U.S. Fish & Wildlife ServiceDefinition Game Species identifies the prevalence and access to socially important game species. It prioritizes areas based on species richness of commonly hunted species. Pixels can take the following values: 1 - Game species richness = 1-2 species 2 - Game species richness = 3 species 3 - Game species richness = 4 species 4 - Game species richness = 5 species 5 - Game species richness = 6 species 6 - Game species richness = 7-10 species Selection This indicator was chosen as a targetable, important feature of the MLI goals that will be used to track conditions over time and prioritize areas for conservation. Indicators were defined through elicitation and prioritization exercises with federal and state participants. Criteria for the indicators includes 1) actionable, 2) measurable, 3) relevant to multiple groups across the region, and/or 4) representative of other social and/or environmental values. Input Data & Mapping Steps This indicator originates from the USGS Gap Analysis Project (GAP) and the National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation (FHWAR). To create this layer, MLI partners, members, and staff completed the following mapping steps: selected GAP models for terrestrial game species listed in the FHWAR, projected all input data to NAD83 (2011) UTM Zone 15N, mosaicked all species GAP models into a single species richness raster, and reclassified the raster into the following classes: 1 - Game species richness = 1-2 species, 2 - Game species richness = 3 species, 3 - Game species richness = 4 species, 4 - Game species richness = 5 species, 5 - Game species richness = 6 species, and 6 - Game species richness = 7-10 species. Finally, we removed highly altered areas using our Highly Altered Areas mask. For full mapping details, please refer to the Midwest Conservation Blueprint Development Process . For a complete download of all Blueprint input and output data, visit the Midwest Conservation Blueprint 2026 Data Download.ArcGIS ImageMapLayerhttps://hub.arcgis.com/datasets/785ac2f7a26d47c0b89697f859c9056eengU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Open DataPublicGame Species (Midwest Conservation Blueprint 2026 Indicator) [United States]Web servicesUnited States2026