The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) has announced the award of $3.6m in grants through Acres for America, a land conservation partnership with Walmart, to permanently protect more than 145,000 acres of wildlife habitat across five states. The grants will leverage $56m in public and private matching funds for a total conservation impact of $59.6m.
The five projects announced will safeguard nationally significant wildlife habitat and increase public access to the outdoors, delivering lasting benefits to local communities and economies.
“For more than 20 years, Acres for America has been a cornerstone of landscape-scale conservation in the US,” said Jeff Trandahl, executive director and CEO of NFWF.
“These historic investments by Walmart continue to conserve America’s iconic landscapes, strengthen local economies and provide new opportunities for people across the nation to enjoy the outdoors.”
“Acres for America was built on the idea that conserving diverse, high-value landscapes benefits both wildlife and communities, and these grants deliver exactly that. The range of projects we’re supporting this year, from forests and coastal habitats to vital wildlife corridors, represents an extraordinary cross-section of America’s natural landscapes, demonstrating how conservation works at scale. With this program, we’re securing lasting environmental and recreational value across the country for future generations,” said Hunter Hart, SVP of Walmart Realty.
Projects funded through this year’s investment include:
In Florida, Alachua Conservation Trust will conserve a 4,636-acre tract that connects more than 87,000 acres of previously protected and publicly accessible land within the Lochloosa Wildlife Corridor. The project will safeguard habitat for black bear, gopher tortoise, eastern indigo snake and other key Florida wildlife; expand opportunities for public recreation; and allow for expansion of longleaf pine habitat across the landscape.
In Maine, the Forest Society of Maine, Northeast Wilderness Trust, Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust and The Nature Conservancy in Maine will conserve 78,000 acres of forestland containing a nationally important watershed for brook trout and a landscape of various wildlife habitats, vital bird migration routes, productive timberlands and recreational opportunities for the public.
In Michigan, The Nature Conservancy, along with the Little Traverse Conservancy, will assist the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to conserve an 8,850-acre property that is one of the last remaining large intact, privately owned forests tracts in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. The project will ensure the tract will be properly managed for sustainable timber, wildlife habitat for deer and upland game bird species, fish habitats and public recreational areas.
In North Carolina, Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina will conserve 12,000 acres of mountainous forestland at the junction of the Blue Ridge Mountains and South Mountains of Western North Carolina. The project will acquire land for public ownership, guaranteeing public access, habitat management and preservation, and water quality protection.
The Acres for America Program began in 2005 when Walmart made an initial 10-year, $34.5m commitment to purchase and preserve an acre of wildlife habitat in the US for every acre of land developed by the company. Walmart surpassed that commitment and renewed the program for another 10 years in 2015 and again in 2025. The program will now have the combined effect of helping to protect more than 2m acres across 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
Over the past 21 years, NFWF has funded 131 projects through the Acres for America program and has leveraged Walmart’s $73m investment with matching contributions that have generated a total conservation impact of more than $1bn.
