6209.11_50
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FOREST SERVICE HANDBOOK
NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS (WO)
WASHINGTON, DC
FSH 6209.11 – RECORDS MANAGEMENT HANDBOOK
CHAPTER 50 – RECORDS MANAGEMENT IN EMERGENCY OPERATIONS
Amendment No.: 6209.11-2006-1
Effective Date: August 11, 2006
Duration: This amendment is effective until superseded or removed.
Approved: JACQUELINE MYERS
Associate Deputy Chief
Date Approved: 08/01/2006
Posting Instructions: Amendments are numbered consecutively by handbook number and
calendar year. Post by document; remove the entire document and replace it with this
amendment. Retain this transmittal as the first page(s) of this document. The last amendment to
this Handbook was 6209.11-96-1 to FSH 6209.11.
New Document
6209.11_50
7 Pages
Superseded Document(s) by
Issuance Number and
Effective Date
!6209.11,50 Contents
(Amendment 6209.11-96-1, 07/19/1996)
6209.11,50
(Amendment 6209.11-96-1, 07/19/1996)
1 Page
2 Pages
Digest:
50 - Revises entire chapter and changes chapter name from “Vital Records” to “Records
Management in Emergency Operations.”
50.5 – Adds definitions for contingency planning, cycle, emergency, off-site storage, emergency
record management program; revises definition of vital records; and removes definition for rights
and interest records.
WO AMENDMENT 6209.11-2006-1
EFFECTIVE DATE: 08/11/2006
DURATION: This amendment is effective until superseded or removed.
6209.11_50
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FSH 6209.11 – RECORDS MANAGEMENT HANDBOOK
CHAPTER 50 – RECORDS MANAGEMENT IN EMERGENCY OPERATIONS
Digest--Continued:
51 – Changes caption to “Responsibilities of a Physical Unit Regarding Vital Records.”
Changes the term “Records Plan” to “Office Records List (ORL)” and adds the requirement for a
copy of the ORL to be in the office’s Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP).
52 – Changes caption to “Processing of Vital Records” and clarifies direction for the cycling,
duplication, and outside storage of vital records.
53 – Removes this section entirely.
WO AMENDMENT 6209.11-2006-1
EFFECTIVE DATE: 08/11/2006
DURATION: This amendment is effective until superseded or removed.
6209.11_50
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FSH 6209.11 – RECORDS MANAGEMENT HANDBOOK
CHAPTER 50 – RECORDS MANAGEMENT IN EMERGENCY OPERATIONS
Table of Contents
50.5 – Definitions ....................................................................................................................... 4
51 – RESPONSIBILITIES OF A PHYSICAL UNIT REGARDING VITAL RECORDS .... 6
51.1 – Continuity of Operations Plans (COOP) ......................................................................... 6
52 – PROCESSING OF VITAL RECORDS .................................................................... 6
52.1 – Storage and Protection of Vital Records.......................................................................... 6
WO AMENDMENT 6209.11-2006-1
EFFECTIVE DATE: 08/11/2006
DURATION: This amendment is effective until superseded or removed.
6209.11_50
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FSH 6209.11 – RECORDS MANAGEMENT HANDBOOK
CHAPTER 50 – RECORDS MANAGEMENT IN EMERGENCY OPERATIONS
50.5 – Definitions
Contingency Planning. Instituting policies and procedures to mitigate the effects of
potential emergencies on agency operations and records. Contingency planning is part of the
Continuity Of Operations Plan (COOP) required under Federal law and guidelines (FSM 6231).
Cycle. The periodic removal of obsolete copies of vital records and their replacement
with copies of current vital records. This may occur daily, weekly, quarterly, or annually in
order to keep the records current and up to date.
Emergency. A situation or an occurrence of a serious nature that develops suddenly and
unexpectedly, that impairs the normal operations of an agency and demands immediate action.
Emergency Operating Records. Those vital records essential to the continued functioning
or reconstitution of an organization during and after an emergency. Included are:
a. Selected program records needed to continue the most critical agency operations,
as well as related policy or procedural records that assist agency staffs in conducting
operations under emergency conditions.
b. Records necessary to resume normal operations after an emergency.
c. Records essential to protect the legal and financial rights of the Government and of
the individuals directly affected by its activities.
Emergency Record Management Program. The series of policies, plans, and procedures
developed and implemented and the resources needed to identify, use, and protect the essential
records needed to meet operational responsibilities under emergency conditions or to protect the
Government's rights or those of its citizens. This is a program element of an agency's emergency
management function.
Offsite Storage. Facilities other than an agency's normal place of business where vital
records are stored for protection. This is to ensure that the vital records are not subject to
damage or destruction from an emergency or disaster affecting an agency's normal place of
business.
Vital Records. Records that are essential to meet operational responsibilities under an
emergency situation or to protect the legal and financial rights of the Government or those
affected by Government activities. Vital records include, but are not limited to, the following:
a. Program records needed to continue critical agency functions.
WO AMENDMENT 6209.11-2006-1
EFFECTIVE DATE: 08/11/2006
DURATION: This amendment is effective until superseded or removed.
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FSH 6209.11 – RECORDS MANAGEMENT HANDBOOK
CHAPTER 50 – RECORDS MANAGEMENT IN EMERGENCY OPERATIONS
b. Emergency plans and directive(s), or other authorizing issuances, including
information needed to operate the emergency operations center and its equipment,
and records recovery plans and procedures.
c. Orders of succession.
d. Delegations of authority.
e. Emergency staffing assignments, including lists of personnel, along with their
addresses and telephone numbers (and comparable data for alternates), assigned to the
emergency operations center or other emergency duties or authorized access to
damaged facilities to assess the extent of damage.
f. Emergency operations center access credentials and classified or restricted access
container documentation (as required).
g. Building plans and building systems operations manuals for all agency facilities.
h. Equipment inventories for all agency facilities.
i. Documents describing the records series and electronic information systems
maintained at official filing stations for all agency facilities.
j. Copies of agency program records in the appropriate format needed to carry out
continuing critical functions.
k. Policy or procedural records that assist agency staff in conducting operations
under emergency conditions and for resuming normal operations after an emergency.
l. System documentation for any electronic information systems designated as
emergency-operating records.
m. Records relating to contracts, entitlements, leases, or obligations whose loss
would pose a significant risk to the legal and financial rights of the Federal
Government or persons directly affected by its actions.
n. Accounts receivable records.
o. Payroll, retirement, Social Security and insurance records.
p. System documentation for any electronic information systems designated as
required to continue operations.
WO AMENDMENT 6209.11-2006-1
EFFECTIVE DATE: 08/11/2006
DURATION: This amendment is effective until superseded or removed.
6209.11_50
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FSH 6209.11 – RECORDS MANAGEMENT HANDBOOK
CHAPTER 50 – RECORDS MANAGEMENT IN EMERGENCY OPERATIONS
51 – RESPONSIBILITIES OF A PHYSICAL UNIT REGARDING VITAL RECORDS
51.1 – Continuity of Operations Plans (COOP)
Each site must include a copy of the Office Records List (ORL), formerly the Records Plan, in
the office’s Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP). The ORL is essential for making decisions
on which records should be recovered first, in the event of an emergency.
52 – PROCESSING OF VITAL RECORDS
1. Duplicate records may be automatically created during the normal course of business
and cycled to offsite storage. Alternatively, each site may set up a scheduled time at regular
intervals to duplicate and cycle records to offsite storage.
2. Duplicate vital records must be regularly cycled. The frequency of cycling is based on
the medium, needs, and the use of the information contained in the records. Cycling may occur
at weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annual intervals.
3. Vital records must be easily located, readily retrievable, and in a usable condition
during an emergency.
4. Duplication, cycling, and storage of vital records must be a regular part of the business
process.
52.1 – Storage and Protection of Vital Records
Each physical unit is responsible to duplicate and store offsite a copy all vital records. The
offsite storage facility must be far enough away from the original site that both will not be
affected by the same emergency, except in those cases where an offsite facility has been
identified and is currently in use. These include:
1. Washington Office National Sites. Store vital records at the Federal Emergency
Management Agency Special Facility (BRAVO) and the Department Relocation Site
(CHARLIE), according to the Chief's Disaster Plan for National Emergencies.
2. Federal Regional Council Cities and Federal Regional Centers. Maintain emergency
records essential to Forest Service members on the USDA Regional Emergency Staffs at the
Federal Regional Council Cities and Federal Regional Centers (FSM 1590).
3. USDA State Food and Agriculture Councils. The Forest Service representative on
each USDA State Food and Agriculture Council shall maintain the reference material required
for emergency operations.
WO AMENDMENT 6209.11-2006-1
EFFECTIVE DATE: 08/11/2006
DURATION: This amendment is effective until superseded or removed.
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FSH 6209.11 – RECORDS MANAGEMENT HANDBOOK
CHAPTER 50 – RECORDS MANAGEMENT IN EMERGENCY OPERATIONS
4. Regional Federal Records Centers. In some cases, these centers are available to store
duplicate copies of vital records. Non-federal offsite storage facilities used to store original
official records must meet the records storage requirements established by the National Archives
and Records Administration in 36 CFR part 1236.
Equipment needed for reading the vital records must be immediately available offsite, or stored
with records in the offsite location, so the records are readable in an emergency situation.