Welcome to Great Lakes HEN!

If you have used HEN before and would like to go straight to the viewer click here

If you are new to HEN we recommend you read the following introduction and begin with the Getting Started link on the right side of the page.

What is Great Lakes HEN?

Great Lakes Habitat Evaluation Network (HEN) is a basin wide habitat conservation tool that integrates the results of the Great Lakes Mallard Study and GIS/Internet technology to plan and target habitat conservation activities within the Great Lakes states. HEN allows both DU and its' partners to enhance and refine wetland and upland habitat programs for breeding mallards under the North American Waterfowl Management Plan and the Upper Mississippi/Great Lakes Joint Venture. The research data were incorporated into the planning process to determine the changes in the current landscape that must occur to support the Joint Venture's goal of 1.3 million breeding pairs of mallards in the Great Lakes states.

The objectives of HEN were to:

1. document baseline parameters for mallards breeding in the Great Lakes Region: clutch size; hatch success; nest success; re-nesting intensity; duckling and brood survival; and hen breeding survival,
2. develop a Midwest mallard model and determine, via sensitivity analysis, which parameter(s) limit recruitment of mallards breeding in the Great Lakes, and
3. develop conservation planning tools and a decision support system, via GIS modeling, that incorporates the reproductive and habitat use parameters on a landscape level.

What can you do with Great Lakes HEN?

• Easily locate a place within the Great Lakes
• Identify the conservation priority for that location
• Identify potential restoration sites and determine areas
• View Aerial photography and other data layers
• Print maps

Who should use Great Lakes HEN?

HEN was primarily developed for habitat conservation organizations interested in restoring and protecting breeding waterfowl habitat in the Great Lakes (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, State wildlife agencies, and Ducks Unlimited).
However, conservation organizations can use HEN to:

1. See how their priority areas overlap with breeding waterfowl areas to partner with other organizations
2. Locate and identify existing conservation and restoration areas
3. Locate and identify areas for potential wetland restoration projects

1. Locate and identify their property
2. View Aerial Photography and other data layers
3. Identify potential conservation activities
4. Print maps

Many organizations have contributed to the success of this project. For a complete list of organizations click here.