In 1994, the then Victorian Department of Conservation and Natural Resources proposed selling the 47.5 hectare parcel of Crown Land for housing development, but a group of concerned residents formed an action plan in order to save it as a historic precinct and for the establishment of flora and fauna of the Central Highlands. Today the management of Cornish Hill as a Crown Land Reserve is the responsibility of a Community Committee of Management. A group called ‘Friends of Cornish Hill’ carries out all hands on work on the Hill.
Generous grants from a number of funding bodies and input from a group of enthusiastic volunteers has enabled great progress to be made in controlling the weeds and re-establishing the local plants that were once endemic before gold mining disturbance.