A 501(c)(3) Land Conservation & Community Nonprofit

One Million
Acres.

We acquire degraded land across America — rural and urban — and restore it to something better. One million acres of native forest, permanently protected. And in cities, blighted properties transformed into affordable housing or green space for the whole community.

Support the Mission How it works →
0
Rural Acres to Acquire
0
Acres Reforested
🏙️
Urban Sites Revitalized
50M
Native Trees Planted
The challenge

Two kinds of land.
One mission.

The goal of the Million Acre Project is to work at two scales. In rural America, the aim is to acquire degraded farmland and ranchland and return it to native forest — permanently protected through conservation easements. That is the foundation of everything we intend to build.

In cities, the goal is complementary: to acquire abandoned buildings, vacant lots, and blighted properties and redevelop them as either affordable housing or community green space — whichever makes the most sense for a given site.

Same philosophy. Same permanence. Different land, different tools — and one shared belief: neglected land is an opportunity, not a loss.

🌿 Rural Land Degradation
The US loses roughly 6,000 acres of open land per day to sprawl. Millions more acres of former forest sit degraded as abandoned farmland — stripped of their ecological value but recoverable with the right intervention.
🏚️ Urban Blight
Every American city has them: vacant lots, boarded-up buildings, abandoned properties sitting idle for decades — depressing property values, reducing tax revenue, and denying communities the housing and green space they need.
💨 The Climate Imperative
Reforesting one million acres of native woodland could sequester tens of millions of tons of CO₂ over its lifetime. Urban tree canopy and green space deliver their own climate benefits — cooling neighborhoods, managing stormwater, and improving air quality.

Restore 99%.
Build beautifully on the rest.

The mission is forest first, always. 99% of every acre we acquire is restored to native woodland and protected forever. Over time, 1% — 10,000 acres — becomes a demonstration of what sustainable, human-scale community can look like inside a living forest.

99%
Native Forest Restoration — Protected Forever
1%
Sustainable Communities
01
Acquire
The goal is to acquire degraded agricultural and ranch land — land that was once forest and can become forest again — at a fraction of the cost of developed land.
02
Restore
99% of every rural parcel is replanted with locally native trees and shrubs — real, biodiverse, self-sustaining forest ecosystems protected by permanent conservation easements.
03
Build
On just 1% of rural land, the plan is to develop high-quality, sustainably designed housing — open to all people — as a demonstration that communities and forests belong together.
04
Revitalize
In cities, we acquire blighted properties and redevelop them as affordable housing or permanent community green space — decided by the needs of each neighborhood.
The Urban Program

Where the city
meets the mission.

Alongside our rural reforestation work, the Million Acre Project will seek to acquire abandoned buildings, vacant lots, and blighted urban properties in American cities — sites that have sat neglected for years and actively harm the neighborhoods around them.

Each site will be evaluated individually. Some will become permanently affordable, high-quality housing — built to the same sustainable standards as our rural communities. Others will become pocket parks, community gardens, urban forests, or stormwater green space — returning nature to neighborhoods that have been paved over for generations.

The decision on each site will be made based on what makes the most sense: the condition of the property, the needs of the surrounding area, and the goals of the organization.

🏚️ → 🏠 Affordable Housing
Blighted buildings and vacant lots in housing-scarce neighborhoods become high-quality, energy-efficient, permanently affordable homes — built to last generations, not just meet a code minimum. Community Land Trust structure keeps them affordable forever.
🏚️ → 🌳 Community Green Space
In neighborhoods with adequate housing but no trees, no parks, no breathing room — we turn blighted properties into permanent green space. Native plantings, community gardens, shaded gathering areas, and urban wildlife corridors that belong to the whole neighborhood, forever.
📋 Evaluated Case by Case
Every urban site will be assessed individually — property condition, location, surrounding context, and organizational priorities all factor into whether a site becomes housing or green space. No predetermined formula, just sound judgment applied to each opportunity.
The model

Financially self-sustaining
from day one.

🌱

Carbon Credits

990,000 reforested acres generates carbon offsets worth an estimated $15M–$90M per year in voluntary markets — funding ongoing land acquisition and operations without relying on perpetual fundraising.

🤝

Corporate Partnerships

Fortune 500 companies sponsor named parcels to meet ESG commitments. Foundations and government grants accelerate land acquisition during the critical early years.

🏡

Housing Revenue

Affordable doesn't mean subsidized forever. The Community Land Trust model is designed so that rental income generates a steady, self-sustaining revenue stream that funds maintenance, stewardship, and future development — without ongoing dependence on grants or donations.

"The founding vision of the Million Acre Project is to reverse a pattern that has defined American land use for generations: the reflexive conversion of open land into pavement and development. We believe neglected land deserves better than another strip mall — it deserves to become forest, permanently protected, with sustainable housing that proves restoration and human habitation can coexist."

— The Million Acre Project, Founding Vision