Wal-Mart aids conservation efforts

Wal-Mart’s Acres for America program, a conservation partnership with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), is protecting priority lands across the country to provide wildlife habitats and recreational opportunities for local residents.

From its own backyard in the Ozarks stretching all four directions, Wal-Mart has committed to help preserve seven wildlife and recreational habitats.

Newly-announced projects in Arkansas, New Mexico, Nebraska, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, Maine and Oregon are part of an ongoing program to conserve the nation’s most precious lands and natural resources to benefit people, wildlife and local economies, according to the release.

Since 2005, Wal-Mart has worked with NFWF to establish Acres for America, a 10-year, $35 million commitment to purchase and preserve one acre of wildlife habitat in the U.S. for every acre of land developed by the company.

The program has protected critical habitats for birds, fish, plants and wildlife and far surpassed its original goals, becoming one of the country’s most effective conservation partnerships.

The new sites bring the total acres protected through the program to more than 800,000.

“These new Acres for America projects build on the conservation successes of our continued partnership with Wal-Mart,” said Jeff Trandahl, executive director and CEO of NFWF. “From the Ozarks to Oregon, they protect the open spaces that wildlife need and provide abundant economic and recreational resources for residents.” 

Wal-Mart said in the release it remains committed to causes that help reflect strong values while also helping its customers live better.

This new projects include:
• Devil’s Eyebrow Preserve: Benton County, Arkansas
• Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge: Albuquerque, N.M.
• Audubon’s Rowe Sanctuary: Platte River, Neb.
• Brule–St. Croix Legacy Forest: Northwestern Wisconsin
• White Mountains to Moosehead Lake Initiative: Maine and New Hampshire
• Headwaters of the John Day: Central Oregon