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  • To shelter the large number of displaced households following Hurricane Katrina (2005), FEMA, in conjunction with local governments, established 110 temporary group-housing sites throughout impacted Louisiana. The purpose of this study is to identify how temporary group-housing sites influenced the land use of post-Katrina Louisiana. Using aerial imagery, this study assessed the land use of each temporary group-housing site prior to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and again in 2010. Of the 110 group-housing sites, 54.5% reverted to the previous land use, 29.1% returned to the previous land use with improvements, and 16.3% of the sites changed land use. Using census data from 2000 and 2010, site characteristics, and property records, this study employed a multinomial logistic regression to identify statistically significant variables in predicting land-use change in post-Katrina Louisiana. The results indicate that, especially in neighborhoods with high demand for land, FEMA temporary group-housing sites tended to be redeveloped into new land uses.

  • Urban forests can serve as valuable oases for birds and other wildlife in densely-populated urban and suburban areas with proper management. This study analyzes forest health and habitat availability of a publically-owned urban forest in West Haven, Connecticut. During the first half of the twentieth-century, this urban forest was privately-owned and primarily managed as an orchard and meadow for grazing horses. By the mid-twentieth-century, farming dwindled on the land and vegetation overtook the property. Today, this closed-canopy forest, with access to both freshwater streams and marshlands, provides habitat to a variety of native and invasive plant and animal species. By identifying the forest species and characteristics of the six hectare Cove River Historic Site (CRHS) urban forest, this study serves as the first forest inventory and provides a baseline dataset to help manage an ecologically important urban forest. Additionally, we identified bird habitat opportunities and bird species at the property. This study considers both the historic land management practices of this site in tandem with present-day forest health and animal activity to understand how this fragmented forest contributes to local biodiversity. The results indicate that this property, located within the urban environment of the central Connecticut coastline, offers varied habitats and food sources for many resident and migratory bird species, as well as wildlife including foxes.

Last update from database: 3/13/26, 4:15 PM (UTC)

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