A group attempting to fell trees at the exact site of the proposed Northern Regional Prison was spotted by neighbours early on Sunday morning, but the government has denied it gave any authority for the activity to occur.
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Tasmania Police attended the scene, but the group had already left.
At least one tree was felled well within the land at Brushy Rivulet and on the footprint of the proposed prison, on a route specified by pink dots.
A government spokesperson said it was "a suspected case of illegal firewood harvesting".
"The government is not aware of any authorised tree felling on the Westbury prison site," the spokesperson said.
But prison opponents questioned why the group had ventured so deep into the land - including taking vehicles across difficult terrain - when there was more accessible firewood elsewhere in the reserve.
The prison proposal is likely to be referred to the federal Environment Minister due to its impact on the surrounding environment, as confirmed by the project manager.
The endangered masked owl has been confirmed on the site, including via scats collected in recent months, with environmental advice stating it was expected to "hunker down" in a burrow during recent core test drilling works.
