Throughout its history, our Nation has faced important, and often controversial, decisions regarding the use of Federal lands, environmental management, and the supply of energy and mineral resources to sustain development and enable growth. Federal land management agencies are required to develop plans that reconcile competing demands for resource development with other human activities, while recognizing environmental values and providing for the sustainability of resources and natural environments. Historically, heavy emphasis within the USGS energy and mineral resource programs was given to fundamental research on ore genesis and the formation of mineral and energy deposits. These programs distinguish the effects of human activities from natural changes operating at or near the earth's surface to enable more effective and efficient resource and environmental management decisions. Armed with such knowledge, we can respond better to both natural and human-induced changes.
Natural hazards are less costly if their likely effects can be mapped and quantified.
Resources can be more efficiently used if the impacts of their extraction can be anticipated. Damaged or endangered ecosystems can be repaired more effectively if the natural processes that form and maintain them are accounted for in remediation plans. Strategies for conserving and using the Nation's lands and resources are improved when the natural processes at work are recognized as well as the costs of working against them. The Federal role in conducting science to understand geologic hazards, resources, and processes. This role derives from the U.S. Government s responsibilities to protect the lives and property of its citizens, to support continued economic growth and competitiveness, and to assist society in anticipating and coping with the enormous forces of nature that shape and control the landscape.