Records Schedule & Disposition
How long records must be maintained and when they must be archived or destroyed is based on Service policy. The Service’s Records Schedule and Disposition Manual provides detailed guidance on retention and disposal, which are based on the format, content, and importance of project records. The Records Schedule and Disposition undergoes regular review and approval by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).
The disposition schedules that apply to your project and its products must be stated in your data management plan. This information is important to include to ensure compliance with Service policy and restrict limited permanent archive space in NARA to resources that truly need to be preserved.
Project records that need to be sent to Federal Records Centers or NARA for permanent storage will be transferred by your project’s data custodian (most likely your data manager). Project records slated for disposal can be properly discarded from the RDR by your data manger at the appropriate time, if desired.
Your data manager or the Regional Records Manager Kyle Cahill (kyle_cahill@fws.gov) can assist you in determining the correct records schedule and disposition for your project records and data products.
Updated July 2022
Last updated