Facing tomorrow’s challenges—U.S. Geological Survey science in the decade 2007–2017

Abstract

In 1996, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) drafted a strategic plan that considered the internal and external drivers and challenges we faced at that time. It was intended as a 10year view of the future, establishing goals that would guide the USGS into the next century. It served its purpose well-but the drivers and challenges the Nation faces today are markedly different from those of 1996, and by 2006 the USGS needed a new strategic science vision.