The Missouri River Basin Development Program

This report is a tale of a great peaceful constructive undertaking -- freely assumed by the people of this country. It is a tale, briefly told, of our national effort to develop the vast resources of one-sixth the area of our country -- the Missouri River basin, greatest in the United States and one of the greatest in the world. The goal: Transformation -- of a drought-plagued, flood-ridden land, periodically over-grazed and overplowed; a valley rich in resources yet underpopulated, underindustrialized, and economically unstable -- to a land of greater economic security and strength, contributing its full share to the American welfare. In 1944, Congress authorized the Missouri River basin development program. How the plan works, its results to date, and future objectives are related in this booklet.