magnetic media, CD-ROM or any other physical media, LMIC or MHS will deliver this product in the computer-readable format agreed upon with the requestor. LMIC or MHS will re-issue these data if they are determined unreadable by correctly adjusted computer input devices, or when the medium is delivered in a damaged condition. Requests for re-issue of this digital data product must be made within 30 days of the date shipped from LMIC or MHS. |
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| Transfer Format Name | ESRI's ArcInfo export or ArcView shapefile | |||
| Transfer Format Version Number | 8.0.2 | |||
| Transfer Size | 9.7 mb (Access); 10.8 mb (Excel); 2.3 mb (comma-delimited) | |||
| Ordering Instructions | Three CD set available at no charge. Contact distributor. For errors discovered after the CDs were made, corrected files will be posted for free download at: ftp://ftp.lmic.state.mn.us/pub/data/phys_biol/landuse/mhs_timber/ |
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| Online Linkage | none available | |||
| Section 7 | Metadata Reference Information | Top of full metadata | Top of page | |
| Metadata Date | 04/11/2007 | |||
| Contact Person Information | Norman W. Anderson,
GIS Applications Manager Minnesota Land Management Information Center (LMIC) 658 Cedar Street, 300 Centennial Building St. Paul, MN 55155 Phone: 651-201-2483 FAX: 651-296-3698 E-mail: clearing.house@state.mn.us |
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| Metadata Standard Name | Minnesota Geographic Metadata Guidelines | |||
| Metadata Standard Version | 1.2 | |||
| Metadata Standard Online Linkage | http://www.lmic.state.mn.us/gc/stds/metadata.htm | |||
This page last updated: 04/11/2007