IMPACT OF URBANIZATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION POLICIES ON TIMBER AVAILABILITY: A GIS APPLICATION*

This study illustrates how remotely-sensed data and GIS can be utilized to allow planners to evaluate the relationship between land use, environmental protection policies, and resource availability. The case study examines St. Tammany Parish in Louisiana which has experienced tremendous population growth and land use change in the past two decades. To date, work has been completed on developing most of the coverages. The preliminary results indicate that applying remotely-sensed data on land use change and timber production potential allows planners to identify potential areas to maintain for timber production and other resource values. Future work will include evaluating the impact of population growth and