Which tool should an ArcGIS user use to evaluate the best land tract based on cost and environmental impact?

The best choice for evaluating the best land tract based on cost and environmental impact is the Weighted Overlay tool. This tool is specifically designed for multi-criteria evaluation, allowing users to combine multiple raster datasets by assigning weights and scores to each layer based on their importance relative to the decision at hand.

In the context of assessing land tracts, the Weighted Overlay tool enables users to input different factors such as cost and environmental impact, assign them relative importance through weights, and produce a composite score that identifies the optimal areas based on the criteria. This quantitative approach provides a clear and effective way to rank locations according to various criteria, thus supporting decision-making processes involved in land use planning.

Using Fuzzy Overlay or Fuzzy Membership would not be as suitable in this case since they are generally applied for more nuanced suitability analysis, focusing on imprecise evaluation rather than a structured multi-criteria assessment where specific weights are crucial. Weighted Membership, while related to the concept of membership functions in fuzzy logic, does not directly utilize the evaluation of multiple factors in the same manner as the Weighted Overlay tool does. Therefore, Weighted Overlay is the most appropriate choice for integrating cost and environmental assessment criteria comprehensively.