ArcView Tutorial 2: Creating Access Maps

Adding Land Status from MTPS

This is where a bit of work comes in.  First you must obtain the BLM Master Title Plats (MTPs) from the DNR records room.  These MTPs are based on townships, and the table below shows you which ones you will need.  These are included in the notebook.

It is generally easiest to color the parcels first on paper and depending on how complicated the map is, cut them out and tape them together.  We won't be using the digitizer to put the parcels in .. instead we will freehand them.  As was mentioned in the previous sections, DNR's land status coverage is based on the section level. MTPs show actual surveys so a more accurate depiction is possible.

1. Obtain copies of MTPs, including supplemental plats if available.

2. Activate the township theme and drag it to the top of the list (display first).

3. Create a new shape file for the MTP data.  View; New Theme; Polygon and save in you home folder as mtp.shp

4. Zoom into the mouth of the Karluk River.  There are private parcels located there that must be added to mtp.shp.  Activate and select mtp.shp and Theme; Start Editing.  The draw polygon tool  can be found in the drawing button, which should be the last on the right on the bottom toolbar.  Clicking the arrow on the bottom right corner of the button will make the button expand to a bar.  Choose the pac-man-ish button .  Now you can begin to draw in the polygons, using left button clicks to add points and doubleclicking when done.  You can utilize the right button zoom in/zoom out and pan buttons to move around while you are creating polygons.

5. Now tabular data will be added for each polygon you create.  Edit; Add Field will allow you to add a column to the table - in this case we will add a column for land ownership and one for the ADL number.  This information can be brought up later by simply clicking on the polygon in the View.  

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