MMississippiississippi DDeltaelta NNationalMANAGEMENTational HHeritage PLANeritage AArearea March 2014 Cover art: Mississippi River Meander Belt: Cape Giradeau, Missouri to Donaldsonville, Louisiana. From Geological Inves ga on of the Alluvial Valley of the Lower Mississippi River. By Harold N. Fisk, 1944. Mississippi Delta Mississippi National Delta Na onal Heritage Heritage Area Area Delta Center for Culture and Learning Delta State University Room 130, Ewing Hall Cleveland, Mississippi 38722 662-846-4312 Luther Brown, director [email protected] www.msdeltaheritage.com. i Table of Contents Memo from Dr. John Hilpert, MDNHA board chair .............................................................................. xii Le er from Senator Thad Cochran ...................................................................................................... xiv Le er from Senator Roger Wicker ........................................................................................................ xv Execu ve Summary ............................................................................................................................. xvi MDNHA Board of Directors ................................................................................................................ xxii Chapter One – Introduc on ..............................................................................................................1 Na onal Heritage Areas .........................................................................................................................2 What is a Na onal Heritage Area? .........................................................................................................2 How are NHAs designated and managed? .............................................................................................2 What does a NHA do? ............................................................................................................................2 What does a NHA not do? ......................................................................................................................2 What are the accomplishments of NHAs? ..............................................................................................3 What is the purpose of a management plan? ........................................................................................3 Crea on of the MDNHA .........................................................................................................................4 Applicable laws .......................................................................................................................................4 NEPA .......................................................................................................................................................4 Management structure ..........................................................................................................................5 NHPA – Sec on 106 ................................................................................................................................6 Endangered Species – Sec on 7 .............................................................................................................7 MDNHA legisla ve requirements ...........................................................................................................7 Legisla on ..............................................................................................................................................8 The Planning Process: Development of the MDNHA Management Plan .............................................16 Iden fying a direc on for MDNHA .......................................................................................................18 Legisla ve considera ons .....................................................................................................................19 Standards for considera on of op ons ................................................................................................19 Development of op ons/alterna ves ..................................................................................................19 MDNHA alterna ves .............................................................................................................................20 Considering programma c implica ons ...............................................................................................21 The fi ve alterna ves .............................................................................................................................21 Build the Network The Selected Alterna ve – Partner to Save Places, Build the Network, Perpetuate Culture and Tell the Delta’s Story ..........................................................................................................24 Criteria for strategy development ........................................................................................................27 Chapter Two – MDNHA Boundaries and Socioeconomic Environment ...................................28 Introduc on ..........................................................................................................................................29 MDNHA communi es ...........................................................................................................................30 Demographics.......................................................................................................................................31 Mississippi Delta popula on changes: 1930-2010 ...............................................................................32 Unemployment rates ............................................................................................................................32 Gradua on rates ...................................................................................................................................33 Transporta on ......................................................................................................................................34 Economic Development in the MDNHA ...............................................................................................37 Who is working on economic development? ..........................................................................39 ii www.msdeltaheritage.com Chapter Three - Founda on Statement .........................................................................................41 Introduc on ..........................................................................................................................................42 Statement of Signifi cance .....................................................................................................................42 Thema c Framework ............................................................................................................................45 The Mississippi River and the Land it Embraces ......................................................................45 The Culture of the Blues and the Birth of an American Sound................................................46 Moving Toward Freedom: Changing America’s Character in the Struggle for Rights ..............47 Growing More than Co on: The Delta as a Wellspring of Crea vity.......................................47 The Delta Divide: Crea ng the Delta’s Diverse Communi es ..................................................48 A Na onal Heritage Area ......................................................................................................................49 Mission and Vision ..................................................................................................................50 Legisla ve du es and authori es ............................................................................................51 MDNHA goals, strategies and ac on steps ...........................................................................................51 Chapter Four - Historical Overview of the Delta ..........................................................................56 Introduc on ..........................................................................................................................................57 The Mississippi Delta ............................................................................................................................57 The River and the Land .........................................................................................................................57 The First Inhabitants .............................................................................................................................58 European Explora on ...........................................................................................................................59 The Last Fron er ...................................................................................................................................60 The Civil War ........................................................................................................................................60 Open for Business .................................................................................................................................61 Co on and Agriculture Planta ons ......................................................................................................62 The Birth of the