Pro Tips: Appropriate Uses

Before running the ACPF, discuss the following list with colleagues to ensure everyone has appropriate expectations for running the ACPF and using the results.

• ACPF is designed for watersheds with predominantly agricultural land uses. It has much less value in forested and urbanized areas.
• ACPF is designed for work at the scale of HUC12 watersheds. To work at larger or smaller scales, first, run the analyses for HUC12 watershed(s), and then combine or extract results.
• The ACPF analyzes landscape characteristics to determine the landscape suitability of practices. The ACPF does not account for socio-economic considerations. It is not designed to estimate water resource impacts of practices or to generate engineering designs. However, it can inform all of these needs.
• ACPF results require field verification and review by people familiar with the landscape to ensure the results are accurate and useful in a watershed planning context.
• ACPF results are not recommendations for watershed implementation plans. The outputs identify conservation opportunities meant to inform discussions among local planners and stakeholders.