The Soil Conservation Service developed the Land Evaluation and Site Assessment (LESA) system in the early 1980s to respond to a felt need for an objective system to evaluate the impact of farmland conversion. The system, whose scorecard appears in the article, has been adapted by many states and local jurisdictions with their own variations, many of which are authorized for use in federal projects. This article details the widespread use of LESA by various federal, state, and local agencies and the refinements that have been and are being made as a result of experience with the use of LESA in various places. Includes a list of references for further information on the system and its experience to date.