Privacy Policy

The United States Forest Service (FS) takes the security of information very seriously. We take precautions to maintain the security, confidentiality, and integrity of the information we collect at this site. Such measures include access controls designed to limit access to the information to the extent necessary to accomplish our mission. We also employ various security technologies to protect the information stored on our systems. We routinely test our security measures to ensure that they remain operational and effective.

• For site security purposes and to ensure that this service remains available to all users, this government computer system employs commercial software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage.
• Except for authorized law enforcement investigations, no other attempts are made to identify individual users or their usage habits. Raw data logs are used for no other purposes and are scheduled for regular destruction in accordance with National Archives and Records Administration guidelines.
• Unauthorized attempts to upload information or change information on this service are strictly prohibited and may be punishable under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 and the National Information Infrastructure Protection Act

The information you manually provide on a Forest Service website will be used only for the purpose for which you provided it. We will protect your information consistent with the principles of the Privacy Act of 1974, the E-Government Act of 2002, and the Federal Records Act.

Privacy Policy

This website is provided as a public service by the USDA Forest Service.  Information presented on this website is considered public information and may be distributed or copied unless otherwise indicated. Use of appropriate byline/photo/image credit is requested. 

For site management, information is collected (see the example below) for statistical purposes. This government computer system uses software programs to create summary statistics, which are used for such purposes as assessing what information is of most and least interest, determining technical design specifications, and identifying system performance or problem areas. For site security purposes and to ensure that this service remains available to all users, this system employs software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage.

To protect your privacy, this site does not use persistent "cookies."  Except for authorized law enforcement investigations, no other attempts are made to identify individual users or their usage habits. Raw data logs are used for no other purposes than those stated in this notice.  Unauthorized attempts to upload information or change information on this service are strictly prohibited and may be punishable under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1987 and the National Information Infrastructure Protection Act.

Personally Identifiable Information

If you choose to provide us with PII on an FS website, through such methods as completing a web form, we will use that information to help us provide you the information or service you have requested. The information we may receive from you varies based on what you do when visiting our site.

We only share the PII you give us with another government agency if your inquiry relates to that agency, or as otherwise required by law. We never create individual profiles or give your PII to any private organizations. The Forest Service never collects information for commercial marketing.

If we store your PII in a system of records designed to retrieve information about you by personal identifier (name, personal email address, home mailing address, personal or mobile phone number, etc.), so that we may contact you, we will safeguard the information you provide to us in accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (5 U.S.C. § 552a). The Act requires all public-facing sites or forms that request PII to prominently and conspicuously display a privacy notice.

The notice must address the following criteria:

• Legal authorization to collect information about you;
• Purpose for which the information will be used;
• Routine uses for disclosure of information outside of the Forest Service  of Homeland Security;
• Whether your providing the information is voluntary or mandatory under law; and
• Effects if you choose to not provide the requested information.

For each System of Record, we have completed a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) and System of Records Notice (SORN) providing details about the privacy protections and redress options available for the contact information we collect from the public. This information may be used to distribute information to you and to perform various administrative tasks. 

Email Communications

Many of our programs and Web sites allow you to send us email messages. We will use the information you provide to respond to your inquiry. We will only send you general information via email. You should be reminded that email may not necessarily be secure against interception. Therefore, we suggest that you do not send sensitive Personally Sensitive Information (such as your Social Security number) to us via email. If your intended email communication is sensitive, e.g., it includes information such as your bank account, charge card, or Social Security number, you should instead send it by U.S. mail. Another alternative may be submission of data through a secure program Web site, if available.

Electronic mail messages that meet the definition of records in the Federal Records Act (44 U.S.C. § 3101) are covered under the same disposition schedule as all other Federal records. This means that emails you send us will be preserved and maintained for varying periods of time if those emails meet the definition of Federal records. Electronic messages that are not records are deleted when no longer needed.

Third-Party Web sites and Applications

The Forest Service may use social media Web sites to engage in dialogue, share information and media, and collaborate with the public.  The Forest Service may also use these Web sites to make information and services widely available, while promoting transparency and accountability, as a service for those seeking information about or services from the Forest Service. The privacy policies for approved social media platforms are linked to the right of this privacy policy. 

The Forest Service does not use third-party Web sites to solicit and collect personally identifiable information (PII) from individuals. Any PII collected by the third-party Web site will not be transmitted or stored by the Forest Service; no PII will be disclosed, sold or transferred to any other entity outside the Forest Service or the USDA, unless required for law enforcement purposes or by statute consistent with the Privacy Act.

Children Online

The Forest Service is committed to the protection of children’s online privacy. The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) governs information gathered online from or about children under the age of 13. Verifiable consent from a child’s parent or guardian is required before collecting, using, or disclosing personal information from a child under age 13. If an FS Web site intends to collect information from children under 13 years old, COPPA-required information and instructions will be provided by the specific Web page that collects information about the child. The Web page will specify exactly what the information will be used for, who will see it, and how long it will be kept.

Visiting Other Web sites

Our Web site contains links to international agencies, private organizations, and some commercial entities. These Web sites are not within our control and may not follow the same privacy, security, or accessibility polices. Once you link to another site, you are subject to the policies of that site. All Federal Web sites, however, are subject to the same Federal policy, security, and accessibility mandates.

Contact Information

We welcome feedback if you have any questions regarding our privacy policy or the use of your information.  If you have any questions or comments about the information presented here, please forward them to us using the Comment Form. Any additional privacy questions should be directed to the Chief Information Officer’s Privacy Office.  The agency’s privacy compliance materials are available at Privacy Impact Assessments (PIA) and Systems of Records Notices (SORN).  For additional information about our Privacy Policy, or for general privacy inquiries, please contact the CIO Privacy Officer at johnanelson@fs.fed.us or send a FOIA request at:

USDA FS, FOIA Service Center
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Mail Stop:  1143
Washington, DC 20250-1143

Example: Information Collected from the USDA Forest Service Website for Statistical Purposes

Example: Information Collected from the USDA Forest Service Website for Statistical Purposes

Below is an example of the information collected based on a standard request for a World Wide Web document:

xxx.yyy.com - - [28/Jan/1997:00:00:01 -0500] "GET /news/nr012797.html HTTP/1.0" 200 16704 Mozilla 3.0/www.altavista.digital.com

xxx.yyy.com (or 123.123.23.12)-- this is the host name (or IP address) associated with the requester (you as the visitor). In this case, (.com) the requester is coming from a commercial address. Depending on the requester's method of network connection, the host name (or IP address) may or may not identify a specific computer. Connections via many Internet Service Providers assign different IP addresses for each session, so the host name identifies only the ISP. The host name (or IP address) will identify a specific computer if that computer has a fixed IP address.

[28/Jan/1997:00:00:01 -0500] -- this is the date and time of the request

"GET /news/nr012797.html HTTP/1.0" -- this is the location of the requested file on the web server 200 -- this is the status code - 200 is OK - the request was filled

16704 -- this is the size of the requested file in bytes

Mozilla 3.0 -- this identifies the type of browser software used to access the page, which indicates what design parameters to use in constructing the pages

www.altavista.digital.com - this indicates the last site the person visited, which indicates how people find our site

Requests for other types of documents use similar information. No personally-identifying information is collected.