Governments, international agencies, and funding organizations have renewed hope for the positive effects that “openness” may continue to have in science and technology, unlocking large-scale collaboration with increased efficacy in the application and reuse of public resources. “Openness,” however, is often perceived negatively by communities that have been historically excluded from science and technology projects. By asking what role open technologies play in environmental research infrastructures, we are primarily concerned about this disconnect with respect to the effectiveness and the limits of openness.