1. 1. Conservation priorities and goals are place-based or affected by place-based management.
2. 2. Threats and strategies warrant long-term exclusivity to achieve conservation goals.
3. 3. Conservation organization is capable of acquiring lands or resources and assuming active management responsibilities.
4. 4. Ownership and use of the lands or resources are known or knowable.
5. 5. Laws and policies indicate that leasing or ownership of the site or resources is both possible and preferable to ensure protection and needed level of long-term exclusivity.
6. 6. Owner, agency, and political climate are amenable to private in-water conservation projects.
7. 7. Project partners and funders clearly understand the nature and potential consequences of strategy.

Step 2: Decision Checklist

The Decision Checklist is designed to assist organizations in determining if leasing or ownership of lands and resources lying within ocean and coastal waters are strategies that can help meet the organization's conservation priorities and goals. The criteria within the checklist can augment existing decision-making criteria organizations may already have or can stand alone when other criteria are absent. In general, if projects do not meet all or most of the criteria below, then other conservation strategies may be more effective.

Keep in mind that leasing and ownership are only two tools in the marine conservation toolbox. All available tools should be considered when organizations are planning conservation goals in specific areas. Leasing and ownership strategies are not applicable under every situation or in every geographic area, so it is essential to understand and apply these or other decision-making criteria.

The decision-making criteria are presented in a logical progression such that criteria presented first should normally be satisfied before going on to subsequent criteria. However, organizational preferences and specific projects may require or allow for changes in the order or substance of the criteria. As such, the criteria provided below can be adapted to specific circumstances.

Last, if an organization is responding to an immediate opportunity as opposed to following a methodical planning process, criteria 1 and 2 may be skipped or addressed at a later time.