Montana Buries 10M Pounds of Fire-Killed Trees to Fight Climate

Instead of letting millions of pounds of wildfire-killed trees rot or burn, releasing carbon back into the sky, a reforestation company in Montana buried them underground and created a new way to heal scorched landscapes.

Mast Reforestation just issued its first carbon credits from a groundbreaking project in Bighorn County, Montana, where wildfire left behind a graveyard of dead trees. The company buried more than 10 million pounds of fire-killed wood in an engineered underground chamber, locking away the carbon for at least 100 years.

The approach solves two problems at once. Dead trees normally release their stored carbon as they decay or burn, adding to climate change. By burying the biomass instead, Mast keeps that carbon out of the atmosphere while cleaning up dangerous fire debris.

The project generated 4,277 verified carbon removal credits, certified by Puro.earth after independent verification. Major buyers including the Royal Bank of Canada and Schneider Electric's consulting arm snapped up more than 80 percent of the credits, funding the next phase of the work.

That funding matters because it's going straight back into the land. The burial site sits within the area devastated by the 2021 Poverty Flats Fire, where natural recovery could take a century or more without help. This spring, Mast will use proceeds from the carbon credit sales to plant thousands of native conifer seedlings grown from locally adapted wild seeds.

The company is monitoring the underground storage chamber and will continue checking it for the next 100 years, ensuring the carbon stays locked away. That long-term commitment addresses growing concerns about the permanence of carbon removal projects.

The Ripple Effect

This project creates a blueprint for fire-ravaged communities across North America. As wildfires intensify and leave behind more dead forests, the Montana model shows how to turn disaster debris into funding for ecosystem recovery. Instead of waiting decades for burned landscapes to slowly heal on their own, communities can now access carbon markets to speed restoration while fighting climate change.

Mast plans to expand the approach in 2026, targeting tens of thousands of tonnes of CO2 removal across multiple sites. Each new project could restore thousands of acres of burned forest that currently lack restoration funding.

The model also gives companies buying carbon credits something increasingly rare: verified, durable carbon removal with visible co-benefits. Buyers aren't just offsetting emissions, they're directly funding the rebirth of forests scarred by fire.

Montana's charred hillsides are becoming proving grounds for a climate solution that heals as it protects.