In 2005, Walmart made a commitment to help permanently conserve one acre of wildlife habitat in the United States for every acre of land developed by its stores. Twenty-one years later, the Acres for America programme has supported 138 projects that have permanently protected more than 2.2 million acres across all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The programme is a partnership between Walmart and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, or NFWF, and its latest figures show $73.6 million in Walmart funding and more than $1 billion in total conservation impact. The effort has continued through successive 10-year commitments, with seven new grants announced in 2026.
How Walmart’s Acres for America programme began in 2005
Acres for America began in 2005, when Walmart made a 10-year, $34.5 million commitment to NFWF to purchase and preserve one acre of wildlife habitat for every acre of land developed by Walmart. The programme’s current materials describe its original conservation goal as approximately 100,000 acres, which it has now surpassed by more than 20 times.The programme was designed around four broad objectives: protecting critical habitat for birds, fish, plants and wildlife; connecting existing protected lands; providing opportunities for people to enjoy the outdoors; and supporting communities whose economies depend on forestry, ranching and recreation. Walmart renewed the programme for another decade in 2015 and announced a further 10-year, $34.5 million renewal with NFWF in November 2024. Walmart said that the latest commitment, combined with previous contributions, brought its total contributions to NFWF through the programme to more than $100 million.
Acres for America has protected more than 2.2 million acres
The programme’s current figures show how far it has moved beyond its original target. NFWF’s 2026 grant slate says Acres for America has funded 138 projects across all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico and permanently protected more than 2.2 million acres. A separate April 2026 NFWF release says Walmart’s $73.6 million investment has generated more than $1 billion in total conservation impact, including matching contributions.The projects have also helped connect millions of acres of protected land, supporting larger conservation landscapes and wildlife movement. The programme has provided nearly $4 million in emergency response funding connected to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 and Hurricane Sandy in 2012. It has also invested more than $1.8 million in community-based projects in cities including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Diego, Denver, Bridgeport, Portland, Albuquerque and Washington, D.C.
2026 Acres for America grants will protect more than 177,000 acres
The latest round of funding adds seven projects across California, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Virginia. NFWF announced $5.4 million in grants in April 2026, with the projects expected to protect more than 177,000 acres. The awards are backed by $135.8 million in matching contributions, producing a stated total conservation impact of $141.2 million.Among the projects, the New Mexico Land Conservancy will use an $800,000 grant to help permanently protect the 19,316-acre Ghost Ranch and five miles of Rio Chama frontage through a conservation easement that guarantees public access. In Oklahoma, The Conservation Fund received $650,000 toward protecting 11,333 acres as the state’s first official State Forest, including habitat for the threatened leopard darter and federally threatened and endangered mussels. In Colorado’s San Luis Valley, Western Rivers Conservancy received $535,000 toward conserving 45,952 acres at the headwaters of the Rio Grande, including more than 30 miles of perennial cold-water streams supporting native Rio Grande cutthroat trout.
The programme now works through local conservation projects
Acres for America does not operate as a single land-buying project. Its grants support conservation organisations, land trusts and other partners carrying out individual projects around the country. The 2026 slate includes conservation easements, land acquisitions and transfers to public agencies, depending on the location and conservation goal.That structure allows the programme to support very different landscapes, from ranchland and prairie to forests, river headwaters and wildlife habitat. The 2026 projects alone include a multigenerational ranch in the Flint Hills of Kansas and Oklahoma, mountain conservation in North Carolina, the Cumberland Highlands in Virginia and a cattle and sheep ranch in northeastern California. With the latest grants, a pledge that began in 2005 with a target of roughly 100,000 acres has grown into a programme reporting more than 2.2 million acres permanently protected across the United States and its territories.
