The Chesil Bank and the Fleet Nature Reserve is an informal reserve managed by the Warden who is appointed by the Ilchester Estates. The management office is located at the Chesil Visitors Centre. The Warden's work is guided by the Fleet and Chesil Bank Management Plan.

The area covered by this plan extends from the Ilchester Estates western boundary 2 km west of the Abbotsbury Beach car park to the Chesil Visitors Centre and car park at Ferrybridge. Between these limits the landward boundary is the top of the low cliffs along the Fleet foreshore and the seaward boundary is the Lyme Bay shoreline of Chesil Beach. Outside of this declared area the ethos of the reserve is applied voluntarily across other parts of Chesil Beach in collaboration with the various landowners.

The Chesil Bank and the Fleet Nature Reserve operates with funding from the Fleet and Swannery Trust (FAST)and other funding organisations.

The aims of the Reserve are derived from the Fleet and Chesil Bank Management Plan:

• To maintain the unique physical and ecological characteristics of the area
• To protect and encourage rare species of wildlife that occur or breed in the area
• To allow recreation, traditional, and commercial activities which are compatible with the above
• To interpret the area to the visiting public and to gain their support for, and cooperation in, its conservation
• To encourage other organisations to help in achieving these objectives