Mapping Massachusetts Wetlands

Abstract

Government mapping programs have often been cost ineffective because of the repetition of incompatible and redundant mapping efforts at the conclusion of which the resultant maps are often not available for reuse or are not applicable to other purposes. These conclusions are drawn from a critical review of a mapping program which has evolved into the development of a wetlands restriction program for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, mandated by statute and administered by a state agency. The subject mapping program has evolved from a process of annotation directly on contact prints of aerial photographs to the production of ground-controlled orthophoto maps prepared to National Map Accuracy Standards, but the purposes of the programs have not yet been achieved. The program is at a standstill while the subject of litigation in the courts of Massachusetts and of thorough review by the Massachusetts Attorney General.