The Forest Protection Society is an Australian group that was established in 1987 with the support of the Forest Industry Campaign Association whose executive officer claimed the funds were just to get it started but that it would be an independent community group. Yet some years later about 80% of the Society's funding was still coming from the Association.(Rowell 1996)

It shares the same postal address as the National Association of Forest Industries, uses an industry spokesperson as a contact for job advertisements and uses the services of Burson-Marsteller. Yet the Forest Protection Society is listed as an 'Environmental Protection Organisation in the 1994 Directory of Australian Associations. It's fact sheets promote logging in rain-forests as "one of the best ways to ensure that the rain-forests are not destroyed." Burton claims to have uncovered minutes of a Forest Protection Society meeting where ways to take over meetings of local environment groups and distract them from their campaigning were discussed.(Burton 1994)

The Forest Protection Society aims to "Provide a national grassroots voice for people associated with or supportive of Australia's forest-based industries." Its national director, Chris Althaus, is a forestry graduate and founding staff member of the National Association of Forest Industries (NAFI).

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Forest Protection Society - Media Releases

Burton, Bob, 1997, Wise Guys Down Under: PR's Eco-front Moves on Australia, PR Watch 4(4).

Burton, Bob, 1996, PR & The Timber Industry, in the Boycott Woodchipping Campaign Manual.

Burton, Bob, 1994, 'Nice names - pity about the policies - industry front groups', Chain Reaction, No. 70, pp. 16-9.

Rowell, Andrew, 1996, Green Backlash: Global Subversion of the Environment Movement (London and New York: Routledge).

Wilderness Society quote Vic Police on FPS

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