EXHIBIT 8

 

DECLARATION OF DOUGLAS C. PFLUGH - DECEMBER 23, 2011 1

DECLARATION OF DOUGLAS C. PFLUGH I, Douglas C. Pflugh, declare as follows:

1. The facts and opinions set forth in this declaration are based on my personal

knowledge and experience. If called as a witness in these proceedings, I would testify

competently to these facts and opinions.

TECHNICAL QUALIFICATIONS

2. I have worked as a Research Associate and Research Analyst for Earthjustice

since September 2001. My work at Earthjustice includes the use of Geographic

Information System (GIS), aerial photography, other database management and query

software, and paper and digital maps and records generated by public and private sources.

GIS software uses geospatial data to create maps and perform analyses. GIS is

recognized as an important tool for communication and problem solving by government,

industry, and conservation organizations throughout the world.

3. I graduated summa cum laude from California Polytechnic State University, San

Luis Obispo, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Natural Resource Management. The

course work and related projects leading to this degree included federal land

management, environmental law, environmental impact analysis, physical and biological

sciences, and land surveying. While at the University, I also studied and served as a

teaching assistant for outdoor recreation courses, including map reading and over-land

navigation. These courses required knowledge and practical application of U.S.

Geological Survey (USGS) topographic map interpretation.

 

DECLARATION OF DOUGLAS C. PFLUGH - DECEMBER 23, 2011 2

4. I also have a Master of Urban Planning degree from the University of

Washington. The course work and related research activities leading to this degree

included training and experience with GIS, aerial photography interpretation, and other

database management and query software packages, as well as work with physical

systems such as hydrology. I completed relevant undergraduate and graduate coursework

in the Geography, Landscape Architecture, and Urban Design and Planning departments.

The professional project that I completed in lieu of a thesis involved the creation of GIS

data and interactive and static maps for the government of an Alaskan city.

5. I have worked for state and local government entities and private firms in various

positions involving GIS and databases. My work has included field data collection,

database design and development, remote sensing analysis, automation of tasks using

scripting languages, preparation of customized user interfaces, and production of maps

for inclusion in documents and public display. I have provided GIS and database support

for research projects funded by the National Science Foundation and the USGS. I

performed extensive aerial photography interpretation for a USGS-funded project. I also

provided GIS support for a regional planning project conducted for a Washington county

government. For this project, I produced maps that were displayed at the ESRI

International User Conference and published in the ESRI Map Book, both industry-

recognized showcases for excellence in work. As a research staff member at the

University of Washington, I managed data, hardware, and software resources of the

Remote Sensing Applications Laboratory and the Urban Ecology Research Laboratory.

6. In July 2002, I presented a talk entitled “Supporting Activism and Litigation:

Geography and Oil & Gas Development” at the ESRI International User Conference.

 

DECLARATION OF DOUGLAS C. PFLUGH - DECEMBER 23, 2011 3

This conference is the major conference for the GIS industry and had more than 11,000

attendees. I also presented the same talk at the Society for Conservation GIS in July

2002. At the August 2008 ESRI International User Conference, I accepted a Special

Achievement in GIS award presented to Earthjustice by ESRI founder Jack Dangermond.

7. In March 2007, I provided expert trial testimony on the use of GIS analysis to

evaluate the cumulative effects of water pollution discharge permits on several

watersheds in southern West Virginia, in Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition v. U.S.

Army Corps of Engineers, 479 F. Supp. 2d 607 (S.D. W. Va. 2007).

8. In June 2010, I provided expert deposition testimony on topographic maps and

aerial photography in County of Inyo v. U.S. Department of the Interior, No. 1:06-cv-

1502 AWI-DLB (E.D. Cal., June 9, 2010).

9. ESRI ArcMap is an industry-standard GIS software package. I have worked with

ESRI’s GIS products since 1995 and have received formal training in these products from

ESRI.

ANALYSIS

10. I performed the below described analysis in reference to the Forest

Service’s Environmental Assessment for Federal Coal Lease Modifications COC-

1362 & COC-67232 (“Lease Modifications” (Nov. 2011)).

11. I reviewed the digital file “mods_aerial.pdf” that was included in the

directory labeled “2010_lease_mods” on Disc 1 of the November 22, 2011,

mailing to Ted Zukoski from Charles S. Richmond, Forest Supervisor of the

Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, and Gunnison National Forests (“GMUG NF”), and

 

DECLARATION OF DOUGLAS C. PFLUGH - DECEMBER 23, 2011 4

is attached here as Exhibit 1. According to the accompanying cover letter, this

mailing was in response to Mr. Zukoski’s October 31, 2011, Freedom of

Information Act request which is identified by Mr. Richmond as 12-0399-R. I

believe that this file was prepared by the Forest Service in reference to the Lease

Modifications.

12. The above identified file, “mods_aerial.pdf” ( “the image”), was an Adobe

Acrobat format file. The document properties indicated that the file was created

November 18, 2009, using ESRI ArcMap, and was rendered as a 34 inch by 44

inch image at an approximate scale of 1:3,200. The image appeared to be

composed of an underlying aerial photograph and overlying GIS data layers. The

GIS data layers were identified as gmug_coal (which appeared to depict coal lease

and lease modification boundaries), section (which appeared to depict PLSS

section boundaries), and FSSDE.gunn_trvl_roads and FSSDE.gunn_trvl_trails

(which appeared to depict some of the landscape scars that were visible on the

aerial photograph), as well as labels for these layers. The display of the layers

could be controlled in Adobe Acrobat allowing the aerial photograph to be viewed

without some or all of the overlying GIS data.

13. During my review of the image, I referred to the map labeled “Federal

Coal Lease Modifications for COC-1362/COC 67232,” attached here as Exhibit 2,

which I believed to have been an attachment to the April 14, 2010, “Opportunity

to Comment” scoping letter prepared by the GMUG NF in reference to the Lease

Modifications and noted with File Code: 2820-4. The map depicted the lease

modification boundaries and the Proposed Colorado Roadless Area Boundary,

 

DECLARATION OF DOUGLAS C. PFLUGH - DECEMBER 23, 2011 5

along with PLSS section lines. I was able to infer the approximate location of the

Proposed Colorado Roadless Area Boundary on the image by reference from this

map (Exhibit 2).

14. Aerial photography interpretation is best performed using either

stereoscopic pairs of printed images and appropriate equipment or image analysis-

specific software. The review described here was constrained by the format of the

imagery available.

15. I visually reviewed the image in Adobe Acrobat with the display zoom set

at 100%. I panned through the entire area encompassed by the two lease

modifications three times and noted any landscape scars that might be indicative

of a trail or road. I identified a total of eight such features. I then re-examined

these features at magnification of 100% up to 200% to further refine my

interpretation of their characteristics.

16. Of the eight identified potential trail and road features, only two had

characteristics, sufficient width and linear nature, that suggested that these were

possibly motorized-use trail or road landscape scars. The first of these features

corresponded with the trail indicated by GIS data as crossing through Sections 10

and 11. I noted that this feature was only visible, intermittently, from the west

end to a point just east of the Section 10 and 11 boundary (immediately west of a

large clearing in the forest canopy); the remainder of the GIS-data mapped trail

through Section 11 is not visible on the aerial photography. This feature, where

visible, measured at approximately 15 feet wide, but I could not definitively

determine if it was used for motorized or non-motorized travel. The second

 

DECLARATION OF DOUGLAS C. PFLUGH - DECEMBER 23, 2011 7

TABLE OF EXHIBITS

Exhibit 1. Aerial photo of Federal Coal Lease Modifications COC-1362 & COC-67232 from U.S. Forest Service files (filename: mods_aerial.pdf).

Exhibit 2. U.S. Forest Service Map, “Federal Coal Lease Modifications for COC-1362/COC 67232,” (April 2010).

EXHIBIT 1

COC 001362

COC 067232

011

014015

010

023022

013

012

024

COC 001362

COC 067232

±0 0.25 0.5 0.75 10.125Miles

MCC Lease Modifications

EXHIBIT 2

COC 001362

COC 1362

MINNESOTA CREEK

COC 067232

COC 067232

Federal Coal Lease Modifications for COC-1362/COC 67232

Mt. Coal Lease ModificationsProposed Colorado Roadless Area BoundaryInventoried Roadless Area BoundaryFederal Coal Lease COC 1362COC-1362 Lease ModificationFederal Coal Lease COC-67232COC-67232 Lease ModificationDry Fork Minnesota Creek Rd.Minnesota Creek Road

Paonia

Area of Map

10Miles

±

0 0.5 10.25 Miles