Agricultural Requirements and Upstream Watershed Development, Big Black River

Excerpts from the report: The Big Black Basin is located in the western and central portion of Mississippi. The Big Black River rises in the eastern portion of Webster County and flows about 270 miles in a southwestern direction. It enters the Mississippi River approximately 25 miles below Vicksburg near Grand Gulf in Claiborne County. The Basin is long and narrow and has no major tributary streams. It is approximately 155 miles in length, 22 miles in width and encompasses an area of 2,264,600 acres. The major land use distribution is as follows; forest land – 57 percent, cropland - 23 percent, pastureland - 13 percent, and other uses - 7 percent. The primary objective of the study is to facilitate the coordinated and orderly conservation, development, utilization and management of water and related land resources of the Basin. The Department of Agriculture agencies analyzed historical information and developed projections of the following major indicators in addition to minor ones: (1) volume and value of agricultural output, including timber production; (2) income and employment in basic agricultural and forestry activities; (3) use of rural lands, including the acreage devoted to major crops, forest production, recreation, and fish and wildlife; and (4) employment, income and other measures of economic activity directly and locationally related to the basic agricultural and forest industries. The current and future (1980 and 2015) land requirements for all uses were estimated by the Economic Research Service and Forest Service in collaboration with other agencies.