General Statement

General Statement

Science for a Changing World...embodies the character and role of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) as the provider of natural science for the Nation and the world. The USGS is the Nation's largest water, earth, and biological science and civilian mapping agency, working in cooperation with more than 2,000 organizations across the country and numerous international communities to provide reliable, impartial scientific information to resource managers, planners, and other customers.

This information, gathered in every State, is relevant to the Nation's well being and future ability to minimize the loss of life and property from natural disasters including volcanoes, earthquakes, geomagnetic storms, floods, hurricanes, landslides, wildfires and wildlife disease. USGS science programs help to avert the human and economic costs of natural disasters that kill hundreds of people and cost over $50 billion annually in the United States.

USGS biological, geological, hydrological, and mapping programs are essential to the effective stewardship of the Nation's cultural and natural resources, including the Department's management of about 450 million acres of Federal lands (about one-fifth of the total U.S. landmass) contained in national parks and preserves, national wildlife refuges, wilderness areas, wild and scenic rivers, and range lands, and about three billion acres of the Outer Continental Shelf.

Data collection and analytic capabilities of the USGS directly contribute to the conservation as well as economic and physical development of the Nation's natural resources. Other Federal agencies and State and local governments use USGS water, biological, energy and mineral resources information and capabilities to guide planning, management and regulatory programs.

The Strategic Plan...of the USGS has been refocused to be customer driven. Our commitment follows through in our budget and accompanying annual plan with increased emphasis on providing natural science data and research that meet the highest priority needs of our customers in fulfilling their missions. This focus strengthens our contribution to the resolution of complex issues and our tie to the outcomes achieved by our customers through science-based decisionmaking.

The USGS mission goals are directly linked to the Department of the Interior's (DOI) goal of "Providing science for a changing world," while also contributing to all of the other Departmental goals. The USGS mission is now clearly communicated through two bureau goals:

Environment and Natural Resources... Provide science for a changing world in response to present and anticipated needs to expand our understanding of environmental and natural resource issues on regional, national, and global scales and enhance predictive/forecast modeling capabilities.

Hazards...Provide science for a changing world in response to present and anticipated needs, focusing efforts to predict and monitor hazardous events in near real time and real time and to conduct risk assessments to mitigate loss.