Stratford’s Urban Forest

PURPOSE AND METHODS
Tree canopies are constantly changing. Growth and plantings add to and expand canopy coverage; development, disasters, disease, and pests can take it away. Canopy assessments based on aerial imagery can track these changes precisely. This report evaluates changes in tree canopy within Stratford, Connecticut, located in Fairfield County on the Long Island Sound. It summarizes findings at the town-wide, property ownership, FEMA floodplains, voting districts, and census block groups levels to better understand how tree canopy is distributed within the town.

Based on 2023 imagery from the USDA’s National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP), this study provides a near-current view of land cover in Stratford. This enables the Town of Stratford to revise existing strategies and develop new ones for protecting and expanding the forest. This study used machine learning techniques to create land cover data to facilitate more uniform comparisons in future tree canopy assessments. Following US Forest Service standards, this assessment focuses on tree canopy as a percentage of land, excluding water. The key goals of this tree canopy cover assessment include:
• Quantify the amount and location of tree canopy and other land cover types
• Analyze the change in canopy cover from 2012 to 2023
• Measure the ecosystem services provided by the tree canopy in the community
• Identify areas where tree canopy can be expanded (Possible Planting Area analysis)
• Provide data to inform future planning and to establish canopy coverage goals

Funding for this assessment was provided by the USDA, Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry Planning Grant administered by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP)

DOWNLOAD the Stratford Tree Canopy Assessment here