Effective 1 February 2006 the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Service Center Agencies are implementing a new Geospatial Data Distribution policy.

This document establishes the policy on the distribution of geospatial data to USDA federal personnel and all others including the public. Only geospatial data sets produced or financed by USDA Service Center Agencies will be made available to everyone through the Geospatial Data Gateway. Geospatial data not produced or financed by USDA Service Center Agencies are no longer available through the Geospatial Data Gateway to anyone but USDA personnel.

The Geospatial Data Gateway Status Map page is located HERE. It shows the current availability of the geospatial data as well as which products are only available to USDA and require an eAuthenication login to order. Links have been provided to the data steward to assist in finding the most current and authoritative source of the geospatial data. The official geospatial portal for the government is the Geospatial One Stop.

Some additional links that might be useful for locating geospatial data are: FGDC Suggested State Clearinghouse Websites , The GISuser's Guide to locating and downloading Free USGS data and GISuser Guide to downloading Free 7.5 minute DEMs

USDA federal personnel need to use their eAuthenication login to access all available geospatial data through the Gateway. To use your eAuthenication login or to find out more information about obtaining a login, use the Login button on the Gateway home page.