The Otuwhero Valley has a high diversity of landscape and ecosystems, with streams, estuary, alluvial flats, and hills combining to produce an area high in conservation values. It is a stronghold for banded rail and fernbird, and hosts an important whitebait spawning area. The restoration area encompasses approximately 10 ha of sedgeland and 25 hectares of alluvial flats through which the Otuwhero Stream flows. Contiguous with the wetland is 55 ha of coastal hill forest and approximately 15 ha of salt marsh which provides a vegetation sequence which is rare in the district.

Parts of the wetland have been drained and large areas are currently in rank grass, gorse and blackberry. It is planned to re-establish alluvial forest and enhance wetland areas. Since 2011 Otuwhero Trust volunteers have controlled weeds including removing willows from the banks of the Otuwhero Stream, planted over 20,000 trees and sedges in the wetland area and along the riverbank, eliminated over 3000 wilding pines in the hill forest and established and maintained a network of traplines over 100 hectares.