The Brief

In northwestern Montana’s Swan Valley, a pile of about 100 small logs, 10 feet long or so, sits neatly stacked, ringed by berry bushes, a few white wildflowers, and towering larch trees. Surrounding the logs are several acres of U.S. Forest Service land, which was thinned of dead, downed, and dense understory trees last year to reduce wildfire risk.

The log pile that remains is too small to be processed into lumber, plus the sawmill just down the highway recently closed. So the wood may get sent to a pulp mill, if the price is right. Or it may sit in the forest for years. Smaller limbs may be burned in a prescribed fire.

But Ning Zeng, a climate scientist at the University of Maryland, is sizing up the pile, too. He sees another solution: burying the logs, and all the planet-heating gases they’d otherwise release, underground.

That’s the idea of a carbon sequestration technique called wood vaulting. Forests throughout much of the western U.S. are overgrown, full of tangled trees and brush that’s primed to burn. The Forest Service’s wildfire crisis strategy calls for removing excess vegetation on up to 50 million more acres of federal, state, tribal, and private lands by 2032.

Scientists and climate tech companies alike say wood vaulting could help store some of the carbon dioxide equivalent, in the form of flammable vegetation, that the Forest Service must deal with in the coming years — an estimated 2.2 billion metric tons. That’s roughly as much CO2 as cement production worldwide emitted in 2016, and as much as forests globally removed from the atmosphere last year.

“There’s more wood in the forest than markets for it to go,” said research forester Nate Anderson, who studies product supply chains for the Forest Service’s Rocky Mountain Research Station in Missoula. Valuing the carbon stored in wood vaults could change that. 

If done properly, burying the debris could help limit the release of greenhouse gases that warm the atmosphere and contribute to climate change. “I don’t see any reason why it can’t be actually quite significant and reach millions of tons of carbon dioxide sequestered per year, in the U.S. alone,” said Sinéad Crotty, the director of the nonprofit Carbon Containment Lab. Daniel Sanchez, a professor who studies CO2 removal at the University of California, Berkeley, agrees. “Wood vaulting is a newly emerging approach that we think is relatively low-cost and relatively scalable,” he said.

Investors, including Bill Gates, have poured millions of dollars into jumpstarting wood vaults in recent years. A handful of small-scale sites are in progress across the country, including in Maryland, Nevada, Texas, and Colorado. The Department of Energy recently awarded $50,000 for two companies, including Zeng’s Carbon Lockdown Project, to construct a wood vault in Montana — one of many carbon dioxide removal, or CDR, pilot projects to receive funding. According to the 2023 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Synthesis Report, CDR technology — which can include direct air capture technology, land-based carbon sinks, and more — is an “unavoidable” component of limiting warming to 1.5 or even 2 degrees Celsius, which experts say is necessary if we are to avoid irreversible effects of climate change.

Wood vaulting is conceptually simple: Dig a hole with an excavator and bury small trees, woody debris, and other plant materials that aren’t large or valuable enough to sell. The vaults resemble a layer cake of trees, gaps filled with dirt, and more trees stacked on top, finished off with a frosting of topsoil.

Once companies acquire biomass, not just any hole will do. The intrusion of water, oxygen, and even termites could compromise a vault’s durability by encouraging decomposition. Digging vaults in clay or silty soil, away from groundwater, is thought to be best practice. (Some alternative methods actually submerge the wood in water entirely, but that’s less common.) Conditions inside the vault must remain stable — ideally in perpetuity, without human intervention — for projects to uphold their promises. The same kinds of sensors already used in landfills can be installed to monitor data like oxygen, moisture, and methane levels over time.

Digging holes 15 to 25-plus feet deep can mean disturbing soil, destroying habitat, or removing nutrients from the landscape — all potential downsides of wood vaulting — so companies are considering using already-degraded locations, like old industrial sites or mines. (Several also have plans to rehab wood vault sites after trees are buried, planting the soil with native seeds for pollinator habitat or grazing use.) The ideal location for a wood vault is near the source of its biomass, which cuts back on transportation emissions and logistics. Enough labor to transport biomass and construct vaults, plus some sort of protection that they won’t just get dug up in a few decades, are other key factors.

Another concern with wood vaulting is that it may incentivize more logging than necessary. But so far, the industry is focused on burying the leftovers of wildfire risk reduction treatments, as well as trees that have already burned or were hazard trees removed from urban environments. Guidelines from Stripe Inc.’s Frontier fund, one of the leading funds that purchases carbon dioxide removal credits from startups, recommends the leftovers of wildfire risk reduction projects as a sustainable source.

The science to know how long these vaults could keep CO2 out of the atmosphere is still in the works. “We want to be as clear-minded as possible when promising anything around durability,” Crotty said. If done properly, Sanchez thinks vaults might be able to store CO2 for hundreds to thousands of years; companies share numbers that range from 100-plus to 1,000-plus years.

While it’s hard to say exactly how long wood vaults may be able to store carbon, previous discoveries hold clues. A bulldozer on Carbon Lockdown Project’s Canada site found a red cedar log buried deep in the soil; Zeng still has it in his office today. He says further analysis (yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal) confirmed it was 3,000 years old but had only lost 5 percent of its carbon.

Trees damaged by the fire are cut into logs in order to reforest the blackened areas in Turkey.

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Another way to analyze wood vaulting’s potential is by comparing how much carbon it can store to other more established techniques. Wood vaulting’s carbon yield is high compared to that of biochar, a charcoal-esque soil amendment that comes from partially combusted organic material. Biochar can retain about 30 percent of its biomass’ original carbon, while wood vaulting is thought to store over 90 percent, according to Sanchez.

Wood vaulting is also fairly cheap compared to other methods. Calculations from one of Zeng’s test sites found it cost $105 per metric ton of CO2, mostly in transportation costs. For comparison, the average cost of biochar in California is $400 per metric ton of CO2, and direct carbon capture technologies can cost anywhere between $600 to $1,000 per metric ton of CO2. “That’s the transformative aspect of this idea compared to many other biomass utilization strategies,” Zeng said. “It is going to come down to economics.”

Several companies are currently trying out wood vaulting, mostly on private land. Zeng created the Carbon Lockdown Project, which began with a research site outside Montreal, in 2013. He’s now working on a property in Maryland for trees removed from urban settings that would have otherwise been mulched.

Scientists can measure carbon dioxide removal from the atmosphere.

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Then there’s Mast Reforestation, a company that seeks to replant forests after they burn for carbon credits. CEO Grant Canary said he’s especially interested in burying the already-burned trees that create a hazard for workers and the tiny saplings they plant. The company plans to store between 5,000 and 20,000 metric tons of CO2 equivalent that come from trees on hundreds of acres of recently burned private land in central Montana. Mast Reforestation is partnering with Zeng’s Carbon Lockdown Project on the site, and Canary said construction may be underway as soon as the end of 2024 or early 2025. As a winner of the Department of Energy’s prize, the project promises over 17,000 carbon dioxide removal credits to the federal government by the end of 2028.

Also out West, Kodama Systems is in the permitting phase for a wood vault to store about 1,000 metric tons of CO2 equivalent in western Nevada. Material could be in the ground as soon as later this year. Arid rangelands in this area are considered prime for wood vaults; researchers at the Carbon Containment Lab also say the Four Corners region of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah has high potential for wood vault development. Carbon Containment Lab scientists partner with companies, including Kodama Systems, to collect their own independent data.

So what’s needed to turn wood vault projects from the handful of pilot sites that currently exist to a carbon dioxide removal technology at scale? More science to verify longevity and storage claims, more money to jumpstart additional projects, and more buyers of carbon dioxide removal credits. While companies and scientists have their sights set on working with the Forest Service someday, government land management agencies are notoriously slow to try something new, meaning a public-private partnership on wood vaults is still far off.

For Zeng, standing in the middle of the woods, seeing everything from mill infrastructure to potential wood vaulting sites in Colorado, Montana, and beyond was illuminating, fusing theory with practice on the ground. “I got really encouraged on this trip,” he said. “The dots are getting connected.” While wood vaulting is not a single-handed solution for overgrown forests, wildfire risk, and a rapidly warming climate, it may be a simple solution to sequester some carbon and reduce wildfire risk, too.

Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump's nominee to serve as the next chair of the Federal Reserve, may face a tough fight for confirmation — partly over events for which he has no control.

The Senate Banking Committee holds a confirmation hearing for Warsh on Tuesday — but already one GOP senator has said he will block a vote on the nominee until the Department of Justice drops an investigation into the Fed.

Warsh will also likely face questions about inflation and borrowing costs and whether he can maintain his independence as Trump makes it clear he expects his next Fed chair to lead the charge to lower interest rates.

Here are three things to know as the confirmation process begins.

Most of the drama has nothing to do with Warsh himself

A key member of the banking committee, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., has promised to hold up confirmation of the nominee, but not because of any objection to Warsh himself.

Tillis wants the Justice Department to drop its criminal investigation of the central bank and its current chairman, Jerome Powell. That probe is ostensibly about cost overruns on the Fed's headquarters renovation project. But Powell says it's really part of a pressure campaign by the Trump administration to get the Fed to lower interest rates, and a federal judge agreed, blasting the investigation as an unjustified act of intimidation.

The DOJ has promised to appeal the judge's decision. By dropping its probe, the administration could win Tillis' vote and clear the way for Warsh's confirmation. But that hasn't happened yet.

Warsh has argued for lower interest rates, but it may not be so easy

Kevin Warsh previously served on the Fed's board of governors and had a reputation as "hawkish," meaning he was cautious about cutting interest rates for fear inflation might get out of control.

But recently, he's argued that productivity gains from artificial intelligence could allow the central bank to lower interest rates while still keeping prices in check.

Critics like Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the ranking Democrat on the banking committee, see that flip-flop as a sign that Warsh will take direction on rates from President Trump, even though the Fed is supposed to operate free from political pressure.

"Warsh has really gone out of his way to demonstrate that he will be the sock puppet in chief," Warren told NPR.

While past presidents have given the Fed wide latitude, at least publicly, in setting interest rates, Trump has been outspoken in demanding lower rates, raising concern that he could jeopardize the Fed's independence.

Even if Warsh wants to lower interest rates, he may not be able to. Interest rates are set by a 12-member committee at the Fed, and many committee members are reluctant to cut rates until inflation is closer to the central bank's 2% target. The war with Iran and the resulting spike in gasoline prices have made that a more challenging goal.

Warsh has also called for other changes at the central bank

If confirmed, Warsh could also seek to narrow the Fed's footprint in the economy. Warsh has criticized the Fed for straying beyond its statutory role of promoting stable prices and maximum employment. He's argued that the central bank should play a smaller role and that Fed leaders should talk less and stay in their lane.

While he agrees that political leaders should keep hands off the Fed in setting interest rates, he argues the Fed should be equally cautious about stepping into muddy political waters around climate change or inclusion.
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Auditors are flagging major problems with the handling of tax dollars by the L.A. Homeless Services Authority.

The failures surround poor bookkeeping and accounting of taxpayer money at the agency — which spent over $800 million in public funds last fiscal year. The issues emerged despite previous audits flagging serious oversight problems in prior years. The latest audit was conducted by an outside firm hired by the agency to meet federal requirements.

The agency’s financial statements initially included “significant” inaccurate amounts that needed to be adjusted late in the audit process, auditors found in their review of LAHSA’s last fiscal year that ended in June 2025.

The findings are from the federally-required “single audit,” a draft of which was presented to LAHSA’s audit committee on Monday. It found the inaccuracies stemmed from a "significant deficiency” in LAHSA’s “internal controls,” which are supposed to safeguard against financial inaccuracies and fraud.

The accounting failures contributed to delays in completing the audit — which was due to the federal government on March 31 — according to the draft report. Missing that deadline can put future federal funding at risk. LAHSA officials said at the committee meeting that they hope to submit the final audit report this coming Friday, more than three weeks after the deadline.

At a public meeting Monday, LAHSA CEO Gita O’Neill told LAHSA’s audit committee that her team was working to implement many of the auditors’ recommendations, which she called “great suggestions.”

The draft audit report now goes to the LAHSA Commission for approval on Friday. The audit committee was asked to approve it Monday but didn’t have majority support to move forward.

L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, who oversees the agency and is the only elected official on LAHSA’s governing commission, did not respond to a request for comment through a spokesperson.

The backstory

In response to previous audits that found major problems with LAHSA’s oversight of tax dollars, county supervisors decided last spring to withdraw all of the county’s $300 million-plus in annual funding of services through LAHSA and instead have the county directly manage it starting on July 1.

Problems identified in the latest audit reiterate why the county pulled its funding, Supervisor Kathryn Barger said in a statement Monday.

“LAHSA’s inaction and inability to meet its audit deadline is inexcusable,” Barger said.

In a statement, Supervisor Lindsey Horvath said the “significant financial problems” found in the audit give “further confirmation” why the county decided to shift its funds out of LAHSA.

“Accountability isn’t optional; it is required to end this emergency. Anything less is unacceptable,” Horvath said.

The city is considering moving in a similar direction as the county. A key City Council panel — its homelessness committee — recently recommended the full council start shifting city homelessness funding out of LAHSA over the course of the next fiscal year. Bass has urged caution, saying moving too quickly to shift funding could disrupt services for unhoused people.

LAHSA has long functioned as the L.A.’s homeless services department, with over $300 million in city money expected to flow through LAHSA this fiscal year.

As of last summer, LAHSA had $380.5 million in assets and $381 million in liabilities, and received a total of $810 million in operating revenues during the last fiscal year, according to the latest audit.

Other problems identified by auditors

During Monday’s discussion, lead auditor Justin Measley said LAHSA did not disclose millions of dollars in payments to a service provider whose executive was married to LAHSA’s CEO at the time, Va Lecia Adams Kellum. The audit is required to list “related party” transactions, Measley said, which involve an organization with immediate family ties to LAHSA’s leadership. He said auditors only learned about it later through reviewing news media coverage.

“The article is what triggered us knowing about this specifically,” said Measley, who works for the auditing firm CliftonLarsonAllen.

LAist uncovered documents showing Adams Kellum’s signature was on a $2.1 million contract and two other contract amendments with Upward Bound House, the Santa Monica-based nonprofit where her husband Edward Kellum works in senior leadership. The contract named Adams Kellum as the LAHSA official authorized to administer it.

Va Lecia Adams Kellum, former CEO of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, at a news briefing at L.A. City Hall in June 2023.

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A LAHSA-commissioned investigation cleared Adams Kellum of wrongdoing in part because “her signature was unintentionally applied by her staff, not by herself,” according to a summary released by LAHSA. LAHSA spokesperson Paul Rubenstein previously told LAist that Adams Kellum herself “mistakenly signed” the agreements. LAHSA officials also previously distributed an email from Adams Kellum’s official account to a colleague about one of the contracts with her husband’s employer, which stated “Please delete the document that I signed accidentally.”

Last year, state investigators at the Fair Political Practices Commission launched a conflict of interest investigation into the matter, which is ongoing.

Monday’s audit committee meeting also included discussion of the auditors’ findings that LAHSA is locked into paying $75 million for long-term leases over the coming years that cannot be canceled. Those leases are largely through its master leasing program that started over the last couple of years, which leases 14 apartment buildings, totaling 772 units, to provide housing for unhoused people. LAHSA management says the master leasing program is currently significantly underwater financially.

A presentation last week by LAHSA management said the master leases are causing an annual budget hit of $10 million to LAHSA, which is prompting the agency to pull from other grants to pay for the leases.

LAHSA’s lease accounting was at the center of a "significant” correction to the agency’s financial statements late in the audit process, the audit states in its findings.

The auditors also found that LAHSA failed to comply with requirements for payroll costs that it charged to the federal government. The agency’s management failed to ensure timesheets for its employees were approved for three of the 40 timesheets the auditors reviewed, despite the law requiring federally-funded salaries to be based on accurate records of work, auditors found.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass on Monday unveiled a $14.9 billion budget that is significantly rosier than last year’s spending plan, when she suggested massive layoffs and service cuts to accommodate a billion-dollar deficit.

This year, because of a projected increase in revenues, the mayor is proposing no layoffs and a modest expansion of street services. Bass' budget also calls for hiring police officers to keep up with retirements and resignations, maintaining Fire Department spending and holding steady funding for homelessness programs.

“This budget is about protecting the progress we have made and making clear that Los Angeles is moving forward and will not go backward,” Bass said at a news conference.

In the proposal, the reserve fund is 5.7% of the general fund, or $490 million. The budget does not dip into the reserves, in contrast to last year’s plan.

Bass is seeking re-election this year. The primary is June 2.

Some of her challengers in the upcoming election, including Councilmember Nithya Raman, criticized Bass’ proposal as doing little more than maintaining the status quo.

“The budget the Mayor released today tells us the plan is to largely keep doing what we're doing — but what we're doing is not working,” Raman said in a statement.

Next, the proposal will go to the City Council for consideration. Budget hearings will be conducted in the coming weeks.

Increasing revenue

Among the reasons city officials say revenue will go up is the expected influx of thousands of visitors to World Cup soccer matches this summer. More travelers mean more people staying in hotels and paying hotel taxes, as well as more sales tax revenue.

The budget projects a $412 million increase in general tax revenue, including $71 in business taxes, $34 million in sales taxes and $67 million in utility taxes.

The budget would add 170 new positions in the department that handles street repairs and increase funding for street and sidewalk fixes, curb-ramp installation, street sweeping, bulky item pickup and dedicated illegal dumping enforcement throughout the city.

The budget also proposes hiring 510 police officers, representing a target of 8,555 for the Police Department and enough to keep up with attrition, according to budget officials. Bass has set a goal of 9,500 officers.

“It’s about preventing the shrinkage of LAPD,” Bass said.

That proposal is likely to see opposition from some council members who want to see the department shrink and funding for unarmed response teams increase.

Inside Safe

The budget sustains citywide coverage for civilian unarmed crisis response, maintaining deployment of 500 crossing guards and expanding a program that aims to help children get to and from school safely and protect them from gang violence.

Under the budget, funding for Inside Safe, the mayor’s signature program to address homelessness, would remain about the same — $104 million.

The mayor touts an 18% drop in street homelessness as evidence of its success.

The budget maintains funding for the city Fire Department. In November, voters are expected to decide whether to increase the sales tax by half a percent to pay for more firefighters and equipment.

Criticism for the budget

Bass’ challengers immediately criticized her budget as lacking vision.

“This budget maintains a status quo of reduced services and higher fees, the direct result of fiscally irresponsible decisions made by this Mayor in prior years,” Raman said in her statement.

In January, the council member voted against Bass’ plan to hire 170 more police officers.

Adam Miller, a tech entrepreneur and another Bass challenger, said keeping the budget flat “implies that the status quo is working.”

“That is tone-deaf to the city of Los Angeles as Angelenos overwhelmingly feel we need change," he said.

The budget needs to be approved by the City Council and signed by the mayor by July 1, the start of the fiscal year.