The Wilderness Society and Greenpeace began dismantling their "global rescue station" in Tasmania state's Styx Valley of tall eucalyptus trees after winning a reprieve followin a visit by the Australia's opposition leader Mark Latham.

Latham put the protest firmly on the conservation map when he backed calls for an end to clearfelling of old-growth forest.

The lucrative logging trade of Tasmania's old growth forests have long been the subject of protests and political controversy as conservationists rile against the majestic trees being tuned into woodchips for paper products.

The protest platform was erected last November on a eucalyptus tree dubbed "Gandalf's Staff" which towers 84 metres (277 feet) above an area of forest earmarked for logging by Forestry Tasmania.

The tree is just one metre short of meeting the criteria for permanent protection from logging.

The platform, which sits 65 metres up the tree, has been continuously occupied by activists from Australia, Canada, Germany and Japan as part of a push to end clearfelling in the state's old-growth forests and curb the state's woodchip trade.

It had a solar panel which powered laptops and a satellite telephone.

Wilderness Society state campaign coordinator Geoff Law said Latham's visit gave the forest area a reprieve.

"It is our judgment now that this coupe will not be logged, certainly before the federal election," Law said. "It would absolutely blow up in the face of the Tasmanian government if they moved in."

He said the protest would now move to Australian state capitals for a series of actions to coincide with World Environment Day on June 5.

TERRA.WIRE