A blockade of the Kokoda Track has been cleared after protesters were moved on by police last night.
Landowners and workers for major trekking company Adventure Kokoda had barricaded road entrances to the track on the weekend.
They were frustrated by the Papua New Guinea environment minister's decision to cancel the company's licence.
In a statement, Environment Minister and Kokoda Initiative Committee chair Simon Kilepa said the licence was cancelled for allegedly "evading paying trekking permit fees".
The statement also said the Kokoda Track Authority claims Adventure Kokoda's owner Charlie Lynn wrote to it in February, informing it his company would not be paying trekking fees.
Under PNG law, all tour companies are required to pay fees to the Kokoda Track Authority (KTA) for permits in order to walk the track.
The owner of Adventure Kokoda disputes that claim.
Mr Lynn told the ABC he was in touch with the KTA in February and March, but the acting chief executive ignored his email requests for information on the condition of the trail and the adequacy of campsites.
He said he had a "duty of care" to the company's trekkers and made a decision to pay a portion of Adventure Kokoda's fees to campsite owners.
Mr Lynn said he did this to "assist them in preparing the sites to meet the safety and welfare need of their paying customers".
The blockade polarised many in Sogeri, a town near the start of the track at Owers' Corner.
Some felt the men were right to protest in a bid to get their jobs back, while others felt saddened.
Councillor and landowner Helen Weana said the blockade was affecting local businesses, with landowners making money from trekkers and companies in the area.
"Mothers lost business," she said.
"I do a lot of selling at Owers Corner, two days we lost. The reputation of the track has suffered."
Locals at the market told the ABC they were "embarrassed" by the blockade.
The blockade caused great uncertainty for trekking companies and tourists.
The licence of Kokoda Adventure was cancelled in late April following the death South Australian veteran and father Paul Miller died from a suspected heart attack on the Kokoda Track while trekking with the same company.
Mr Miller was walking with his son at the time.
The trek was intended as a fundraising effort run by veterans and first responders support group Operation Unity SA.
The father and son were on the 96-kilometre jungle trail through the Owen Stanley mountain range, which marks out the site of fierce fighting between Australian and Japanese troops during World War II.
Thousands of Australians walk the track each year, retracing the steps taken by the soldiers during the four-month battle.
