Need Help Planning? Planning Guidebooks & Brochures

This page provides links to a variety of publications and related resources that can assist you in your local planning efforts.

Guidebooks

• Planning for Natural Resources: A Guide to Including Natural Resources in Local Comprehensive Planning [PDF 885KB]

  This guidebook provides information on incorporating natural resource issues into each of the nine comprehensive planning elements. It is intended to help provide an understanding of how natural resources interact with other planning considerations such as housing, transportation, intergovernmental cooperation, land use, etc.

  Order hardcopy as Other/Miscellaneous Publication #964

Other Guidebooks

Several state agencies and their planning partners have prepared guidebooks and brochures to provide information and to assist citizens and communities in preparing the various elements of a local comprehensive plan. You will find links to these guidebooks through the Department of Administration.

• Comprehensive Plan Element Guidebooks [exit DNR]

Brochures

• Using Computer Tools to Find the INFORMATION You Need [PDF 1MB]

  Order hardcopy as Other/Miscellaneous Publication #1000

• Using Computer Tools to Find the MAPS You Need [PDF 1MB]
  

  Order hardcopy as Other/Miscellaneous Publication #1001

• Land-Use Lingo: A Glossary of Land-Use Terms. [PDF 1.4MB .pdf file]
  

  Click Here! for the Interactive Online Version of Land-Use Lingo

• Natural Resources and Their Place within Comprehensive Planning [exit DNR]
• A Sound Land Use Vision and Natural Resources Planning [PDF 135KB]
• Wisconsin´s Comprehensive Planning Legislation: What It Means for Wildlife [PDF 208KB]
• Smart Forestry for Smart Growth [PDF 571KB]
• Agriculture and Land Use. Why Farmers Need to Care About Comprehensive Planning [PDF 107KB]
  

  This brochure describes the relationship between farming and land use. Communities all over Wisconsin are preparing Comprehensive Plans and it is important that farmers become involved with the planning process. Participation is the key to getting farming issues included into ´Smart Growth´ plans.

• Brownfields and Comprehensive Planning [PDF 106KB]
  

  This brochure describes how brownfields fit into comprehensive planning and lists evaluation and promotion tools available to the public.

• Groundwater and its Role in Comprehensive Planning [PDF 690KB]
• Resources to Help You Protect Your Drinking Water Supply [PDF 200KB]
• Residential Development and Groundwater Resources [PDF 435KB]
• Water Supply System Information and Maps in Comprehensive Plans [PDF 266KB]
  

  This brochure provides alternatives for protecting sensitive infrastructure information in public documents while complying with Wisconsin´s Open Records Law.

Other Planning Publications

Several state agencies have worked together to produce a Directory of State Agency Resources for Comprehensive Planning that includes many planning-related documents, maps, data sources, and other resources. You'll find this directory at the Department of Administration´s Web site.

• Directory of State Agency Resources for Comprehensive Planning [exit DNR PDF]
• Hiring a Planning Consultant book[exit DNR PDF 262KB]
  

  If your community is considering hiring a planning consultant to help prepare a comprehensive plan, this 64-page guidebook is for you. While geared primarily toward small communities, the book should be helpful to all communities preparing a "Request for Proposals" or hiring a planning consultant.

• Hiring a Planning Consultant brochure [exit DNR 150KB]
  

  The University of Wisconsin-Extension´s Land Use Education Center produced this 8-page brochure "Hiring a Planning Consultant: A Guide to Preparing a Request for Proposals (G3751)"

• Sample Agreement [exit DNR PDF 81KB]
  

  The Wisconsin Towns Association has prepared a "Sample Agreement for Consultant Services for Developing a Comprehensive Plan." It is offered for use as an educational tool only.

The Wisconsin DNR has produced several publications that can aid citizens and communities in their plan implementation efforts. Some of these related to the "Agricultural, Natural, and Cultural Resources" element include:

• Managing Habitat for Grassland Birds: A Guide for Wisconsin [Exit DNR]
  

  Order hardcopy as Other/Miscellaneous Publication #925

• Wetland Restoration Handbook for Wisconsin Landowners [PDF]
  

  Order hardcopy as Other/Miscellaneous Publication #989

• Building the Big Picture: Identifying Wetland Management Opportunities in the Milwaukee River Basin [PDF]
• The Definition and Mapping of Environmental Corridors by Three Regional Planning Commissions [PDF]
  

  Order hardcopy as Research/Management Findings #47

• Protecting and Restoring Shorelands [PDF]
  

  (Note: other resources on shoreland restoration are available on the DNR´s Shoreland Management Program Web site.)