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 Waterbirds and social objectives for People is a priority for JVs. Black-crowned Night Heron (BCNH; Nycticorax nycticorax ) is one of UMGL JV"s focal waterbird species. We produced a spatial model (this raster dataset) of Predicted Habitat Suitability for BCNH in the JV region and surrounding areas during the breeding period to help achieve this goal. We published its map in the JV Waterbird Habitat Conservation Strategy - 2018 Revision (Appendix A). In this model, we used occurrence data from various sources collected over multiple years during the months June and July: Breeding Bird Survey (2007-2016), eBird (2007-2016), Great Lakes Marsh Monitoring Program (2005-2016), and the Great Lakes Colonial Waterbird Survey (2007-2010). Land cover type attributes associated with BCNH were categorized using the National Wetland Inventory (NWI) spatial data from areas surrounding (≤200 m) occurrence points recorded during the breeding period. Spatial data were considered at the NWI System, Class, Subclass, and Modifier levels but were eventually compressed and simplified to wetland system and class. Habitat suitability for waterbirds relates to key cover types and their juxtaposition. A Landscape Suitability Index (LSI) was established based on results of the NWI analysis for occurrence locations, species-specific habitat literature, and expert opinion. Habitat within the LSI is weighted from 1 (most suitable) to 0.2 (least suitable). Wetlands with predicted highest suitability for breeding (top two habitat categories in the LSI table) and within areas known to have breeding colonies of BCNH were extracted from the NWI. Using kernel density analysis, relative density and distribution of the most suitable habitats for BCNH during the breeding peroid were depicted across the JV region and surrounding areas. 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 relative density of breeding habitats for BCNH. Areas other than the hotspots represents lower breeding habitat occurrence densities. For more details, please see BCNH account in Appendix A of the 2018 JV Waterbird Habitat Conservation Strategy. We designed a flexible and adaptable analysis framework, and all focal species 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 such as soil types, current land use, hydrologic aspects, and other environmental priorities for customized output maps depicting best areas for BCNH habitat restoration vs. retention vs. enhancement. See the JV website and publications for details. Links: 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) Bcnh_AgsJvw_WbdHu10_Nwi16PEM125allPUSallPSSallPSS1to7allPFOallPFO1to7allRptsWetSzGrt10hKd1Km19KmR_FinalModelV2 = albers_Jv18BrdYsPrdct_BCNH. (ii) albers_Jv18BrdYsPrdct_BCNH → converted to TIFF and projected on-the-fly to WGS84 → renamed to Jv18BrdYsPrdct_BCNH_R. For internal use of USFWS staff: Data Management Plan (DMP) ID = 726; Title: UMGL JV - Black-crowned Night Heron - Predicted Breeding Habitat Suitability.ArcGIS ImageMapLayerhttps://hub.arcgis.com/datasets/8d3b9e532cdc48f9925e0bddbdf8dd40engU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Open DataPublicJV BCNH Predict Breed Habitat Suitability (Pxl) [United States]Web servicesUnited StatesLast Modified: 2026-01-29