GIS technology helps SWCD monitor buffer compliance

By Reed Anfinson
Publisher
Swift County Monitor-News
With nearly 1,800 parcels of land in Swift County required to adhere to the state buffer law, checking on them all in person would be an immense task. While some can be viewed from the road, others require walking quite a ways to visually see if they are in place and the proper width.

However, now the Swift County Soil and Water District (SWCD) has a tool handy that greatly improves the speed and accuracy with which buffer compliance can be checked.

Aerial imagery gathered this past spring has been uploaded into the Swift County Geographical Information System (GIS). With the tools available with the GIS, SWCD District Manager Andy Albertson can measure to the foot on his computer the width of a buffer...
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