Wisconsin officials creating new land cover map

MADISON (AP) — Cartographers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are working with the Department of Natural Resources to update the state's land cover map.

The team will create a new map with a focus on establishing a better way to manage the deer population throughout the state. Mutlu Ozdogan, an associate professor at UW-Madison, says satellite data will be used to describe the physical landscape. The map will tell whether there is forest, water, wetland or a different environment in any given area of the state.

Bob Nack of the state Department of Natural Resources says some of the land cover data on the current map is outdated because it's more than 20 years old. He says land is transformed over time as it changes hands between owners.