Brochures and articles on the Great River Road/Mississippi River Parkway (along the Mississippi River from Canada to the Gulf Coast); a report on a recommended route (1958); a report on a section from Fish Lake to Bryant Lake, Minn. (1957); a MORRC staff report on The Great River Road in Minnesota (1965); issues of Great River Road News (1963-1967, newspaper format; #s1-11, 1981-1989, newsletter format); 2 issues of "Minnesota Great River Road Newsletter" (Fall 1991 and Summer 1993); issues of the Mississippi River Parkway Commission newsletter (1961-1963, 1991).

In recognition of the Mississippi River's importance to the nation, Congress passed legislation in 1990 that established the Mississippi River Corridor Study Commission. Congress directed the commission to undertake a study to determine the feasibility of designating the river as a national heritage corridor. Congress also charged the commission with recommending methods for preserving and enhancing the unique natural, recreational, scenic, cultural, scientific, and economic resources of the corridor.