Company: Space Imaging
Industry: Satellite Image Data
Location: Denver, CO, United States of America
State of Arizona to Use Satellite Images
as Evidence in Lawsuit
DENVER,CO-– IKONOS satellite imagery has revealed alleged land
clearing by a developer in Arizona. The State of Arizona is suing the
Scottsdale developer for allegedly illegally bulldozing state and
private land known as La Osa Ranch located northwest of the town of
Marana, Arizona. Before-and-after satellite images of the area captured
by Space Imaging’s IKONOS satellite show certain changes to the
environment and will be used as evidence in the case. From a
423-mile-high orbit the satellite can see objects on the ground as
small as one meter in size.
Marana’s Geographic Information Systems (GIS) department has been
collecting imagery for the last three years to map its expanding
boundaries, chart the town's recreational trail system and produce
three-dimensional views of proposed developments to provide citizens a
glimpse of what their neighborhoods will look like in the future. In
mid-2004, Chris Mack, Marana’s senior geographic information systems
specialist, discovered the imagery showed that the terrain had been
altered at La Osa Ranch. The satellite images captured the alleged land
clearing which included 700 acres over four miles from north to south. <more>
