Then there were the “forest wars” complete with treetop sit-ins and the massive and successful protest against Gunns’ pulp mill proposed for the Tamar Valley.

Now those wanting to protect the environment have new targets and not all those on the front line can easily be put into a “greenie” box.

In Stanley, local community members and tourism business owners are protesting against a wind farm planned for farmland near the town.

They want the Tasmanian government to follow the lead of other states and establish “No Go Zones” to protect important landscapes from renewable energy developments.

And fishermen, surfers and other members of the North-West community are up in arms about plans to expand salmon pen farming into their region.

At a rally in Burnie about 200 people warned salmon companies will have a fight on their hands if the proposals progress.

Mining projects are also attracting protest attention.

MMG, which mines at Rosebery, is trying to get approval to clear rainforest to build a tailings dam while Venture Minerals works on developing new iron ore projects near Tullah.

The CEO of Venture Minerals did not hold back about his frustration at environmental protest action at the recent Tasmanian Minerals and Energy Conference in Devonport.

CEO Andrew Radonjic said his company had already spent $40m at its Riley project which had now been modified from a 200ha footprint to a 33ha underground mine.

Dale Elphinstone – one of Tasmania’s richest men – is the company’s major shareholder.

“We won’t be put off by BBF (Bob Brown Foundation) we are here to stay whether they like it or not. Venture is part of the Tullah Progress Association,” Mr Radonjic said.

“These detractors are not locals, but are coming in from Hobart and the mainland to protest.

“They have chained themselves to drill rigs and cut gates. They are impacting the wages of our staff and wasting police resources.”

Bob Brown Foundation says its main targets will be varied – from protecting the Tarkine and the Antarctic, to keeping development out of national parks.

The BBF campaign outline comes as protesters were recently fined for blocking traffic at a protest over the Tasmanian government’s Workplace Protection Bill, currently before the Legislative Council.

The Greens say the vote is on a knife edge.

Premier Jeremy Rockliff says the Bill strengthens the law of trespass and obstruction, making them more easily understood and enforced.

“It applies to all persons and businesses equally. And it gives courts the ability to give higher sentences if appropriate for more serious offences and repeat offences,” Mr Rockliff said.

“It’s now more important than ever to ensure Tasmanians are free to go to work safely, without the risk that radical extremists invade their workplace. Intimidating, threatening, and endangering employees is not an option.”

The BBF said its frontline campaign in the Tarkine would reignite soon to defend the masked owl breeding habitat.

“If MMG chooses to stay out of takayna and build a paste-fill plant instead, our frontline focus will turn to the forests threatened by logging in takayna and at Mt Lindsay where Venture Minerals proposes a new mine,” the foundation said. “Our lobbying and community engagement campaign will advocate for World Heritage listing, National Park protection and return to Aboriginal ownership of 495,000ha.”

Its goal in Tasmania’s forests is to end native forest logging.

The BBF will also continue to focus attention on the Robbins Island wind farm project.

“Multinational UPC’s plan to build the largest wind farm in the southern hemisphere at the end point of one of the world’s – the East Asian-Australasian – flyways would be a biodiversity killing field,” the foundation said.

“There are more shorebirds breeding on Robbins Island and the adjacent Boullanger Bay that the rest of Tasmania.

“The large disease-free population of Tasmanian devils on the island will be impacted by the roads, vehicles and habitat loss to support the 122 massive 270m-tall turbines. It is hard to imagine a worse place for a wind farm.”

The Bob Brown Foundation is also targeting Tasmania’s salmon industry, the interest intensifying after Canadian firm Cooke this week announced its intention for a $1.1bn takeover of salmon and prawn farmer Tassal.

There is a focus on salmon pens at Long Bay on the Tasman Peninsula, and BBF will oppose any steps taken to put new fish farms or aquaculture research in Bass Strait.

While the BBF says Tasmania’s burgeoning tourism industry these days supports more than a dozen times the jobs in the logging industry, it is now being dragged into a phase of high contention.

“This is not about giving the public access. It is about servicing the richest people in the market for monetary gain. And why not? Why compete to buy grand scenic places available on the private Tasmanian market when the Tasmanian government will gift you millions to put up six private two-storey cabins,” it said.

helen.kempton@news.com.au