 As a result, by 1993, 89% of European "Hygrocybe" species appeared on one or more national red lists of threatened fungi.In several countries, action has been taken to conserve waxcap grasslands and some of the rarer "Hygrocybe" species.Guidance

In the United Kingdom, some grasslands have gained a measure of legal protection as Sites of Special Scientific Interest because of their waxcap interest, notably Llanishen Reservoir in Cardiff, where the original SSSI notification by the Countryside Council for Wales in 2006  was upheld following judicial review.