I'm proud of the USGS. It is like a family to me. I started in 1956 with the Geologic Division mapping uranium-bearing rocks in South Texas. My supervisor was a true gentleman, and he put the love of the Survey into me. Then, after my 120-day appointment was up, I was lucky enough to get on with WRD without missing a day's work. From then until 1994 when I retired after 38-1/2 wonderful years, I again did not lose a days work, this time as a Volunteer for Science. After a stint as a re-hired annuitant, I went back to volunteering again. And here I am still volunteering. I have various duties at the office, such as reviewing reports and writing reports. I have one in press right now that is a bibliography of ground-water publications for all 254 counties in Texas from 1886 to 2001). The report--a CD-ROM--will have over 10,000 references for use by hydrologists working the State of Texas. It will be released Nationwide this year. I am the point-man for responding to requests from the general public for detailed ground-water information Statewide.

In conclusion, I am proud to be still associated with the USGS, even as a volunteer. It costs me $180 a month in car expenses to drive to and from our office. But that's well worth it. I remember that President Bush suggested that people get into volunteering to help their country. I have a total of 47 years of service to the USGS now, as an employee and as a volunteer, and I hope to reach that half-century mark.

When I was in the Army, I always preferred a USGS map, if I could get my hands on one, over the ones prepared by the military. They are the best.

The US Geological Survey is more than the topographic maps I use on a daily basis. USGS provides current literature, studies and references on groundwater, volcanoes, earthquakes, minerals, earth processes like mass wasting, education tools and geologic maps.
Thank you to all the scientists at USGS!
Happy Birthday!!

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Colleagues, please, accept the most sincere greetings of my colleagues and myself on the occasion of the 125 Anniversary of USGS. To the Management team and the employees of USGS we wish professional success, personal happiness and new achievements in the field of geodesy, cartography and geoinformatics.

This is a great agency and has done sooo very much for our country Most of all we appreciate the outstanding job that Chip Groat has done. Congratulations.

The USGS provided a Grant to Michigan State University, Geology where I was able to work on a project and pay for part of my college education. Throughout my 20 plus years of my geology profession, I have worked on several USGS projects and relied on their data. I have worked as petroleum geologist, geo-hydrogeologist, and doing environmental geology. All the time relying on USGS data. Our work as geo-professionals has made our lives better by having quality drinking water, fuel, safer foundations. Great work, look forward to another 125 years (not sure I'll be around to see it).

We value our partnership with the U.S. Geological Survey in the area of minerals information. USGS is an important source for an array of information on basic minerals.

Happy Birthday

We look forward to continuing our excellent agency relationship and increasing our cooperative programs with you. Let us know how we can make it even better for all Virginians!

Happy 125th and may you have many more!
The USGS provides the mapping for making critical decisions both for the work I do and many of the recreational opportunities that I pursue. But perhaps where they have made the most difference is for our aquifer, where our drinking water comes from, along the Ipswich River in Massachusetts. The USGS developed a model and modeled the many scenarios of water withdrawals from the Ipswich River and its associated aquifers. They demonstrated the critical interaction between the ground water and the flow of the river. With their expertise, many people have come to realize that pumping groundwater from the aquifers by the river results in the river going dry far more often and for far longer periods of time than would occur naturally. Now citizens have the information they need to make decisions on how to manage an incredibly important resource.
Thank you USGS!