Privacy Policy and Disclaimers
The following statements
and disclaimers apply to all web sites managed by the U.S. Geological
Survey (USGS) unless otherwise noted.
Privacy
The USGS web site
which referred you to this document conforms to the general U.S. Department
of Interior policy on privacy as outlined in the DOI Privacy Statement and as
detailed below.
How we handle the
information we gather when you visit our web site-
Web server activity
logs
Like most web servers
on the Internet, our servers collect and store all of the information
that your web browser sends when it requests a web page, including:
- the name, domain,
and numerical internet address of the "host" computer (typically a
computer belonging to your Internet Service Provider and not your
personal computer) from which you access the Internet;
- the date and
time you accessed our site;
- the Internet
address of the web page that you came from;
- the page you
requested from our site and the number of characters sent to your
computer; and
- the information
your web browser software sends as its so-called "User Agent," which
typically identifies the browser software and may also indicate the
operating system and type of CPU used in your personal computer.
It is impossible
to determine the actual identity of an individual user from this information.
The logs are periodically
summarized and analyzed in order to study site usage over time and to
perform other studies to help us improve the site's organization, performance,
and usefulness.
Electronic mail
When you send us
personal identifying information via e-mail (that is, in a message containing
a question or comment, or by filling out a form that e-mails us this
information), we use it to respond to your requests. We may forward
your e-mail to other Government employees or contract personnel who
are better able to answer your questions. We do not retain or distribute
lists of e-mail addresses to any parties outside of the USGS except
as necessary to conduct official U.S. Government business. In no event,
do we distribute lists of e-mail addresses to non-Government entities.
File transfer protocol
(FTP)
Many USGS sites
using the file transfer protocol may also store your e-mail address
if your web browser is configured to provide it. By default most web
browser software does not send your e-mail address; this option is configured
through your browser preferences. In Netscape Navigator, for example,
this option must be set by you through the Advanced preferences category
by the item labeled, "Send email address as anonymous FTP password."
Online surveys
When you voluntarily
provide us with personal information as part of an online survey, we
use it to perform various quantitative and qualitative analyses to improve
customer service and satisfaction. We may forward the information collected
to other Government employees or contract personnel to perform the actual
analysis. You are under no obligation to participate in such surveys.
Non-participation will not inhibit your use of our web site in any way.
If you provided the information to us in error, you may request its
removal at any time.
Ordering products
When you voluntarily
provide us with personal information such as name, shipping and billing
address, and credit card number when ordering products online, we use
the information to fulfill your order. We may forward the information
collected to other Government employees or contract personnel or to
other computer systems (such as secure electronic commerce servers)
to complete the requested transaction.
Marketing information
We may collect information
from you, with your permission, that will allow us to provide various
customer services, such as promotional materials and product availability
notices. We may forward the information collected to other Government
employees or contract personnel to provide specific marketing services.
We will remove such information at your request.
Collection and
release of gathered information
We want to make
it clear that we will not obtain personal identifying information about
you when you visit our web sites, unless you choose to provide such
information to us. Except in the course of officially authorized law
enforcement investigations, or in the event of a suspected attempt to
deliberately circumvent our system's security with the intent to gain
unauthorized access or to do physical damage (for example, an attack
by hackers), we do not attempt to identify individual users or share
any information we receive with any parties outside of the USGS. In
the latter case, collected information associated with a suspected intruder
might be shared through the USGS's Bureau Information Resources Security
Administrator with an incident response service such as the CERT® Coordination Center.
Retention of collected
information
Cookies -
Some applications may save a "cookie" on your computer's hard disk to
provide a temporary history of actions taken. A common example is the
tracking of items placed in an online "shopping basket." We do not retain
any record of "cookies" beyond what is necessary for running the application.
Web server activity
logs - Monthly extracts of the log files are archived and stored
off-line at our discretion for an indefinite period of time. Some statistical
summaries derived from these data may be retained online or off-line
at our discretion for an indefinite period of time.
E-mail -
Information collected via e-mail will be retained at our discretion
in a directly readable form for as long as necessary to complete our
response. The e-mail itself may be retained in an archival form as required
by Federal laws and regulations governing the retention of historical
records of government agencies. For more information, please refer to
the National Archives and Records Administration's Records
Management Program.
Online surveys
- Information collected via online surveys may be maintained at our
discretion for an indefinite period of time.
Marketing information
- Such information may be maintained at our discretion for an indefinite
period of time.
Links to Non-USGS
Sites
Links and pointers
to non-USGS sites are provided for information only and do not constitute
endorsement, express or implied, by the USGS, U.S. Department of the
Interior (USDOI), or U.S. Government, of the referenced organizations,
their suitability, content, products, or services, whether they are
governmental, educational, or commercial.
Non-Endorsement
of Commercial and Other Non-USGS Products and Services
Hypertext links
and other references to non-USGS products and services are provided
for information only and do not constitute endorsement or warranty,
express or implied, by the USGS, USDOI, or U.S. Government, as to their
suitability, content, usefulness, functioning, completeness, or accuracy.
Content Accuracy,
Completeness, and Usability of USGS Data and Information
We make every effort
to provide and maintain accurate, complete, usable, and timely information
on our web sites. However, some USGS data and information accessed through
these pages may, of necessity, be preliminary in nature and presented
prior to final review and approval by the Director of the USGS. These
data and information are provided with the understanding that they are
not guaranteed to be correct or complete. Users are cautioned to consider
carefully the provisional nature of these data and information before
using them for decisions that concern personal or public safety or the
conduct of business that involves substantial monetary or operational
consequences. Conclusions drawn from, or actions undertaken on the basis
of, such data and information are the sole responsibility of the user.
Copyrights and
Trademarks
USGS-authored or
produced data and information are in the public domain. While the content
of most USGS web pages is in the public domain, not all the information
on our site is in the public domain. Some images/graphics are used by
USGS with permission. For other uses, you may need to obtain permission
from the copyright holder under the copyright law.
You are welcome
to make a link to any of the Web pages USGS has published on the Internet.
There is no need to request permission.
The USGS identifier
is trademarked and must be used in accordance with the rules outlined
at Visual Identity System.
Information on who may use the USGS identifier and how to obtain a copy
of it is available at Use of the Trademarked USGS
Identifier by Outside Organizations.
We will identify
material we use from sources outside of USGS, and request others do
the same when using information published by USGS. Credit can be provided
by including on the page (or via a link to a credits page) a citation
such as:
Credit:
U. S. Geological Survey
U. S. Geological Survey/photo by Jane Doe (if the artist is known)
USGS/Ft. Collins, CO (if originating office but not the artist is known)
Liability
Neither the U.S.
Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, contractors,
or subcontractors, make any warranty, express or implied, nor assume
any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness,
or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed,
nor represent that its use would not infringe on privately owned rights.
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