But what I HOPE to see out of the final redesign is the addition of new environments alongside fundamental alterations to the current environments beyond simply adding objects.
I would fully expect this ... and nothing less in fact. I do get the impression though, that the areas where these strongholds fall will not see changes to the landscape. They are it seems designed fundamentally to work with the existing landscapes.

One poster pointed out in reference to a Yoshi quote where he mentions a goal of three unique themes per starting area. The poster went on to say that a beastman stronghold area would make a good ONE theme of the three.