Court Order Shuts Down Access to FWS Web Site, Including eDecs
On March 15, 2004, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ordered most of the Department of the Interior, including the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), to disconnect all of their computer systems from the Internet as a result of an ongoing dispute over the Department of the Interior's maintenance and preservation of individual Indian trust data.
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According to a statement from the Department of the Interior, the computer systems subject to the Court order were disconnected on March 15-16, 2004.
eDecs Will Not be Available Until Internet Access to FWS is Restored
FWS sources have confirmed that due to the shutdown of its Web site, access to FWS' electronic declaration system, eDecs, is currently unavailable to the trade community.
(eDecs, FWS' electronic declaration system, is a voluntary system for filing the Declaration for Importation or Exportation of Fish or Wildlife (FWS Form 3-177), and is an alternative to filing a paper FWS Form 3-177. As of March 2003, eDecs was only for the Form 3-177; other components of the filers document package still had to be submitted in paper form. See ITT's Online Archives or 03/04/03 news, 03030405, for BP summary.)
Trade Must Submit Paper FWS Form 3-177 Until eDecs is Restored
FWS sources state that until access to its eDecs system is restored, the trade community will be required to submit a paper FWS Form 3-177 to FWS.
Department of Interior Says it is Working to Comply with Court Order
The Department of the Interior states that it is working to comply with the Court order as rapidly as possible.
FWS sources state that they expect to have more information about the length of this disruption in Internet access sometime during the week of March 22, 2004.
BP will update subscribers as new information is available.