Metadata for Montana Cadastral Framework Metadata for Montana Cadastral Framework
Identification Information:
Citation:
Originator: Montana State Library
Originator: Montana Department of Revenue
Originator: Flathead County
Originator: Missoula County
Originator: Ravalli County
Originator: Silver Bow County
Originator: Yellowstone County
Publication date: 12/03/2024
Title: Montana Cadastral Framework
Publication place: Helena, MT
Publisher: Montana State Library
Other citation details:
Online linkage is for the individual county databases can be found at:
Online linkage: http://ftpgeoinfo.msl.mt.gov/Data/Spatial/MSDI/Cadastral/Parcels
Larger Work Citation:
Originator: Montana State Library
Publication date: 12/03/2024
Title: Montana Parcels ArcGIS Server Map Service
Online linkage: https://mslservices.mt.gov/Geographic_Information/Data/DataList/datalist_Details.aspx?did={b2b3c906-8c40-4a9f-980e-48680a23c165}

Abstract:
The Montana Cadastral Framework shows the taxable parcels and tax-exempt parcels for most of Montana. The parcels contain selected information such as owner names, property and owner addresses, assessed value, agricultural use, and tax district information that were copied from the Montana Department of Revenue's ORION tax appraisal database. The data are maintained by the MT Department of Revenue, except for Ravalli, Silver Bow, Missoula, Flathead and Yellowstone counties that are maintained by the individual counties. The Revenue and county data are integrated by Montana State Library staff. Each parcel contains an attribute called ParcelID (geocode) that is the parcel identifier. View a pdf map of the counties that were updated this month here: http://ftpgeoinfo.msl.mt.gov/Data/Spatial/MSDI/Cadastral/Parcels/Statewide/MonthlyCadastralUpdateMap.pdf

The parcel boundaries were aligned to fit with the Bureau of Land Management Geographic Coordinate Database (GCDB) of public land survey coordinates. Parcels whose legal descriptions consisted of aliquot parts of the public land survey system were created from the GCDB coordinates by selecting and, when necessary, subdividing public land survey entities. Other parcels were digitized from paper maps and the data from each map were transformed to fit with the appropriate GCDB boundaries.
Purpose:
Land ownership information that is tied to the Montana Department of Revenue's ORION database and available for a variety of mapping and query purposes.

Time period of content:
Calendar date: 12/03/2024
Currentness reference: publication date
Status:
Progress: In work
Maintenance and update frequency: Continually
Access constraints: None
Use constraints:
State law (Montana Code Annotated 2-6-1017) prohibits public agencies from distributing or selling a distribution list without first securing the permission of those on the list; and prohibits a list of persons prepared by a public agency from being used as a distribution list without first securing the permission of those on the list except by that agency. State law does not prevent an individual from compiling a distribution list by examination of records that are otherwise open to public inspection. These data do not constitute a legal survey. Inaccuracies exist with both the parcel boundaries and the attribute data; when seeking the definitive description of real property, consult the deed recorded at the local county courthouse. The Montana State Library provides this product/service for informational purposes only. The Library did not produce it for, nor is it suitable for legal, engineering, or surveying purposes. Consumers of this information should review or consult the primary data and information sources to ascertain the viability of the information for their purposes. The Library provides these data in good faith but does not represent or warrant its accuracy, adequacy, or completeness. In no event shall the Library be liable for any incorrect results or analysis; any direct, indirect, special, or consequential damages to any party; or any lost profits arising out of or in connection with the use or the inability to use the data or the services provided. The Library makes these data and services available as a convenience to the public, and for no other purpose. The Library reserves the right to change or revise published data and/or services at any time.
Point of contact:
Montana State Library
P.O. Box 201800
Helena, Montana 59620


Telephone: 406-444-5354
TDD/TTY telephone: Montana Relay 711
Fax: 406-444-0266
E-Mail: geoinfo@mt.gov


Contact instructions: e-mail contact is preferred
Data set credit:
The data were made possible by a public/private partnership including the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, several state agencies, local governments, The Montana Power Company, Montana/Dakota Utilities, and Burlington Northern Sante Fe Railroad. Most data are being maintained by staff of the Montana Department of Revenue (DOR).
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Data Quality Information:
Attribute accuracy report:
Attributes were complete when returned to ISD from vendor (see data creation process in process steps). We can not verify that these attributes will remain complete when the data is in maintenance.

Logical consistency report: Databases checked for standardization
Completeness report:
There are known unresolved parcels in some townships. As township level metadata becomes available these known omissions will be documented. Until then the data should be considered 99 percent complete.


Horizontal Positional Accuracy Report:
Please refer to the GCDB reference in the abstract. The data can't be more accurate than the GCDB township from which it was developed. Positional accuracy of GCDB townships vary based on the number and quality of surveys and control points. To find the positional accuracy of a GCDB township, one can download the file from their website and examine the .pgc file.

Lineage:
Source information:
Originator: Montana Department of Revenue
Title: Montana Department of Revenue Orion (CAMA) data
Type of source media: None

Process step:
This is the process used in most counties.


A small percentage of Montana's land is subdivided, which leaves a large percentage of land in aliquot parts. Because aliquot parts are a mathematical subdivision of larger parcels into smaller equally-sized smaller parcels it is possible to possible to create ownership parcels in an automated manner if the supporting data exists. Two pieces of information are required create aliquot part parcels: 1) legal land descriptions defining the aliquot parts to plot and 2) framework of coordinates defining the public land survey. Both pieces of information exist, for most of the State of Montana, in a digital format. These existing databases are the Montana Department of Revenue Computer Assisted Mass Appraisal System (ORION) and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management Geographic Coordinate Data Base (GCDB). ORION is a database of all taxable (and some tax-exempt) lands in the State of Montana. It has four 30-character text fields for legal land descriptions of property. The GCDB holds locational information (x/y coordinates) of all section, quarter section, and quarter-quarter section corners, by township. Integrating the above two databases to produce digital land ownership parcels requires custom written software. This suite of programs, called the Montana Automated Parcel Program (MAPP), is the backbone of the Project. Vendors on contract with the cadastral project filled in unmapped areas, or 'holes', which remain in a township after running MAPP. These 'holes' are filled after field research at county courthouses which yields information about deeds, certificates of survey, and paper maps. Vendors also use a file generated by MAPP listing all parcels from the ORION database not mapped during the automated process. General Process: -- Download GCDB -- Download DOR ORION file -- Process aliquot parts using MAPP software -- Proof maps -- Identify missing parcels -- Send missing parcels to vendor -- Vendor researches missing parcels -- Vendor converts missing parcels -- QA/QC -- database checked for consistency -- identify unresolved parcels -- if under 5% all parcels to convert vendor work done -- DOR researched unresolved parcels -- DOR or GIS Bureau converts remaining unresolved parcels

Some counties had existing data and different processes were followed. Contact Missoula, Yellowstone, Butte-Silver Bow, Ravalli, or Flathead counties for information on the processes used by those counties.
Process date: not complete
Process contact:
Montana State Library
Montana State Library
Telephone: 406-444-5354
Fax: 406-444-0266
E-Mail: geoinfo@mt.gov


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Spatial Data Organization Information:
Point and vector object information:
SDTS object type: GT-polygon composed of chains
SDTS object count: 937257
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Spatial Reference Information:
Horizontal coordinate system definition:
Map projection:
Map projection name: NAD 1983 StatePlane Montana FIPS 2500
Lambert conformal conic:
NAD 1983 StatePlane Montana FIPS 2500
Standard parallel: 45.0
Standard parallel: 49.0
Longitude of central meridian: -109.5
Latitude of projection origin: 44.25
False easting: 600000.0
False northing: 0.0
Planar distance units: meter
Geodetic model:
Horizontal datum name: D North American 1983
Ellipsoid name: GRS 1980
Semi-major axis: 6378137.0
Denominator of flattening ratio: 298.257222101
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Entity and Attribute Information:
Entity type label: OwnerParcel
Entity type definition:
Taxable land parcel as defined by MT. Dept. of Revenue and the Counties

Attribute label: NonQualAcres
Attribute definition:
Land under one ownership that falls into the acreage range of 2-160 acres for which no agricultural application has been approved. A grade of N is required

Attribute label: Range
Attribute definition: Township range (E or W) that the property is located in

Attribute label: AssessmentCode
Attribute definition: Code assigned to property linking it to an assessment notice

Attribute label: TaxYear
Attribute definition: Tax year for which information is relevant

Attribute label: Shape
Attribute definition: Feature geometry.
Attribute domain: Coordinates defining the features.

Attribute label: GISAcres
Attribute definition: Software Calculated Acreage

Attribute label: PropertyID
Attribute definition: ORION database unique property ID number

Attribute label: OBJECTID
Attribute definition: Internal feature number.
Attribute domain:
Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.

Attribute label: Shape_Length
Attribute definition: Length of feature in internal units.
Attribute domain: Positive real numbers that are automatically generated.

Attribute label: OwnerName
Attribute definition: This is the name of the parcel owner

Attribute label: TotalValue
Attribute definition: Total land reappraisal value

Attribute label: TotalLandValue
Attribute definition: Total land reappraisal value

Attribute label: IrrigatedAcres
Attribute definition:
Acres of the parcel that are irrigated the majority of the time

Attribute label: CareOfTaxpayer
Attribute definition:
The Care-of taxpayer's Name is the name of the person to whom correspondence from the system will normally be sent, if different from the owner name

Attribute label: OwnerZipCode
Attribute definition:
The Zip Code of the taxpayer's mailing address. If the owner's mailing address is outside of the United States, will be "00000"

Attribute label: OwnerState
Attribute definition:
The two-character abbreviation of the state of the taxpayer's mailing address

Attribute label: OwnerCity
Attribute definition: name of the city or town of the taxpayer's mailing address

Attribute label: OwnerAddress2
Attribute definition: Second line of the taxpayer's mailing address

Attribute label: AddressLine2
Attribute definition: Parcel Street Address, second line

Attribute label: FarmsiteAcres
Attribute definition:
Acres of the parcel considered to be 1 acre of land beneath improvements on agricultural land, usually the area around the dwelling

Attribute label: PropType
Attribute definition: Property type


Attribute
Value
Definition of
Attribute Value
MC - Mining Claims -
OI - Oilfield Improvements -
VR - Vacant Land Rural -
LA - Locally Assessed Utility -
KR - Condominium Rural -
KU - Condominium Urban -
RU - Residential Urban -
IU - Industrial Urban -
CU - Commercial Urban -
VU - Vacant Land Urban -
BU - Commercial Condo Urban -
AU - Agricultural Urban -
AR - Agricultural Rural -
TR - Townhouse Rural -
RR - Residential Rural -
EP - Exempt Property -
TP - Tribal Property -
FU - Farmstead Urban -
BR - Commercial Condo Rural -
NV - Non-Valued Property -
MR - Mixed Use / Rural -
TU - Townhouse Urban -
MU - Mixed Use / Urban -
FR - Farmstead Rural -
CA - Centrally Assessed -
CR - Commercial Rural -
IR - Industrial Rural -

Attribute label: LevyDistrict
Attribute definition: County Levy District Number

Attribute label: PropAccess
Attribute definition:
List of codes for type of road or other access to the property


Attribute
Value
Definition of
Attribute Value
2 semi-improved road
7 alley
8 railroad
1 paved road
5 seasonal access
4 proposed road
0 landlocked/none
6 sidewalk
3 dirt road
9 river/waterway

Attribute label: Section
Attribute definition: section number that the property is located in

Attribute label: TotalBuildingValue
Attribute definition: Total reappraisal value of buildings and improvements

Attribute label: WildHayAcres
Attribute definition:
Acres of the parcel where either native grass or alfalfa is cut a majority of years for hay

Attribute label: OwnerAddress3
Attribute definition:
Third line of the taxpayer's mailing address. This is frequently the city and province for international addresses

Attribute label: ForestAcres
Attribute definition:
Acres of the parcel in forest land exceeding 15 contiguous acres that is capable of producing timber that can be harvested in commercial quantity

Attribute label: FallowAcres
Attribute definition:
Acres of the parcel where the accepted practice is to crop one year followed by a year of summer fallow

Attribute label: ContinuousCropAcres
Attribute definition:
Continuously Cropped - Acres of the parcel where the accepted practice is cropping at least 3 out of 4 years

Attribute label: CertificateOfSurvey
Attribute definition: Certificate of Survey Number

Attribute label: LegalDescriptionShort
Attribute definition:
The legal description of the parcel as found in the deed describing the parcel, especially if no Subdivision or Section, Township, Range is entered.

Attribute label: Township
Attribute definition: Township (N or S) that the property is located in

Attribute label: COUNTYCD
Attribute definition: county code


Attribute
Value
Definition of
Attribute Value
32 Stillwater County
39 Falon County
53 Golden Valley County
6 Gallatin County
55 Petroleum County
16 Dawson County
28 Powell County
49 Park County
56 Lincoln County
14 Custer County
8 Fergus County
1 Silver Bow County
31 Teton County
33 Treasure County
44 Wheatland County
46 Granite County
36 Judith Basin County
41 McCone County
5 Lewis and Clark County
43 Broadwater County
20 Valley County
11 Phillips County
4 Missoula County
42 Carter County
34 Sheridan County
27 Richland County
10 Carbon County
24 Blaine County
35 Sanders County
45 Prairie County
22 Big Horn County
23 Musselshell County
29 Rosebud County
38 Glacier County
30 Deer Lodge County
50 Garfield County
47 Meagher County
7 Flathead County
15 Lake County
48 Liberty County
40 Sweet Grass County
25 Madison County
51 Jefferson County
2 Cascade County
9 Powder River County
19 Choteau County
26 Pondera County
12 Hill County
3 Yellowstone County
18 Beaverhead County
52 Wibaux County
21 Toole County
17 Roosevelt County
54 Mineral County
13 Ravalli County
37 Daniels County

Attribute label: PARCELID
Attribute definition: Feature Parcel identifier number (geocode)

Attribute label: Shape_Area
Attribute definition: Area of feature in internal units squared.
Attribute domain: Positive real numbers that are automatically generated.

Attribute label: TotalAcres
Attribute definition:
Total acres of the parcel. In some areas this is filled out only for parcels that have agricultural acreage listed

Attribute label: OwnerAddress1
Attribute definition:
The house or building number, street name, and apartment or unit number, if applicable, of the taxpayer's mailing address

Attribute label: AddressLine1
Attribute definition: Parcel Street Address, first line

Attribute label: Subdivision
Attribute definition: Addition or Subdivision in which the parcel is located

Attribute label: CityStateZip
Attribute definition: City, State and Zip Code of Parcel Address

Attribute label: GrazingAcres
Attribute definition:
Acres of the parcel in native range or domestic range which are used to support livestock

Entity and attribute overview:
base attributes of taxable land parcels created during conversion. You may encounter other attributes but that means they have been added by the maintainer and were not part of the original data.
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Distribution Information:
Distributor:
Montana State Library
P.O. Box 201800
Helena, MT 59620


Telephone: 406-444-5354
TDD/TTY telephone: Montana Relay 711
Fax: 406-444-0266
E-Mail: geoinfo@mt.gov


Resource description: Downloadable data


Distribution liability:
This data is a cooperative effort between the Montana State Library and the Montana Department of Revenue (DOR) other state agencies, local, governments, USDI BLM and private enterprise. The MSL provides mapped cadastral data, Web development, deployment, and enhancements. The DOR provides maintenance as well as assessment (CAMA) data relating to the mapped cadastral data. Neither the MSL nor any associated partner, nor their employees, makes any warranty, expressed or implied, including the fitness for a particular purpose, or assumes any legal liability responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. In layman's terms: the data not constitute a legal survey; inaccuracies exist with both the mapped data and assessment (CAMA) data; when seeking the definitive description of real property, consult the deed recorded at the local county courthouse. State law ( Montana Code Annotated 2-6-109 (1)(a) ) explicitly prohibits State agencies from selling or distributing a list of persons to be used as a mailing list without first securing the permission of those on the list. State law ( MCA 2-6-109 (1)(b) ) also explicitly prohibits anyone from using a list of persons prepared by a state agency as a mailing list without first securing the permission of those on the list. "A person violating the provisions of subsection (1)(b) is guilty of a misdemeanor."
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Metadata Reference Information:
Metadata date: 12/03/2024
Metadata contact:
Montana State Library
P.O. Box 201800
Helena, Montana 59620


Telephone: 406-444-5354
TDD/TTY telephone: Montana Relay 711
Fax: 406-444-0266
E-Mail: geoinfo@mt.gov


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