Despite its popularity, form-based restoration has been criticized by the scientific community. Common criticisms are that the scale at which form-based restoration is often much smaller than the spatial and temporal scales of the processes that cause the observed problems and that the target state is frequently influenced by the social conception of what a stream should look like and does not necessarily take into account the streams geomorphological context (e.g., meandering rivers tend to be viewed as more "natural" and more beautiful, whereas local conditions sometimes favour other patterns such as braided rivers). Numerous criticisms have also been directed at the NCD method by fluvial geomorphologists, who claim that the method is a "cookbook" approach sometimes used by practitioners that do not have sufficient knowledge of fluvial geomorphology, resulting in project failures. Another criticism is the importance given to channel stability in the NCD method (and with some other form-based restoration methods), which can limit the streams alluvial dynamic and adaptability to evolving conditions.  The NCD method has been criticized for its improper application in the Washington, D.C. area to small-order, interior-forested, upper-headwater streams and wetlands, leading to loss of natural forest ecosystems.