Private lands surround and span gaps between all protected areas in Costa Rica. Natural resource management practices in these critical buffer and corridor areas will directly shape the character and outcome of conservation in one of the most biologically diverse countries in the world. This article examines the decision making process of landowners in response to recent real estate development in Costa Rica‟s Path of the Tapir Biological Corridor region. Interviews with landowners and key informants shed light on common values and weaknesses in the decision making process. We investigated the effects of decision process strengths and weaknesses on trust building and landowners‟ abilities to pursue their common interests. The article concludes by evaluating several alternatives through which decision processes and trust networks could be strengthened.