Forest for the trees
You know, of all the Wal-Marts I've seen in many cities and towns, I don't think any of them required cutting down "acres of forest" to make space for them. Oddly, there is very little in the way of forests in the kind of neighborhoods where Wal-Mart likes to locate. Mostly, they tear down old shopping centers or mini-malls to make the space.
Now, if you're talking cutting down wild areas for high-end residential use, you might have something there.
Around the Bay Area, much of the land is restricted from any kind of development. For some inexplicable reason, houses are very expensive here.