Almost all the timberland in West Virginia is owned by private individuals and corporations. There is little, if any, overall long-term planning for how forests will be treated. The state has no mechanism for deciding what trees located where should and shouldn't be cut down. Private individuals or companies can make decisions on how to use their own land with little regard for how that land fits into the larger landscape of statewide forest resources. Logging that is not done properly can ruin streams.
Water runoff picks up soil and packs streams with sediment.
Fish and other aquatic life can be killed. Banks can be left bare and open to erosion. Even if logging is done properly, it can fragment forests and lead to loss of wildlife and biodiversity. Timber industry officials argue the new plants and mills in West Virginia can be supplied by treetops and branches that are currently left in the woods. David A. Perry, a forestry professor at Oregon State University, cautioned against this method of feeding big timber plants.