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Survey Manual

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Survey Manual (SM) Directives establish the policies and initiatives which govern the actions, conduct, and procedures of the Bureau.

SM Chapters establish long-standing policies, standards, instructions, and general procedures with Bureau-wide applicability.

SM Handbooks establish detailed procedures that supplement policy in SM chapters.

Instructional Memoranda are temporary policies and general procedures that will be incorporated into an SM chapter in the future.

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