INSAR (INTERFEROMETRIC SYNTHETIC APERTURE RADAR) IS A METHOD OF RECORDING CHANGES IN THE EARTH S SURFACE THAT IS INCREASINGLY USED BY EARTH SCIENTISTS TO STUDY DEFORMATION AND SURFACE PROCESSES. WITH THE ADVENT OF MORE FREQUENTLY ACQUIRED SAR DATA REGIONS WITH SIGNIFICANT VEGETATIVE COVER ARE NOW EASIER TO STUDY REQUIRING THAT WE CONSTRAIN THE IMPACT OF VEGETATION ON EFFORTS TO MEASURE GROUND DEFORMATION. THE PROPOSED WORK INCLUDES AN EFFORT TO ASSESS HOW VARIATIONS IN THE HEIGHT OF THE PHASE SCATTERING CENTER WITHIN TREES AFFECTS INFERRED DEFORMATION HISTORIES. I WILL GROUND TRUTH OUR ESTIMATES OF PHASE SCATTERING CENTER HEIGHT WITH LIDAR DATA AND I WILL ALSO CATALOGUE THE DENSITY AND SPECIES OF VEGETATION USING SEVERAL DATASETS (NDVI FOREST DISTURBANCE MAPS). I WILL ALSO CREATE A SUITE OF SYNTHETIC MODELS THAT CONSTRAIN THE AMOUNT OF BIAS INTRODUCED BY VEGETATION TO DIFFERENT TECTONIC AND SURFACE PROCESS SCENARIOS SUCH AS EARTHQUAKES AND LANDSLIDES. FINALLY I WILL EXAMINE EVENTS WHERE THE IMPACT OF VEGETATION ON THE INVERSION FOR EARTHQUAKE PARAMETERS MAY BE SIGNIFICANT SUCH AS THE 2012 NICOYA PENINSULA EARTHQUAKE COSTA RICA. THE INITIAL STUDY SITE FOR THIS STUDY WILL FOCUS ON THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST (PNW). I ALSO PLAN TO EXPAND THIS STUDY TO OTHER TECTONICALLY ACTIVE AND HIGHLY VEGETATED REGIONS SUCH AS SUMATRA (INDONESIA) COSTA RICA AND BANGLADESH.