Opening public access in Michigan’s working forests

The Acres for America program stands today as the leading public-private land conservation partnership in the United States. The program began in 2005, when Walmart and NFWF joined forces to establish Acres for America as a groundbreaking effort to support and catalyze the conservation of lands and wildlife habitat of national significance, and to benefit local communities and economies. The program has far surpassed its original goal to permanently conserve an acre of wildlife habitat for every acre of land developed by Walmart stores. 

To date, the 126 projects supported through the program have conserved  2 million acres and created incredible new opportunities for the public to hunt, fish, hike, camp and otherwise enjoy some of the nation’s most beautiful and bountiful landscapes. 

One Acres grant of $1 million awarded to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources in fiscal year 2024 serves as a prime example of how conservation projects can generate cascading benefits to wildlife, communities, local industries and regional economies.

This grant, one of 18 totaling $11.7 million awarded in the 2024 fiscal year, helped conserve 73,000 acres of working forests, remote lakes and trout streams in Michigan’s famed Upper Peninsula. The easement will conserve 37 miles of rivers, 220 miles of perennial streams, 96 lakes and ponds, and more than 13,600 acres of wetlands. 

These habitats support an incredible assortment of wildlife, from moose, black bears and grouse to fish such as northern pike, bass and trophy “coaster” brook trout highly prized by anglers. Once complete, the project will have opened public recreational access to all of these natural resources, while at the same time ensuring that sustainable timber harvests can continue for generations to come. 

In November 2024, NFWF and Walmart announced a 10-year renewal to continue this exceptional program’s work for another decade. As the Acres for America program marks its 20th anniversary in 2025, both Walmart and NFWF look forward to supporting landscape-scale conservation efforts across the nation.

Watch: Celebrating 20 years of the Acres for America program
 

Contributing Partners: Walmart, Life Time Foundation

This story originally appeared in NFWF's 2024 Annual Report.