U.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceJoint Ventures (JVs) are bird conservation partnerships, established to achieve the goals of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP). There are 22 bird habitat JVs in North America, and our JV, the Upper Mississippi/Great Lakes Region Joint Venture (UMGL JV) is located in the Midwest, in a pivotal location in the Mississippi Flyway , for people involved in migratory bird conservation. We are a collaborative, regional group of government agencies, tribes, nonprofit organizations, corporations, universities, and individuals that conserve habitat for the benefit of migratory birds, other wildlife, and people. Our landscape includes eastern Minnesota; all of Wisconsin and Michigan; eastern Nebraska and Kansas; western, southern and eastern Iowa; northern Missouri, Illinois and Indiana; and northwestern Ohio. Targeting conservation to achieve biological objectives for Wetland-birds (Waterfowl and Waterbirds) and social objectives for People is a priority for JVs. Supporting outdoor recreation (for nature enthusiasts and hunter and non-hunter conservation supporters) in suburban areas while conserving habitat for Wetland-birds is a social objective at the UMGL JV. We produced a spatial model (this raster dataset) of the distribution, relative density, and proximity of human populations to outdoor recreation opportunities within suburban areas to help achieve this objective. We published its map in the JV Waterfowl and Waterbird Habitat Conservation Strategies (2017 and 2018 Revision, respectively). In this model, we assumed locations with higher human populations have more potential recreationists, but travel time or distance will limit the use of conservation lands. Outdoor recreationists will likely have the best retention and recruitment opportunities as they move away from busy urban areas (with average ≤50 km) towards more open suburban landscape (Devers et al. 2017). However, their interest will diminish gradually if they continue to move away from suburban areas towards remote rural areas due to travel time back home, travel distance, and/or availability and accessibility of reacreation opportunities. To produce the spatial model, we obtained human abundance data per block (U.S. census 2010), and then converted block polygons to points, where each point inherited a "weight", that is the number of people in the original block. We used these points and their weights in a weighted (kernel) density analysis to generate a model for the density and distribution of human populations in the JV region. We reversed the pixel values, where pixels within urban centers got lower values and then values start to gradually increase as distance increase away from those centers, reaching to the highest values at suburban landscape at buffered neighborhoods of 50 km on average around population centers. This extension from urban areas to surrounding bands of undeveloped land represents the predicted geographic distribution of greatest Wetland-bird recreational opportunities (Devers et al. 2017). Thus, we expect potential conservation landscapes of average distance ≤50 km from where people reside (i.e., population centers) to receive greatest use by current and new outdoor recreationists if Wetland-birds and their habitats are available and accessible to the public. Finally, we converted kernel density raster dataset to TIFF format (this product) to improve data visualization, assessment, and interactivity online. This raster showed the distribution and relative density (scale of 0 - 1; values of low - high) of the most valuable areas (pixel neighborhoods) across the JV region, to acquire or manage whatever the required action at the local scale is (i.e., retention, protection, and or restoration). Aggregate-priority-areas were predicted to produce the most value for the decision makers. These hotspots were mainly prioritized using density of human populations relative to available ourdoor recreation opportunities as recreationists move away from urban centers (with average ≤50 km) toward suburban areas. Areas other than the hotspots represents lower demand on outdoor recreation and/or lower outdoor recreation opportunities. For more details, please see the JV 2017 Waterfowl and 2018 Waterbird Habitat Conservation Strategies. We designed a flexible and adaptable analysis framework, and all objective-oriented models (including this one) can be scaled-down (i.e., stepped-down to state, watershed, county, or any smaller target area) and supplemented with additional local data for customized output maps depicting best areas for Wetland-birds habitat restoration vs. retention vs. enhancement for the benefits of Wetland-birds and people. See the JV website and publications for details. Links: On hold / contact us : To download this TIFF dataset and related data, metadata, and documentation, please browse the UMGL JV online folder in the U.S. Geological Survey's ScienceBase repository . To view and explore this TIFF dataset and related data, please visit the online experience of the UMGL JV Decision Support Tools . References: Model codes and final steps (for internal use of UMGLJV staff): (i) jvw_uscensus10_populationandhousingunitsbyblock_albrcea_pt_pop10kd1km32ClsFlpVluCls3to30NrmByMax_2 = albers_Jv18OutRecSuburban. (ii) albers_Jv18OutRecSuburban → converted to TIFF and projected on-the-fly to WGS84 → renamed to Jv18OutRecSuburban_R. For internal use of USFWS staff: Data Management Plan (DMP) ID = 734; Title: UMGL JV - Conservation Associated with Suburban Outdoor Recreation.ArcGIS ImageMapLayerhttps://hub.arcgis.com/datasets/6a6193db6c244ac5a6beb60378615970engU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Open DataPublicJV Suburban Outdoor Recreation (Pxl) [United States]Web servicesUnited StatesLast Modified: 2026-02-11