Emergency Archeology in the Missouri River Basin: the Role of the Missouri Basin Project and the Midwest Archeological Center in the Interagency Archeological Salvage Program, 1946-1975

During the first half-dozen years of its existence, the Midwest Archeological Center continued the mission of its predecessor, the Missouri Basin Project: “emergency” or “salvage” archeology at water resource development projects within the vast Missouri River Basin, primarily along the Missouri River in North and South Dakota. For nearly thirty years, these two offices oversaw the investigation and recovery of archeological data threatened by the water resource development programs of other federal bureaus, primarily the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation. As a result of new federal legislation as well as program shifts within the National Park Service, the Center’s mission, funding sources, and organizational structure changed over time. Eventually the Center evolved into an office designed solely to support the archeological resource management responsibilities of National Park System areas.