Private organizations, public data: Land trust choices about mapping conservation easements

Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have fewer transparency requirements than governments, yet they increasingly shape land use and protected areas. Land information disclosure by NGOs can improve coordination and accountability, but create potential privacy concerns. We focus on decisions by land conservation NGOs (land trusts) to share digital maps of conservation easements on private lands. We asked which land trusts were more likely to contribute digital maps to public databases, and what benefits and concerns with disclosure did land trust staff report? Regressions from a census of 1138 and survey of 241 land trusts showed that organizations were more likely to share digital maps when they had larger budgets, a statewide sharing norm, regional collaborations, a strategic plan for new acquisitions, higher perceptions of map usefulness, and lower privacy concerns. Key informant interviews provided depth about beneficial map uses and privacy concerns. More land trusts would likely contribute to protected areas databases if mapping capacity increased, transparency norms were reinforced, map benefits better articulated, and privacy concerns were addressed.