Arkansas-White-Red Basins Inter-Agency Committee Purpose, Organization and Plan for Public Hearings

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4116 Appendix C 31 Aug 1950 REPORT OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON MAPPING TO THE ARKANSAS - WHITE -RED BASIN INTER- AGENCY COMMITTEE As a result of the passage of Public Law 516, known as the Flood Con- trol Act of 1950, the Federal Inter - Agency River Basin Committee appointed an inter - agency committee to coordinate at field level work authorized in a comprehensive survey by this public law. At the first meeting of the field inter - agency committee on July 28 at Oklahoma City, the subcommittee on mapping was established by resolution as followss Be it resolved by the Arkansas- 1Nhite -Red Basin Inter-Agency Committee that a subcommittee be appointed to make a report on map availability and suitability in the Arkansas- White and Red River Basin for preparation of the comprehensive report. This subcommittee will inventory existing maps and evaluate their utility and will take into account mapping programs under way and proposed by States and Federal Agencies and others. The report of the mapping subcommittee will be made at the August 1950 meeting of the full committee. The Flood Control Act of 1950 provides an opportunity as well as a responsibility to develop a emprehensive program of resources development which is urgently needed by this area. It is interesting to know that another committee of this same 82nd Congress, the Committee on Public Lands, issued report 2587 to accompany H. R. 6900, a bill to accelerate the mapping programm within the States and possessions. The following are excerpts from this report. "The logical starting point for most Federal and non - Federal projects in a wide variety of natural resources are suitable maps ", and again "There is universal recognization that nothing would contribute more to an effective and judicious development of our resources and the economical operation of our many activities than a complete set of maps showing the necessary surface and subsurface features. Such maps are necessary for the use of soils, the location of highways, railways, dam sites, industrial plants, telephone and electric lines, radio transmission stations, airports, reclamation projects, drainage projects, and almost all activities dealing with the surface of the earth and the - development of its resources. The effective use of the soil in the production of farm crops, timber production and other useful plant life can best be understood and carried out with suitable maps available ", Being conscious of the responsibility given to it by these Congressional objectives and with the directive resolution of the full committee firmly in mind, this committee has made a partial inventory and appraisal to the best of its ability within the past month. The voluminous amount of this material which has been assembled by the magnificent cooperation of all the agencies, both State and Federal, and including the information returned by the major oil companies, has prevented this committee: from completely discharging its assignment. Therefore, the information contained in this report can be considered only partial at this time . C -1