Last year, the United States endured more than 68,000 wildfires, consuming approximately 7.6 million acres nationwide. according to National Interagency Fire Center.
Both figures are on the rise from 2021, continuing the unfortunate trends of the last two decades as a result of a rapidly changing climate.
Scorched land means the country needs a dramatic increase in reforestation. However, there is not a sufficient supply of native species and seedlings to meet the demand for regrowth.
And then a Seattle startup called Mast planting see opportunity.
Founded in 2016 as DroneSeed, Mast is best known for flying swarms of unmanned aerial vehicles over scorched land to drop seeds that can take root and grow. Mast still offers aerial seeding, but drones are just a small part of its growing “reforestation-as-a-service” business, founder and CEO Grant Canary said.
On Tuesday, Canary said Mast had acquired Cal Forest Nursery, which grows tens of millions of conifer seedlings a year for timber companies, private landowners and public agencies in the western states. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The acquisition comes two years after Mast acquired SilvaSeed, a company that collects and processes corn and seeds from wild forests. Mast now has his 130 full-time employees, including his 45 at Cal Forest.
Canary said it takes technology to “expand reforestation,” and adding Cal Forest will reduce the current years of waiting for Mast’s customers for native seeds and seedlings. said it should help shorten the .
Faster replanting
“We need to remove carbon from the atmosphere, and trees are highly evolved and effective at doing that,” Canary said of the climate change benefits of faster reforestation.
In addition to improving air quality, trees growing at appropriate densities in forests support greater biodiversity and also act as a kind of natural cooling plant, making the water under their roots cleaner and more efficient. Keep it cooler and more abundant in rivers and dams.
Mast’s planned 2023 reforestation projects include sites to expand elk habitat around Montana’s Yellowstone National Park, as well as other sites in fire-affected communities.
In addition to providing supplies, Mast is also working to sell carbon offsets for plantation projects. That money will cover the costs of seeds, drone flights, and other costs so landowners don’t have to bear the financial burden alone.
Companies purchase credits to meet internal sustainability goals or to comply with laws that require them to offset greenhouse gas emissions or other negative environmental impacts.
Last year, Mast worked on a pilot project to restore western Oregon forest at Henry Creek. The project used a proprietary seed supply and a combination of drone and manual planting techniques. For that initiative, the company sold carbon credits to technology companies. ShopifyWe are currently planning to sell carbon offsets associated with all reforestation activities.
Mast Reforestation, formerly known as DroneSeed, is increasing supplies of native seeds and seedlings to restore wild lands after record fires.
Provided by: Mast Plantation
“The next step is to run that playbook for Western landowners,” said Nancy Pfund of DBL Partners. Tesla, Mast and other climate technology companies. “I think we will see the company skillfully address the shortage of quality carbon offsets for blue chip companies with net-zero targets.”
While some investors shy away from businesses that rely on credit for revenue, the ‘compliance market’ is growing. According to him, the permitting of carbon dioxide traded on the global market will grow to a record value of $851 billion in 2022. Refinitiv quote.
One year after Mast replants the site, a third-party forester tests several sample plots to ensure the trees are growing as planned and providing the intended environmental benefits .
Mast will also set up each project endowment to fund 100 years of monitoring of each site using a combination of on-site manual inspections and aerial imagery.
The company’s future plans include other revenue models. This includes targeting realtors who want healthy forests on or near their premises, as well as state and federal agencies responsible for planting trees.
Elk at Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park
Source: Spring Creek Ranch
Mast has raised over $36 million in venture funding from climate-focused investors including Alexis Ohanian’s Seven Seven Six, Social Capital, DBL Partners, Marc Benioff’s Time Ventures, Elemental Accelerator and Spero Ventures .
Other companies are integrating software and hardware into global reforestation efforts. Seed banks and reforestation organizations such as Canada’s Flash Forest, Hawaii’s Terraformation and Brussels non-profit WeForest are also attracting venture capital support.
Pfund told CNBC that sufficient reforestation will require strong partnerships between governments, nonprofits, businesses and innovative start-ups. Forestry and reforestation don’t get the same federal funding as transport electrification, but “it may seem small and unknown today, but it can actually create positive global change and invest investors.” “It has the potential to be very profitable for us,” she said.