Increased markets for renewable energy feedstocks have led to increased energywood production in the Southeastern United States. Energywood requires additional processing and is often the lowest value product generated, making profitability difficult. Additionally, numerous environmental concerns surround energywood harvesting, such as potential increased erosion, applicability and adequacy of conventional water quality best management practices (BMPs), increased area in road network features due to increased machine trafficking, and reduced quantities of residual woody debris. Energywood harvesting operations have been established in the lower Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. for several decades, and research examining these operations provides insight into various aspects of the sustainability of the practice in this region and similar locations elsewhere. Therefore, this research provides a literature review on the practice of energywood harvesting, followed by four studies on energywood harvesting operations in the lower Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. The first study evaluated the productivity and costs of two Appalachian Mountain and three Coastal Plain energywood harvests, providing stakeholders with a comparison of harvesting operations that can be used to make better-informed decisions regarding the efficient and economical harvest of energywood. The second study compared estimated erosion, operational feature areas, BMP implementation rates, ground cover characteristics, and downed woody debris quantities following 10 energywood and 10 conventional harvests in the Mountains of Virginia. The third study detailed a survey conducted among energywood business owners in Virginia designed to characterize harvesting operations and markets, assess business owner opinions related to the current and future state of the industry, and update/expand the results of a previous survey from 2014. The fourth study combined data from the second study with data from two other independent studies, comparing site impact metrics from energywood and conventional harvests across the Mountain, Piedmont, and Coastal Plain regions of Virginia. In the first study, cut and haul costs averaged $32.07/tonne and ranged from $26.19 to $38.28/tonne. Hauling consistently comprised the largest function cost at an average of $12.24/tonne. Harvesting system analysis also highlighted the importance of ensuring a balanced equipment mix to lower costs and ensure efficiency. In the second study, conventional harvests had higher estimated erosion contributions from skid trails (P = 0.089) and averaged more estimated erosion mass overall than energywood harvests, despite being significantly smaller in size (P = 0.054). There was significantly less area in heavy slash (P = 0.076) and lower estimated mass of residual downed woody debris (P = 0.001) on energywood sites than conventional sites (10.98 and 27.95 tons/acre, respectively). Site-wide BMP implementation scores (P = 0.041), as well as those for Streamside Management Zones (SMZs) (P = 0.024), and skidding (P = 0.063) were significantly higher on energywood sites than conventional sites. BMP implementation scores were significant predictors of estimated erosion rates (P < 0.001, R² = 59%), indicating that adequate levels of existing water quality BMPs are effective for erosion control on both conventional and energywood harvests. The third study indicated that energywood harvesting operations in Virginia were generally conventional single-crew roundwood operations utilizing their own residues for energywood. Production levels varied widely with energywood comprising an average 31% of total production. Material was comminuted utilizing large (650 median horsepower) older (13.2 years average) whole-tree chippers fed by a single loader. Coastal Plain operations were larger scale than Piedmont operations, though those in the Piedmont had been in business longer. Businesses had a median of $400,000 USD invested in energywood production equipment, which was double their median investment in the previous survey. Logging businesses that had produced energywood longer were significantly (P = 0.0391) more likely to report profitability. In addition, loggers reported deriving numerous non-market benefits from energywood production (e.g., improved aesthetics and cleaner sites, leading to increased landowner satisfaction), with most business owners planning to continue production in the future. The fourth study revealed that estimated erosion was higher in the Mountains due to steep slopes and operational challenges. BMP implementation varied by region and harvest type, with energywood sites having better implementation than conventional sites, and conventional Mountain sites having lower implementation than other regions. Sufficient woody debris remained for BMPs on both harvest types in all regions, with conventional Mountain sites retaining twice that of Coastal Plain sites. BMPs effectively reduced potential erosion on both site types; therefore, increased implementation could likely lower erosion potential in problematic areas. Collectively, this research provides a wholistic representation of energywood harvesting operations in the lower Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S., allowing stakeholders in the region and other similar locations to make informed decisions regarding its sustainable harvest. / Doctor of Philosophy / Additional markets for renewable energy feedstocks have led to increased energywood (biomass) production in the Southeastern United States. Energywood is wood that is often used in the place of coal for renewable energy production. This includes wood of insufficient size, poor form, or with no other higher market value at the time of harvest. It also includes both residues from logging operations as well as stands planted to be harvested specifically for bioenergy production. Energywood requires additional processing steps and is often the lowest value product on harvesting sites, making profitability difficult to achieve. Additionally, energywood harvests may result in negative environmental impacts, such as increased erosion, increased area in road network features, and reduced quantities of residual woody debris. Finally, Best Management Practices (BMPs) have been created for conventional forest harvesting operations, but their applicability to energywood harvests has not been verified. Therefore, this research provides a literature review on the practice of energywood harvesting, followed by four studies on energywood harvesting operations in the lower Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. The first study evaluated the productivity and costs of two Appalachian Mountain and three Coastal Plain energywood harvests, providing stakeholders with a comparison of harvesting operations that can be used to make better-informed decisions regarding the efficient and economical harvest of energywood. It also highlighted the importance of ensuring a balanced equipment mix to lower costs and ensure efficiency, and the high costs associated with hauling. The second study compared estimated erosion, operational feature areas, BMP implementation rates, ground cover characteristics, and downed woody debris quantities following 10 energywood and 10 conventional harvests in the Mountains of Virginia. Conventional harvests were more potentially erosive and had lower BMP implementation rates than energywood harvests, despite energywood harvests resulting in lower quantities of residual woody debris. The third study presents a survey conducted among energywood business owners in Virginia designed to characterize harvesting operations and markets, assess business owner opinions related to the current and future state of the industry, and update/expand the results of a previous survey from 2014. Energywood harvesting operations in Virginia were generally conventional single-crew operations utilizing chippers with energywood comprising an average 31% of total production. Loggers reported deriving numerous non-market benefits from energywood production (e.g., improved aesthetics and cleaner sites, leading to increased landowner satisfaction), with most business owners planning to continue production in the future. The fourth study combined data from the second study with data from two other independent studies, comparing site impacts from energywood and conventional harvests across the Mountain, Piedmont, and Coastal Plain regions of Virginia. Estimated erosion was higher in the Mountains due to steep slopes and operational challenges. BMP implementation varied by region and harvest type, with energywood sites having better implementation than conventional sites, and conventional Mountain sites having lower implementation than other regions. Sufficient woody debris remained for BMPs on both harvest types, regardless of region. Finally, BMPs reduced estimated erosion on both site types, suggesting increased implementation could lower erosion potential in problematic areas. Collectively, this research provides a wholistic representation of energywood harvesting operations in the lower Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S., allowing stakeholders in the region and other similar locations to make informed decisions regarding its sustainable harvest.