Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
The Rocky Mountain Research Station welcomes you to their
Freedom of Information Act/Privacy Act home page.
We hope that you find this site to be informative and that it enhances your
understanding of the mission and the work of the Rocky Mountain Research Station.
Contact Information
FOIA Requester Service Center Representative:
Telephone: 970-498-1172
FOIA Public Liaison:
Telephone: 970-498-1170
Making a Freedom of Information Act or Privacy Act Request
In accordance
with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and USDA regulations
at 7 CFR, any person can request access to USDA Forest Service
(FS) records. The FOIA requires the FS to allow the public to
have access unless the information is exempt under the FOIA from
mandatory disclosure (e.g., classified national security, business
proprietary, personal privacy, investigative).
Your request
must be in writing. Indicate that you are making a request under
the FOIA and address the request to:
Rocky Mountain Research Station
240 West Prospect Road
Ft. Collins, CO 80526-2098
Attn: FOIA Requester Service Center Representative
or contact the representative via the phone number above.
Identify
the records you want as accurately as possible and provide details
that would be helpful in locating the information (subject matter,
date, place where the record was created, the person or office
that created it, the present custodian of the record, etc).
A request may only seek records that are in existence at the
time that the FOIA request is received, and does not require
that new records be created in response to the request.
You should
also provide your phone number and mailing address so that FS
employees may contact you if needed (for clarification of your
request, etc).
FOIA Fees:
Agencies are authorized by law
to recover the direct costs of providing information to a FOIA
requester. A requester may be required to pay fees for searching,
reviewing, and copying records. You will be notified in advance
if fees will exceed $25.
Fee Categories:
For fee purposes,
the FOIA requires that requesters be placed in one of the following
four categories: (1) commercial use requesters; (2) news media,
(3) educational institution, noncommercial scientific institution,
and (4) all others. Commercial use requesters are charged the
full direct cost of search, review and duplication, associated
with processing their requests. Scientific, educational, and
news media requesters are charged the cost of duplication alone,
except that the first 100 pages are provided free of charge.
All other requesters are charged the direct costs of search and
duplication, except that the first 2 hours of search and the
first 100 pages of duplications are free of charge. No review
charges are assessed for requesters in this last category.
Specify the
fee category in which you feel your request falls. State the
maximum amount of fees that you are willing to pay, or include
a request for a fee waiver.
Fee Waivers:
The FOIA permits agencies to waive
fees if disclosure of the records is in the public interest because
it: (a) is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding
of the operations or activities of the government (Does the record
concern the operations or activities of the government? Is disclosure
likely to contribute to the public understanding of these operations
and activities? Will that contribution be significant?); and
(b) is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester.
Requests
for fee waivers must be fully documented and justified by written
explanation. The U.S. Department of Justice, which oversees FOIA
compliance throughout the federal government, sets out a
six-part
test for agencies to follow when evaluating a request for fee
waivers.
Privacy Act:
Under the Privacy Act (PA), a person
may seek access to records that are retrieved by that person's
name or other personal identifier, such as social security number
or employee identification number. Such records will be made
available unless they fall within the exemptions of the PA and
the FOIA.
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