[4] The lagoon and the surrounding land comprising 139 hectares (340 acres) form part of the Wamberal Lagoon Nature Reserve, a nature reserve created in 1981, that is under management of the NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service.

The initial charter of the WLCS cited the terms of Section 49(3) of the National Parks and Wildlife Act: lands within a nature reserve shall be deemed to be dedicated for the purposes of: To this end the Society engages in education, co-operation with other bodies having a similar interest, and representations to authorities whose responsibilities affect the nature reserve.

In 2018 and 2019 the WLCS initiated a habitat restoration project aimed at improving water quality in inflows to the lagoon, with the ultimate aim of reintroducing an endangered amphibian species (the green and golden bell frog, Litoria aurea) that once was common in this area but has been extirpated (as it has over most of its former range[6][7]).

The WLCS is working with management authorities (notably, the NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service and the Central Coast Council) to identify practicable methods to reduce pollutant input (e.g., via Gross Pollutant Traps[8] on waterways flowing into the lagoon) and to replace invasive weeds with native vegetation to enhance biodiversity.

As part of the habitat restoration initiative, WLCS assembled a list of vertebrate species that have been recorded to occur within one kilometre of the lagoon, based on unpublished records by WLCS members as well as consultancy reports.