The conservation easement allows the owners to continue ranching and providing economic benefits for the local community while preserving forever the natural and scenic values of this beautiful landscape. The Denny Ranch has one of the largest private stands of blue oaks in California. Blue oak woodlands in the Lassen Foothills support a wide variety of native animals, including raptors such as bald eagles and prairie falcons, cavity-nesting birds like acorn woodpeckers, and deer. The Nature Conservancy's purchase of this easement was supported by The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and other private organizations and individuals. The Nature Conservancy has been active in the Lassen Foothills for a number of years.
Education is also an important part of The Nature Conservancy's work with local communities.
Because the long-term success of conservation depends on teaching the next generation good conservation values, the Conservancy aims much of its outreach program at students. As many as 1,500 schoolchildren from the local Los Molinos school district visit Dye Creek Preserve annually to learn about typical plant and animal species of the region and to engage in hands-on restoration work. The educational program, which integrates a classroom curriculum with hands-on outdoor activities on the Preserve, teaches students the natural and cultural history of the Lassen area and the larger Sacramento Valley, introduces them to the science of preserving and restoring sensitive habitat, and shows them ways in which humans can live in harmony with nature. The schoolchildren also participate in the restoration of riverside forests along the lower stretches of Dye and Mill Creeks. They have constructed a greenhouse at the local high school where they germinate seeds and acorns and grow them to the seedling stage.