Comment by ortusdux

A friend worked in the US tree cutting permit process. There were two main goals behind the permits (as I understand it):

1) To double check the harvest was not going to affect things outside their property (neighbors, land slides, erosion, etc), or special govt. interests on their property (endangered species)

2) To maintain their significant tax break. The break was for owning forest land, and you needed a plan to replant successfully.

Keep in mind that these are mostly 'working forests' that are more akin to wheat fields than wild forests.

It sounds like the issue was insufficient analysis of #1, resulting in excessive water run-off to neighboring privately owned property.

That being said, it could also be #2. The same friend worked on 'conversion' permits, wherein the owner asked to turn forest land into a residential or business property, and special considerations had to be addressed.