The AFO Siting Atlas was recently updated to improve functionality and accuracy, add layers and include new drawing tools.

Developed in 2005, the AFO Siting Atlas helps livestock and poultry producers determine the best site for an animal feeding operation, expansion or modification. The siting atlas gives a quick overview of landscape features that must be considered when planning construction. Users can find the locations of alluvial soils, alluvial aquifers, karst topography, sinkholes, wells, surface waters, slopes and public lands.

Only roads and DNR field office boundaries will show when first opening the atlas. Zoom in to see current AFO locations. Click on Map Layers on the left, to turn on other layers. For first-time users, zoom in and click on a point, and a pop-up appears on the right showing estimated distances to landscape features such as major water sources.

The February updates included:

• Improved measuring tool accuracy.
• Added a search function for townships.
• Added drawing tools to draw buffers of a specified radius or radii around a point, circle, ellipse, rectangle or polygon.
• Added watershed boundaries.