6209.12_20
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FOREST SERVICE HANDBOOK
NORTHERN REGION (REGION 1)
MISSOULA, MT
FSH 6209.12 – CORRESPONDENCE HANDBOOK
CHAPTER 20 – SPECIAL AND CONTROLLED CORRESPONDENCE
Supplement No.: 6209.12-2013-1
Effective Date: March 8, 2013
Duration: This supplement is effective until superseded or removed.
Approved: THOMAS A. SCHMIDT
Deputy Regional Forester
Date Approved: 02/28/2013
Posting Instructions: Supplements are numbered consecutively by Handbook number and
calendar year. Post by document; remove the entire document and replace it with this
supplement. Retain this transmittal as the first page(s) of this document. The last supplement to
this handbook was 6209.12-2012-1 to Chapter 40.
New Document
6209.12_20
3 Pages
Superseded Document(s) by
Issuance Number and
Effective Date
None
0 Pages
Digest:
21.1 – Provides examples of correspondence or other documents, such as enclosures, that should
be excluded from the Electronic Correspondence Database.
R1 SUPPLEMENT: 6209.12-2013-1
EFFECTIVE DATE: 03/08/2013
DURATION: This supplement is effective until superseded or removed.
6209.12_20
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FSH 6209.12 – CORRESPONDENCE HANDBOOK
CHAPTER 20 – SPECIAL AND CONTROLLED CORRESPONDENCE
21 – TYPES OF SPECIAL AND CONTROLLED CORRESPONDENCE AND CODES
21.1 – Restricted Correspondence
The following examples are in addition to those referenced in FSH 6209.12, 21.1 Exhibit 01 and
are not all-inclusive:
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Proprietary information such as development of new technology, personal or company
financial statements or records.
Personal information such as Social Security numbers, loan or financial account
information.
Specific land value determinations or appraisal information, including appraisal reviews.
Confidential information pertaining to or resulting from an audit or investigation.
Notice of non-selection in response to a solicitation, if the notice contains confidential
information.
Correspondence, notices or other documents pertaining to an appeal, appeal resolution or
ongoing litigation, if the documents contain confidential information.
Information subject to attorney-client privilege.
Examples of confidential or sensitive information that may cause correspondence or
attached documents to be excluded from the electronic correspondence database. 1 These
examples are not all-inclusive and may be updated.
Staff Area
Examples
Fire, Aviation and Air
Forest and Range Management
Human Resources (can include
Civil Rights)
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Information regarding Work Capacity Test Results
Information regarding Accident Investigations
Unannounced Timber Accounting & Theft Audits
Timber Contract Letters created through DAP/TIM
Personal Employee Information such as… SS#, Home
Phone #, Home Address, Age, Date of Birth,
Race/National Origin
Non-Selection for a Position
Performance
Personal Financial Data
Pay Issues (i.e. Back Pay)
Employee Relation Cases
Transmittal letters seldom contain confidential or sensitive information, so they should generally be processed
through the electronic correspondence database. Correspondence and attachments should be excluded from the
database only when they contain (unclassified) confidential or proprietary business information, trade secrets,
correspondence for official use only, or sensitive information.
R1 SUPPLEMENT: 6209.12-2013-1
EFFECTIVE DATE: 03/08/2013
DURATION: This supplement is effective until superseded or removed.
6209.12_20
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FSH 6209.12 – CORRESPONDENCE HANDBOOK
CHAPTER 20 – SPECIAL AND CONTROLLED CORRESPONDENCE
Recreation, Minerals, Lands,
Heritage and Wilderness
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Law Enforcement
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Acquisition Management
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Safety & Health
Wildlife, Watershed, Fisheries &
Rare Plants
General/All staff areas
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Special Uses2 - confidential, sensitive or proprietary info
Land Appraisals & Acquisitions – prior to finalization;
specifically Appraisal Review letters
Correspondence or documents describing archeological
or historical site locations, American Indian traditional
cultural properties, sacred or burial sites
Mining data submitted as confidential business or
proprietary information
Generally the database is not used for Law Enforcement
related Correspondence
Non-Selection of Bids
Contracting created through automated program
Information regarding Accident Investigations
Locations of Threatened & Endangered Species
(Note: This information is releasable under FOIA.)
Active litigation
Documents subject to Attorney-Client privilege
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Consider the following definitions (FSM 6233.05 and 6234.05):
Confidential Business Information: Commercial or financial information considered confidential because
disclosure would likely: (1) impair the Government’s ability to obtain the necessary information in the future; or
(2) cause substantial harm to the competitive position of the person who provided the information.
Proprietary Information. Information belonging to a certain owner or proprietor, who may have exclusive right to its
manufacture and sale, such as geological and geophysical interpretations, maps and directly related interpretations,
other data relating to the competitive rights of the operator, and privileged commercial and financial information.
Trade Secret. Any formula, pattern, device, or information which is used in a business and which gives a
competitive advantage.
For Official Use Only (FOUO) Information. FOUO is an administrative (unclassified) marking placed on
correspondence or documents to limit access to specific offices or individuals. Marking documents FOUO will not
constitute a Department of Defense security classification, nor is it a justification for withholding information under
the Freedom of Information Act.
Sensitive Information. Sensitive (unclassified) information is information the disclosure, loss, misuse, alteration, or
destruction of which could adversely affect national security or other Federal Government interests.