$10M Great Plains Grassland Fund Targets 400,000 Acres for Ranchers

Up to $10 million will be available in the first competitive funding round of the new Great Plains Grassland Fund, with awards expected in 2027, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation announced. The money backs a target of 300,000 to 400,000 acres: permanent protection of 150,000 to 200,000 acres of grasslands at risk of conversion to cropland or development, plus improvement of another 150,000 to 200,000 acres, with ranching kept as the primary land use.

The fund draws on grants from the Walmart Foundation and investments from McDonald's USA and several key suppliers through existing contributions to the Grassland Resilience and Conservation Initiative. NFWF will pair voluntary land protection with technical and financial assistance for ranchers, connecting them with grantee organizations that deliver both.

What will the money pay for?

Projects are expected to focus on four areas:

• protecting intact grasslands through voluntary conservation easements and other locally led approaches;
• conserving wildlife habitat and migration routes;
• improving water quantity and quality;
• supporting ranching livelihoods and local economies.

Chris West, director of NFWF's Rocky Mountain Regional Office, said the practices on offer are rancher-driven and built for working land. "That can include voluntary, rancher-driven practices on working lands such as improved grazing plans and infrastructure, prescribed fire, invasive species management and grassland restoration," he said. The fund will also support what West called tools many ranchers already back enthusiastically: wildlife-friendly fencing, virtual fencing, invasive species removal, prescribed fire, and restoration of grassland or riparian habitats.

The common thread, according to West, is that these practices build plant growth above and below ground and improve soil health and wildlife habitat while keeping cattle on the land. Projects may also use grassbanks, grazing associations and other community-based models.

Why now?

The stated rationale is loss. Roughly half of the historic grassland footprint in the Great Plains has been lost, West said, and the damage is hard to reverse. "Once intact grassland is plowed, its wildlife habitat, soil health, water-filtering capacity and grazing value cannot be easily restored," he said. "Ranchers have been stewarding these landscapes for generations, and conservation needs to work for them, too."

NFWF frames the fund as locally led and rancher-driven, prioritizing engagement with local ranching communities and community input during project planning and implementation. The stated goal is a long-term mechanism that pools public and private funds for community- and rancher-led conservation across the region. Ranchers unsure where to begin will have access to fund resources, and awards will enable nonprofit organizations to help with the process.

NFWF will also work with implementation partners to track outcomes on grassland protection, biodiversity, water resources and ranching livelihoods — a metric set worth watching once the first awards land in 2027.

Who is behind it?

Jeff Trandahl, executive director and CEO of NFWF, said the fund "establishes a framework where stakeholders and other public and private funding partners can provide additional support for advancing conservation throughout the Great Plains." He tied the effort to ranching families, rural economies and food supply chains.

Julie Gehrki, senior vice president of Walmart and president of the Walmart Foundation, called regeneration "a long-term commitment to the natural resources and people our business and communities depend on." She pointed to two decades of work with NFWF through Acres for America as evidence that sustained investment in critical habitats pays off, and said the new investment "puts that work into practice in the Great Plains." She hopes the experience can support healthy grasslands, ranchers and a more resilient beef supply chain.

The fund builds on the Grassland Resilience and Conservation Initiative, launched in 2025 by NFWF, McDonald's USA, key beef and beverage suppliers including Cargill, Golden State Foods, Lopez Dorada, OSI and The Coca-Cola Company, and USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service. That initiative aims to improve the health and resilience of 4 million acres of grasslands over seven years.

Cesar Piña, senior vice president and chief supply chain officer North America at McDonald's USA, said the initiative has already supported two rounds of grantees advancing voluntary conservation practices since launching, and called the Walmart Foundation partnership crucial to strengthening ecosystems, ranching communities and the U.S. beef supply chain.

NFWF will issue the competitive initial Request for Proposals through the fund; up to $10 million is expected to be available, with awards announced in 2027.