This thesis is composed of four chapters. Chapter I is an introduction to the remaining text. Chapter II, "Habitat suitability index (HSI) models and great blue heron ecology: a review," is written as a thesis literature review. Chapter III, "Habitat structure, landscape characteristics, and populations attributes of great blue heron rookeries in the southcentral Great Plains," is written in manuscript form for submission to Colonial Waterbirds. Chapter IV, "Partial validation of the great blue heron HSI model for the southcentral Great Plains," is written in manuscript form for submission to the Journal of wildlife Management. Each manuscript is complete and needs no supportive material.