Land Evaluation and Site Assessment (LESA)

Learn More About LESA

The LESA Ranking System for Farmland Preservation

The Land Evaluation and Site Assessment (LESA) ranking system evaluates farm parcel soil productivity, development potential, farmland potential and clustering potential to prioritize applications for the Agricultural Conservation Easements Purchase Program.

LESA ArcView GIS Application

Read / download the RGIS bulletin about LESA

Penn State's Land Analysis Lab and Cooperative Extension GIS Program has developed the LESA ArcView GIS Application to streamline and improve the ranking process. The LESA ArcView interface allows users to identify a farm parcel and rank it against other applicant parcels in a matter of minutes.

About the LESA ArcView GIS Outreach Site

At this site, users can access information and resources about Pennsylvania farmland preservation, see how the LESA ArcView GIS software works, download a Centre County version for trial, or find out where to get information about implementing LESA ArcView GIS application in their counties.

If you would like to be included on a mailing list with announcements about the LESA program (or others), please give us your contact information.

LESA Ranking Criteria by County

The LESA program has two main components: Land Evaluation and Site Assessment. The land evaluation of a parcel is based on only one factor: the soils of that parcel. The site assessment depends on three factors: development, farmland, and clustering. Each factor has a weight which is determined by the individual county. The site assessment factors are further broken down into criteria determined by the individual county.

(click on counties to view ranking criteria)

Counties labeled in red are participants in the Agricultural Conservation Easements Purchase Program, but do not necessarily use the LESA ArcView GIS Application.