Thus in the desert no farming and no each, water has made growth possible. gardening, no cool lawns, and no land- Water has made the desert bloom. scaping are possible without developed supplies o£ water. For further reading: The Phoenix area has developed water Golze, Alfred R., Reclamation in the United supplies for agriculture, but these water States. The Caxton Printers, Ltd., Caldwell, supplies made of Phoenix a sought-out Idaho, 1961. place to live and work. Thus its popula- Jaeger, Edmund C, The North American Deserts. Stanford University Press, Stanford, tion has exploded, jumping from 65,000 Calif., 1965. in 1940 to 522,000 in 1964. Perhaps a Mann, Dean E., The Politics of Water in better guide to population growth are Arizona. The University of Arizona Press, the county figures, from 186,000 in 1940 Tucson, 1963. Shadegg, Stephen C, The Phoenix Story— to a whopping 870,000 in 1964. An Adventure in Reclamation. Stephen C. This very brief story of a desert city is Shadegg, Phoenix, Ariz., 1958. unique and common as well. The other U.S. Department of Agriculture, Climate and desert cities of the have Man, the 1941 Yearbook of Agriculture. Wash- ington, D.C. 20250, 1941. enjoyed similar growth. Each has had Water, the 1955 Yearbook of Agri- its own start, its own pattern of growth, culture. U.S. Government Printing Office, Wash- its own high points of history. But in ington, D.C. 20402, 1955. $2.25.

Fishin' Luck Has To Be Good on the Horseshoe Lakes

ROBERT E. McLELLAND

CRAPPIE have moved into shallow white perch or Sac-a-Lait in Louisiana) water"—"crappie spawning!" are in the shallow water along the banks. common phrases which spread like wild- I know. For the past 20 years I have fire throughout the Mississippi Delta area fished some of these lakes, and the desire beginning in mid-March and continuing to "drown some minnows" is still as with an ever-increasing tempo. strong as ever, motivated mainly by the Fishing fever, in epidemic proportions, fact that you know you can catch fish. is common from Memphis, Tenn., to With cane pole, line, sinker, medium- Angola, La., and the old saying, "When size cork, a small spinner above your you are too busy to fish; you're too busy" hook, and a bucket of minnows you're certainly becomes a true statement. With in business, fishing either from the bank the first few warm days of spring, fisher- or from a small flat-bottom boat some 12 men—^men, women, and children from to 24 inches deep. 8 to 80—converge upon the calm waters The native vegetation along the cypress- of these cutoff bends, or "Oxbow Lakes" and willow-lined banks of these lakes as they are sometimes called, along the "Mighty Mississippi" for the only known cure for fishing fever. This cure is to Robert E. McLelland is a District Supervisor, catch a limit of slab crappie (also called Farmers Home Administration, Pine Blufi, Ark. 130 affords ideal spawning grounds and pro- water. The heavier particles are deposited tective cover for the game fish—crappie, near the ends of the lakes and eventually black bass, bream, and blue channel cat— fill them to the extent that there soon which abound in these natural lakes. is no water connection with the river, When the willows begin to green up except during the flood periods. and dogwood is in bloom, you know it Other lakes have been formed by the is spawning time for all species of these U.S. Corps of Engineers straightening the game fish. Variety adds to the excitement river, thus leaving the great bends as of the trip for when your cork suddenly lakes. disappears under the surface you set your These natural horseshoe lakes provide hook and wrestle your fish to the top the sportsman with earlier fishing than of the water—not until then do you know the larger artificial lakes, due to their whether you have tied into old mossback being more shallow. Thus, the water black bass, channel cat, or slab crappie. temperatures rise more rapidly in spring By May 1, the bluegill bream have and are naturally replenished with adult moved into the shallow waters along the fish and spawn from the overflows during banks to make their spawning beds. the high river stages. These lakes are as That's the time for popping bugs (small fertile as the delta soil itself, and tests floating lures), earthworms, crickets, and show that they can produce 900 to 1,000 other common baits to serve their pur- pounds of game and rough fish per acre. pose. In my opinion, bream have more A number of these lakes are so remote fight ounce for ounce than any other that the use of a four-wheel-drive vehicle fish. I have caught limits of 50 bream is required to reach them, while other using crickets and worms for bait, with- large lakes are reached by hard surface out moving the boat more than 30 yards and gravel roads, with boats and other from one breambed to another. facilities readily available for rent. Fly fishing for bream with popping bugs and slow sinking flies is an unex- Millions of Crappie celled sport, especially when you can catch a big bream or miss a strike almost Recreation plus—that's what you find every cast. Your wrist and arm need a on the horseshoe lakes. Picture a giant rest after an hour's fishing. Anyhow, it's crescent set in fern green cypress. Bass— your turn to swap places with your buddy the big black fighters leap from a mirror who has been paddling the boat and who of the sky, snagged on the sharp hook has hardly been able to stand the pres- of the angler's line. Crappie, millions of sure—and couldn't without knowing his them, waiting impatiently for the baited turn was coming. In fact, on occasion I hook of the neophyte fisherman. Brown have accused my partner of having run bodies flash golden health in the sun as his watch ahead on me. swimmers cut the cool lake surface. Later, Since bream, unlike other species of boats and party barges are dark images game fish in these lakes, usually spawn in the widening path of yellow moonlight. more than one time during the summer— This is yours for the asking whether once beds are located they will provide you travel south from Memphis on U.S. excellent fishing until the fall. Highway 61 along the east side of the has only one kind of natural Mississippi or along U.S. 79 and 65 along lake—horseshoe lakes. These lakes were the west. You will not be far from a lake primarily created when the floodwaters offering various types of recreation where from the , seeking a local citizens, bait shops, and chambers shorter route, cut through the narrow of commerce will be more than glad to neck of a meander which had grown give you the needed information. overlong or when the river changed its Two of the more popular horseshoe course by crossing its natural levee to a lakes in Arkansas are Horseshoe Lake paralleling tributary. Current is reduced near West Memphis and Lake Chicot at in these old channels, and the river begins Lake Village in the southeastern corner to deposit sand and silt in the quiet of the State. Chicot is the largest natural 131 lake in the State. These particular lakes Camping fees are $1 per campsite per are now cut off from the river and major night with a 30-day limit. A total of 150 floodwaters by the Mississippi River levee. additional campsites are under construc- They are State owned and managed by tion. The other facilities planned include the State game and fish commission. tennis courts, a baseball diamond, an Lake Chicot, 16 miles long and three- archery field, and two more large pavil- quarters of a mile wide, attracts thou- ions for group activities. sands of visitors and sportsmen annually The trailer park can accommodate 30 from all over the United States. trailers with water and sewer connections. Lake , composed of A parking area for 60 additional trailers 120 pecan

The "Old Pro" displays a 2Y4-pound crappie. M. R. Causey, the superintendent of Lake Average Over a Pound Chicot State Park in Arkansas. Mr. Causey explains that the jig is flipped near dead snags, brush, or green willows, and is kept moving. Crappie usually take this bait as it is going down. He has caught crappie weighing up to 3'/4 pounds, with the average weight exceeding 1 pound. The Arkansas resident fishing license is $3.50 per year for persons 16 or over. For nonresidents 16 or over the annual fee is $6, and a 14-day license is $3.50. Following U.S. Highway 65 farther south into Louisiana you drive along beautiful Lake Providence. This blue 7- mile-long lake averaging a half mile wide offers public fishing docks, water skiing, sail boating, swimming, and boat rentals. Motels and restaurants along the shore have private lake facilities for guests. 132 Continuing south on U.S. 65 in Loui- reports that these lakes have been pro- siana you will find other outstanding viding excellent fishing for many years. recreational areas—Lake Yucatan near The Mississippi resident fishing license Newellton, La., and Lake Bruin State is $3 for fishing v^ith artificial bait or Park near St. Joseph, La. from a boat. A resident fishing from the A Louisiana resident fishing license is bank w^ith natural bait does not need a $2 per year for persons over 16. A non- license. The nonresident fishing fee is $6 resident license for those over 16 is $5, for an annual license, while a permit for and a 7-day license is $2. 3 days costs $1.50. In Mississippi, some of the more highly If you lean toward water sports, with utilized lakes are Moon Lake in Coahoma the emphasis on fishing, you and your County, Beulah Lake in Bolivar County, family will enjoy the natural horseshoe and Eagle Lake in Warren County. The lakes of the Mississippi Delta. Mississippi Game and Fish Commission Try them and see what I mean!

Flood Plain Safeguards: A Community Concern

GILBERT F. WHITE

AS TOWNS GROW and as rural areas above the channel can be estimated with -LX. are setded, they often wake up to some confidence, but the year of occur- find that overnight they have lost pre- rence cannot be predicted. cious reaches of land along valley bottoms. Often newcomers to a river valley are Sometimes it is a subdivision which cuts completely unaware of the risk of the up a tree-bordered channel. More often it stream rising far above its banks. Even is scattered houses or industrial plants old residents may not have experienced which take over the lowlands. Once in- the great floods that* come on the average vaded, these corridors of water and of once in 200 years, and yet may strike 2 bottom land, with their distinctive vege- years in a row, as in the Connecticut tation and bird and mammal populations, valley in the early 1950's. are destroyed for public recreation and Once it is recognized, the flood hazard wildlife use and can be reclaimed only may become the basis for community at rather heavy expense. measures which will preserve open space Because the valley lands commonly are for desirable recreation and for habitat subject to overflow from their streams, protection. they lend themselves in a unique manner Several types of regulation are used by to community action to promote wise use public groups to guide the use of flood of land in the public interest. With a few rare exceptions, every stream gets out of its banks from time to time and uses its flood plain to carry the flows that it cannot Gilbert F. White is Professor of Geography at the University of Chicago. He was Chairman accommodate in its normal channel. The of the Task Force on Federal Flood Control hazard of flooding at any given elevation Policy during 1965-66. 133