Walmart’s Acres for America has permanently protected more than 2.2 million acres since 2005

# What the programme is and how it started In 2005 Walmart committed to permanently conserve one acre of wildlife habitat in the United States for every acre it developed. That initial commitment was a 10-year, $34.5 million grant to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) called Acres for America. The programme was built around four objectives: protect critical habitat for species, connect existing protected lands, provide outdoor access, and support communities that rely on forestry, ranching and recreation.

# Outcomes through 2026

# Recent grants and concrete results In April 2026 NFWF announced seven new grants worth $5.4 million. Those awards are expected to protect more than 177,000 acres and are backed by $135.8 million in matching contributions, producing a stated total conservation impact of $141.2 million.

• New Mexico Land Conservancy: $800,000 to help protect the 19,316-acre Ghost Ranch and five miles of Rio Chama frontage through a conservation easement that guarantees public access.
• Fund (Oklahoma): $650,000 toward protecting 11,333 acres as the state's first official State Forest, protecting habitat for the threatened leopard darter and federally threatened and endangered mussels.
• Western Rivers Conservancy (Colorado): $535,000 toward conserving 45,952 acres at the headwaters of the Rio Grande, including more than 30 miles of perennial cold-water streams for native Rio Grande cutthroat trout.

# Other programme contributions and uses Acres for America has supported emergency response funding following major disasters: roughly $4 million was provided in connection with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (2010) and Hurricane Sandy (2012). The programme has also underwritten community-based projects in major cities such as New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Diego, Denver, Bridgeport, Portland, Albuquerque and Washington, D.C.

# How the funding multiplies impact

# What the record shows

# Bottom line Acres for America has moved well beyond its original target in land area and funding leverage. The partnership model used by Walmart and NFWF combines corporate funding with public and private matching dollars to deliver permanent land protection, habitat connectivity and local community projects across the United States and territories.