TRACS User Administrators: to watch the eLearning videos and view/download training resources, visit Course 9: User Management.

1.  How are TRACS User Administrators designated?

User administrators are responsible for managing the access of users in their region, state, or territory. User Administrators are appointed to the position by regional managers or agency directors (see below).

2. What is the User Administrator appointment process?

Organization Directors/Managers should send an email titled "TRACS User Administrator Appointment" to the TRACS Help Desk at tracs-helpdesk@fws.gov and attach the Appointment Form. Please designate one or more User Administrators for your program or agency (we recommend appointing at least two user administrators so your organization has an alternate/backup). Appointment letters must be received by the TRACS Help Desk before the User Administrator role can be assigned.

TRACS User Administrator Appointment Form PDF

TRACS User Administrator Appointment Form Word

Individuals who will serve as User Administrators should complete the TRACS registration process (refer to Lesson 1c Register for TRACS). The TRACS Help Desk will “assign the ‘user administrator’ role and the individual will be automatically notified via email when their access is approved.

The same process applies to all current and future User Administrator appointments.

3. What the user administrator responsibilities?

The User Administrator is responsible for all user management functions for their agency or office, including approving access requests, managing groups, and updating their users' roles and permissions, including disabling access for users who leave the position/organization or are inactive for 60 days in TRACS.

The User Administrator is informed of user requests via email and is responsible for approving or denying access within a reasonable time frame (within 2 business days is recommended, and at the latest within 2 weeks from the user requesting access).

4. How are groups set up?

Prior to managing approvals for user access requests, the user administrator(s) should ensure that their groups are set up correctly to meet their organizational needs. Groups are set up by the Help Desk based on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) regions and regional office jurisdictions, as well as the states/territories within each region. The User Administrator is responsible for setting up any additional group(s) for their state/territory based on access needs. The group could be the agency/organization or more specific groups could be created to differentiate between departments or divisions that require separate access.

For more information on the appointment process or troubleshooting assistance, please contact the TRACS Help Desk at tracs-helpdesk@fws.gov or 1-844-408-7227.

5.  Once someone is in a group/sub-group, can user administrators move them to a different group?

Yes, however there is no “move” button at this time. Instead, remove the user from the group(s) they no longer need to access and add them to the group(s) they require.

6.  If a user's account is disabled, can we reactive them?

Yes, non-federal user administrators will have the ability to disable or enable the users in their groups as needed. The TRACS Help Desk will automatically disable or enable users for Federal staff based on employee separation reports from the Service. 

7.  I created 3 new sub-groups for my agency. Do the federal staff get automatically added or do I need to manually add them?

Users in a parent group (such as the regional office) do not automatically inherit access to any new sub-groups. Users can be removed from new sub groups if they do not require access. Contact the TRACS Help Desk for assistance.

8.  Can a grant be reassigned to a new sub-group?

Yes, the group assigned to a grant and project statement in TRACS can be changed by users with the data editor role for that group PRIOR to the approvals process. Contact the TRACS Help Desk for further assistance if needed.

9.  Why disable a user account after 60 days? This may be an issue since we have staff who will only need to use TRACS once or twice a year.

The requirement to disable users that have not been active in the system for 60 days is a security policy set by the Department of the Interior (DOI), to comply with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) cybersecurity framework. Eventually, the TRACS system will be set up to auto-disable the accounts of users who have not logged in after 60 days and send an email notification to the user and their user administrator(s) when the 60 days is approaching. This feature has not yet been set-up, so TRACS user administrators are responsible for disabling inactive user accounts during the semi-annual review.

10.  How do I disable/enable users?

An appointed Federal and/or Non-Federal User Administrator can disable and enable users in their group(s).

Non-Federal User Administrators are responsible for disabling user accounts when needed, such as when the user no longer needs access to TRACS due to a position change, leaving the organization/agency or is inactive for 60 days in TRACS.

Note that Federal User Administrators do not need to disable user accounts, since the TRACS Help Desk will periodically review federal user accounts and disable inactive accounts based on the separation reports from DOI).

Note: User Administrators are not able to remove the user administrator role from other user administrators within their group(s). Also, User Administrators are not able to disable their own account. Contact the TRACS Help Desk for assistance.

11. Do you recommend having a separate "group" for each grant program or division?

Groups and sub-groups limit access to grants and records in TRACS to only users attached to that group/sub-group. Sub-groups may be added to meet department needs, however we recommend keeping group structure simple.

12. Does group membership limit the user to only editing? Can they see non-group grants?

Groups are attached to grants and only users in that group can see the grant (and depending on their role, edit and/or approve it).

13. Why am I unable to view all grants that I manage?

Grants are attached to a state/territory agency group or sub-group (not the regional level). Federal User Administrators need to assign federal staff access to the “parent” regional office and to all of the state groups they manage including state agencies and their sub-groups. By default all child groups and sub-groups are auto-selected. Contact the TRACS Help Desk for assistance if needed.

14. Troubleshooting Tips for User Administrators:

If a user is not able to access or manage a grant, it could one of several issues:

• The user is not assigned the correct role, so you may need to check their role permissions.
• The user is not assigned to the correct group so you may need to check their group assignments.
• The grant or inventory record is not assigned to the explicit group. This could happen if the user who enters the data has access to multiple groups and accidentally selects the incorrect group. Contact the help desk or your user administrator for additional assistance.