Mast Reforestation Sells Out MT1 Biomass Burial Credits With Bain & Company And BMO Joining As Buyers

Mast's MT1 project sold out less than six weeks after issuance, following a 9-month excavation-to-issuance timeline, with planting beginning today

SEATTLE, April 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Mast Reforestation today announced that less than six weeks after issuance, it has sold 100% of the 4,277 biomass burial carbon removal credits from Mast Wood Preserve MT1, its pioneering post-wildfire restoration project in southern Montana. New buyers include Bain & Company, a global management consulting firm, and BMO, a North American financial institution, joining earlier participants including Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), CNaught, a major corporate buyer advised by SE Advisory Services, Muir AI, and others.

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The sell-out follows MT1's January 2026 issuance under the Puro.earth registry, which represented the largest issuance to date under Puro.earth's Terrestrial Storage of Biomass (TSB) methodology and one of the fastest project development timelines globally for a carbon removal project, at just nine months.

"High-integrity carbon removal is an important part of Bain's strategy to address residual emissions while helping scale the climate solutions the world needs," said Sam Israelit, Partner and Chief Sustainability Officer, Bain & Company. "Mast's MT1 project stood out for combining durable carbon removal with meaningful post-wildfire recovery, demonstrating how biomass burial can deliver both environmental integrity and benefits to communities and ecosystems. As our clients work to turn climate ambition into real progress, strong voluntary carbon markets will play a critical role in scaling credible carbon removal. We're proud to support projects that meet that standard."

"BMO's Climate Ambition is to be our clients' lead partner in their pursuit of energy and climate resilience, which includes supporting innovation in carbon markets and managing our own operational emissions through the purchase of carbon removal offsets," said Michael Torrance, Chief Sustainability Officer, BMO. "We are pleased to support solutions like this, which demonstrate how high-integrity carbon removal can also support recovery in wildfire-affected regions."

Mast Reforestation was recently recognized as one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies of 2026, recognizing its approach to scaling biomass burial as a durable carbon removal and post-wildfire restoration solution. In addition, MT1 recently received an A rating from BeZero Carbon; less than 8% of all non-nature-based carbon removal projects achieve an A rating or higher.

More than 10 million pounds of wildfire-killed trees were buried in an engineered underground chamber designed for long-term carbon storage. Absent the project, the biomass would have been pile-burned, a common management method that would have immediately returned the carbon to the atmosphere. Instead, biomass burial locks this carbon underground, removing it from the atmospheric cycle with monitoring guaranteed for the next century under Mast's rigorous monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) plan. MT1 credits have been issued by Puro.earth, including third-party validation, with durability certified for 100 years. Existing peer-reviewed research suggests that carbon stored in similar low-oxygen conditions can persist for significantly longer timeframes. To build on this foundation, Mast is supporting scientific research designed to generate additional data relevant to biomass burial conditions and carbon accounting, contributing to broader understanding of long-term storage dynamics.

MT1 is the first Biomass Carbon Removal and Storage (BiCRS) project to use carbon credit revenues to directly finance post-wildfire reforestation and ecosystem recovery. Proceeds from credit sales are now funding restoration at the site, where planting begins today, April 15. The 2021 Poverty Flats Fire burned so severely that natural regeneration was unlikely within the next century. Mast is planting more than 6,000 native conifer seedlings grown from wild-collected, locally adapted seed at one of Mast's nurseries, Silvaseed Company, in Roy, Washington.

"The sell-out of MT1 carbon removal credits validates this new pathway for financing wildfire recovery," said Grant Canary, CEO of Mast Reforestation. "We delivered high-quality, third-party verified carbon removal on a rapid timeline—just nine months from start of construction to issuance. This delivery and sell-out timeline shows that durable carbon removal can be delivered in months, not years. The revenue from sales is now funding restoration on the ground. This is how durable carbon removal becomes investable infrastructure: predictable delivery, rigorous monitoring, and a direct funding source for ecosystem recovery."

Looking ahead, Mast has updated its estimates, identifying more than 6.5M tonnes of burned biomass in Montana alone that could be eligible for biomass burial projects. As Mast expands its project portfolio, the company is advancing additional projects across western North America, targeting a second project to complete construction in 2026, with expected credit issuance in 2027. Over the longer term, Mast aims to deploy 150,000 tonnes annually by 2030.

These developments, alongside growing engagement from trade associations and scientific partnerships, reflect increasing recognition of biomass burial as a solution for managing fire-killed and low-value woody biomass while reducing fuels and supporting post-wildfire restoration. Mast recently joined the Direct Storage of Biomass (DSB) Coalition, a Carbon Business Council initiative advancing best practices, policy alignment, and market understanding for this carbon removal pathway.

With MT1 fully sold, Mast is now engaging buyers on future offtake from upcoming projects. Organizations interested in securing supply can contact [email protected]. Media interested in attending on-site planting activities taking place April 15 in southern Montana may contact: [email protected].

About Mast:

As intensifying wildfires destroy more forestland every year, Mast Reforestation is scaling post-wildfire reforestation in Western North America. Mast pioneers restorative carbon removal that combines resilient forest restoration with durable biomass burial to remove carbon from the atmospheric cycle. Mast completed the first-ever commercial scale biomass burial project combined with reforestation in 2025. Mast owns and operates two of the largest wild tree seed and seedling nurseries in the West, 150-year-old Silvaseed and Cal Forest, which are crucial hubs in the U.S. forestry supply chain essential for wildfire recovery. Mast grows the majority of seedlings California produces and manages the majority of seed for the 11 western states. Since its founding, Mast has restored thousands of acres across California, Montana, and Oregon. Producing an average of 36 million seedlings annually, Mast continues to cultivate and protect the biological legacy of Western conifer forests for future generations. Learn more or invest in reforestation today.

SOURCE Mast Reforestation