Can a USGS co-author of a manuscript temporarily remove their name and USGS affiliation from a preprint with the intention of being added as an author when submitted for publication in another outlet? [203]

No. A USGS author may not temporarily remove their name from a manuscript to post it on a preprint server or to bypass any other FSP requirement. Removing an author’s name from a preprint and then adding it before submission to another publishing outlet would violate USGS FSP policy as well as the Department of the Interior Scientific Code of Conduct because the contribution as a USGS employee to the work would not be appropriately acknowledged.