I researched Costa Rica's payments for environmental services (PES) program to assess its effectiveness and efficacy. PES is a conservation policy that directly pays landowners for environmentally beneficial land practices. Through my analysis of legal documents, interviews with Costa Rican stakeholders, and a cost-benefit analysis of conservation programs, I found that PES was not able to meet all of its stated goals. Additionally, the program has allowed for the emergence of a local conservation elite, sometimes to the detriment of smallholders the program purportedly benefits. As a popular conservation tool, I am contributing to the universal understanding of the effectiveness of the program through the writing of my research paper and a presentation of my research at a national conference next spring.