Privacy and Other Web Site Policies

Thank you for visiting the RTP Forestry Sciences Laboratory website (www.srs.fs.fed.us/econ/) and reviewing our privacy statement. Our privacy policy is clear: We will collect no personal information about you when you visit our website unless you choose to provide that information to us.

Here is how we handle information about your visit to our website:

Information Collected and Stored Automatically

If you do nothing during your visit but browse through the website, read pages, or download information, we will gather and store certain information about your visit automatically. This information does not identify you personally. We automatically collect and store only the following information about your visit:

1. The IP address used by your computer when you visited the site (an IP address is a number assigned to your computer for whenever you are on the Internet);
2. The type of browser and operating system used to access our site;
3. The date and time you access our site;
4. The page you are visiting; and
5. The URL of the page whose link you followed to get to this page.

We use this information to help us make our site more useful to visitors - to learn about the number of visitors to our site, the types of technology our visitors are using to view our site, and the pages they were most interested in visiting. We do not track or record information about individuals and their visits.

Cookies

Wherever possible this web site avoids the use of "cookies" (files stored on the visitor's computer for later reference) and in no case does it use persistent cookies. The WebPoster Publication Database page requires that a session cookie be temporary placed on a visitor's computer to allow visitors to see the results of their previous actions but this cookie is deleted when the browser is closed. No personal information is acquired from this process nor is information from the cookies retained.

If You Send Us Personal Information

If you choose to provide us with personal information either by sending email to someone or by filling out a form with your personal information and submitting it to us through our website, we use that information to respond to your message and to help us locate for you the information you have requested. We treat e-mails the same way that we regard letters sent to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. We are required to maintain many documents under the Presidential Records Act for historical purposes, but we do not collect personal information for any purpose other than to respond to you. We only share the information you give us with another government agency if your inquiry relates to that agency, or as otherwise required by law. Moreover, we do not create individual profiles with the information you provide or to give it to any private organizations. The U.S. Department of Agriculture in general and this site in particular does not collect information for commercial marketing.

Links to Other Sites

Our website has links to other federal agencies as well as to other web sites. Once you access another site through a link that we provide you are subject to the privacy policy of the new site. As with use of trade, firm, or corporation names on this web site such links are for the information and convenience of the reader. Such use does not constitute an official endorsement or approval by the United States Department of Agriculture of any product or service to the exclusion of others that may be suitable.

Website Security

Information presented on the USDA website is considered public information and may be distributed or copied. Use of appropriate byline/photo/image credits is requested.

1. For site security purposes and to ensure that this service remains available to all users, this government computer system employs software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage.
2. 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 General Schedule 20.
3. 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.

Equal Opportunity

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service is a diverse organization committed to equal opportunity in employment and program delivery. USDA prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political affiliation and familial status. Persons believing they have been discriminated against should contact the Secretary, U.S.D.A., Washington, DC 20250, or call 202/720-7327 (voice) or 202/720-1127 (TDD).

Comments or Questions

If you have any comments or questions about the information presented here please forward them to its webmaster at jpye@fs.fed.us