Brief Historic Perspective NSL Research Program

1. Sept. 2004 Brief Historic Perspective NSLResearch Program • Situation: • Before WWII, northern Mississippi was a devastated, impoverished landscape with deep incisions and gullies in the hills, recurring flooding, and associated sedimentation problems in the low lying areas in the Mississippi Delta. • 1948:Small scale sedimentation research project was initiated at Mississippi State University by the SCS as part of a flood prevention program. • 1956:This project was moved to Oxford Mississippi. Since 1953 this project has been part of the ARS research program. Major focus was on sediment gaging of streams in the 117 mi2 Pidgeon Roost Watershed near Holly Springs, MS.

2. Brief Historic Perspective cont… • 1959:Construction of the oldest part of the current laboratory was completed. Studies included sediment transport and sedimentation processes. A minor role was assigned to research on sediment chemistry and the role of sediment as a pollutant. • 1969:A major new addition to the laboratory was completed and the research program expanded to include sediment yield measurements from small agricultural watersheds. • 1972:Program was further expanded to include erosion mechanics research with transfer of personnel from West Lafayette, IN; Watkinsville, GA; Morris, MN; and Tucson, AZ. Also water quality research became part of the Sedimentation Laboratory mission with the passage of the CWA legislation.

3. Brief Historic Perspective cont… • 1976:ARS Ecological Watershed Research had its beginnings with studies in Bear Creek, MS. • 1977:Stream system stabilization research began with the construction of grade control structures and stream bank stabilization measures in the Goodwin Creek (CGCEW) Watershed near Batesville, MS. This well instrumented watershed is now one of the premier ARS small scale (8.2 mi2) benchmark watersheds • 1985:The Demonstration Erosion Control (DEC) project was established on six Bluff Line watersheds in northern Mississippi. Goodwin Creek is a sub watershed in one of these DEC watersheds. The number of watersheds added to the DEC project increased over the years to 16 with the last one, the Yalobusha River Basin, added in 1996. Construction of the most recent addition to the NSL was part of this project. Since that time, ecological research matured to a major research component of the NSL program.

4. Brief Historic Perspective cont… • 1989:National Center of Computational Hydro sciences and Engineering (NCCHE) at the University of Mississippi was funded by Congress. NSL has the administrative oversight responsibilities. • 1993:Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) development was assigned to the NSL. RUSLE is the major soil conservation management tool in the nation. • 1996:The Mississippi Delta Management System Evaluation Area (MDMSEA) was funded. This was a major shift toward a more active role of conservation research on flatland and bottomland areas. • 1999:Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) research for the Yazoo River Basin was funded by Congress with subsequent increases in FY00 and FY01.

5. Brief Historic Perspective cont… • 2002:Inhouse Acoustics Research was funded by Congress, to complement acoustics research with the NCPA at the University of Mississippi. Subsequent appropriations were made in FY03 and FY04. • 2003:Sedimentation research on Mississippi reservoirs was funded by the U.S. Congress.

6. Summary • In summary: • There has been a continuous expansion of the research mission of the laboratory. It started with sediment gaging in-streams in northern Mississippi. Over the years, responsibilities related to sediment deposition in lakes, sediment yield from agricultural watersheds, soil erosion mechanics, runoff water quality impacted by agricultural practices, aqua-ecosystem as impacted by sediment in streams and lakes, extramural hydro sciences and engineering model development in channel system, agro-acoustics research as it related to soils and sediment, TMDL research, and sedimentation in reservoirs were added.