Sometimes you need to be careful
what you ask for; other times you can be overwhelmingly energized by what you
receive. Such was my experience when our partners and customers talked to us
recently about the future roles and opportunities for the U.S. Geological Survey
(USGS), the nation’s earth and natural science agency.
We asked the National Research Council (NRC) to examine the future roles, challenges
and scientific opportunities for the USGS. The NRC report characterized the
USGS as a natural science and information agency with a broad responsibility
to a large number of customers across the country. Using the NRC report as a
springboard, we invited our partners and customers to participate in a “listening
session” on Oct. 11, 2001, in Washington, D.C. We needed to hear what the bureau
is doing that is working and where we need to improve. We also wanted to know
whether we are meeting our customers’ needs to the greatest possible extent.
Approximately 40 speakers representing federal agencies, scientific organizations
and environmental groups presented their viewpoints to top decision makers about
the usefulness of USGS research, how the agency translates information and makes
it available to scientific organizations and the public, and the intrinsic value
of USGS science to society.
We listened to our customers and learned with a renewed sense of commitment
that they need us and we need them. What we heard again and again from other
government agencies and from non-governmental groups is that science is the
bridge between societal issues and policy options. Sometimes the federal government
is criticized for not being connected with its citizens, for not providing an
adequate return for the investment of tax dollars in the work of government.
I believe science can be a powerful connection between society and the solutions
it needs. USGS science can be that bridge.
Our customers told us to take a proactive approach in building those bridges
— to seek out opportunities and to use partnerships and alliances to provide
the science our changing world needs.
We listened to the American Farm Bureau Federation remind us that farmers and
ranchers rely on USGS research and technology for making planting and harvesting
decisions. We listened to the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin
tell us we should not relent in providing the sound science the nation needs
for water resource issues. We heard the National Park Service, one of our sister
bureaus in the Department of the Interior, when they said USGS science provides
critical information used to manage, protect and conserve natural resources
in our national parks. We listened to encouragement from the Environmental Protection
Agency to continue to support partnerships for monitoring pesticides in water.
We listened to ideas from the American Geological Institute about forging new
alliances between the science community and the public health community. We
learned about the importance of strengthening and expanding existing partnerships
with academia and the private sector. We learned about the need for accessible
and timely data. We listened to how we might expand the reach of our science.
We learned that the USGS must be a partner in building strong bridges between
science and policy. Those bridges can protect and preserve the environment and
wildlife habitats. Those bridges can ensure that the nation has the energy resources
it needs to fuel its future. And those bridges can promote the use of tools
and technology that will help us prepare for natural hazards and protect people
and property from ensuing disasters.
The challenge to the USGS is to build bridges in concert with our partners and
customers. It is they who are out on the landscape, close to the communities,
the natural and living resources, and the hazards. They can take the power of
USGS science and put it to work to protect lives and property, preserve habitats,
and provide for the nation’s energy future.
In recent weeks we have all come to regard the future with a new and watchful
eye. We see the world around us and the nature of change with a heightened,
if wary, respect. And yet we cannot shy away from that future or its challenges.
Science has a powerful role to play in meeting those challenges. One of our
customers spoke of it as “the cold, dark ocean of social relevance” and urged
USGS to dive in. To meet those challenges, to confront that social relevance,
to use science to its greatest value to the people we serve — we need to build
those bridges of partnership and opportunity. We need to build them strong and
we need to build them together.
We are taking what we heard from our customers to build that bridge of science
knowledge and information that can be used to make our world as safe and secure
as possible. We thank our customers for their thoughtful words, well-phrased
critiques and inspiring challenges. Working in partnership will put USGS science
to work in preserving and protecting the changing world around us.
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