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Lower Mississippi Delta Region Initiative

This Initiative, Public Law 103-433, directs the Secretary of the Interior to undertake a comprehensive program of studies on heritage in the Lower Mississippi Delta.

The Lower Mississippi Valley has a density of history and prehistory unmatched elsewhere in the United States. For thousands of years, the Mississippi was the major highway for people from all corners of the continent. American Indians, European explorers, adventurers, planters, slaves, and armies left behind artifacts of their culture, world views, and ideas. There are records of human habitation five thousand years old and on a massive scale. Repeated building programs over ensuing millennia have brought us to the present and these endeavors have been reported by a series of visitors such as Cabeza de Vaca, Hernando de Soto, Aaron Burr, Ulysses S. Grant, and Jefferson Davis. The National Park Service invites you to experience this web site and gain a better understanding of this region's rich history.

Roger G. Kennedy
Former Director of the National Park Service

Mississippi Delta Outreach

This outreach program is intended to bring about the protection, preservation, and interpretation of significant natural, cultural, and recreational resources. Special emphasis is on education activities and the fostering of scholarship. This section includes information on the history and heritage of the Lower Mississippi Delta.

Legislative Initiative LMDR (PL103-433)

This legislative initiative mandates the National Park Service (NPS) undertake a series of studies to identify resources and recommend methods to preserve and interpret the natural, cultural, and recreational resources of this region. The NPS will then manage or assist others in implementing legislated programs. Economic development through enhanced tourism is the primary goal.

Partnerships

The National Park Service will continue to establish partnerships and links with organizations and key individuals to enlist their aid in developing and accomplishing the goals of the Mississippi Delta Outreach programs and the Lower Mississippi Delta Region Initiative.