Effects of Flooding on Island Wildlife in the Mississippi River
US Army Corps of Engineers - Vicksburg District
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE), Lower Mississippi Valley Division (LMVD), wanted to evaluate the effects of annual flooding on sandbar islands in the Mississippi River. These islands provide habitat or nesting grounds for several endangered species. Annual flooding changes the vegetative structure of the islands, thus impacting critical habitat for these endangered species. Two sets of aerial photography, taken ten years apart, were used to evaluate the impacts of annual flooding on critical habitat and model trends in vegetative cover change.