Despite being freehold and then leasehold grazing land prior to becoming a reserve, Mulligans Flat has been subjected to less overall farming pressure than other areas at similar proximity to human activity.

[10][5] Prior to the heavy clearing and farming practices of the nineteenth century, the area had a permanent water supply which is thought to have existed in the form of ponds connected by inconsistent channels.

[11] This landscape would have provided food and other resources in the form of a diverse biome of flora and fauna sufficient to support a local community.

[12] The Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation (TOAC) occasionally runs educational sessions using Mulligans Flat as a teaching location.

In 1992, seven environmental groups submitted a proposal[14] to the Minister for the Environment for a nature reserve to protect Mulligans Flat from urban development.

[15][5] Further community participation was encouraged through the establishing of the Friends of Mulligans Flat in 2011 which allows members to take part in ongoing conservation activities such as weed control.

The Mulligans Flat-Goorooyarroo Woodland Experiment[2] was established through a partnership between the ACT Government, CSIRO, and the Australian National University (ANU).

Despite this, Mulligans Flat and Goorooyarroo together provide the country's largest remaining contiguous area of White Box-Yellow Box-Blakely's Red Gum grassy woodland and derived native grassland,[15] which is listed as critically endangered under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and as endangered in the New South Wales Threatened Species Conservation Act 1990.

[22] Other fences assisting with species management include the kangaroo[3] and bettong[23] exclosures, which provide information to researchers studying restoration processes in the sanctuary.

They benefited from other restoration processes taking place in the sanctuary, in particular the addition of wood debris which increased the invertebrate population, and by extension the quoll's food source.

[33] The presence of quolls from the previous translocation was considered a contributing factor in the lower number of attempted escapes, as the area was proven suitable habitat.