Why We're Here: Vision, Mission, and Strategic Direction

The USGS vision, mission, and strategic direction focus on responsiveness and customer service, underscoring the application of science to customer, partner, and other stakeholder needs. They direct the combined expertise of our many scientific disciplines and define our commitment to pursuing an integrated approach to providing science for a changing world.

USGS scientists have long recognized the significance of change in the history of our planet. While this recognition has focused primarily on natural phenomena, the role that people -- and our interactions in natural systems and on the landscape -- play as forceful and pervasive agents of change is becoming an increasingly important piece of the scientific puzzle. Insufficient scientific understanding of human impacts on the Earth has produced uncertainty about the condition of our environment. This uncertainty has led to concern about increasing competition for water, energy, and mineral resources; economic, environmental, and social sustainability; the impacts of natural hazards; the state of our rivers and coastal areas; and biological and geologic impacts resulting from human-induced landscape change. We have learned from the past century that understanding the way our Earth works is essential to the well-being of our society. And the decisions made today will shape the world we inhabit tomorrow. Our experiences with natural disasters, with issues of resource scarcity, and with unexpected environmental effects of well-intentioned decisions, have taught us that scientific knowledge is the critical tool that both informs decisions and permits the early detection and response to emerging problems. The USGS provides scientific knowledge that prevents crises, creates opportunities, and supports enduring solutions.

The USGS, through its scientific activities that involve insightful monitoring and data collection, innovative research and process understanding, and informative assessment and interpretive studies, is well poised to provide the integrated natural science that society demands to address such issues as:

• Mitigating the impacts of earthquakes through better maps and information concerning potential ground shaking and through rapid notification of the onset of earthquakes;
• Resolving conflicts over the management of rivers for multiple purposes such as water supply, water quality, habitat, hydropower, flood control, and recreation;
• Developing strategies for the detection and control of deleterious invasive species;
• Guiding protection and development of our Nation´s coastlines consistent with growing coastal populations and vulnerable estuary and wetland environments;
• Developing a better knowledge base for the sustained development of our Nation´s ground-water supplies;
• Guiding land-use decisions to ensure the availability of natural resources and the safety of growing communities;
• Providing information on the availability, quality, and development impacts of energy resources;
• Understanding ecological functions and assessing predicted change at varying temporal and spatial scales.