Near the northern end of California’s Central Valley lies the 37,540-acre Gray Davis Dye Creek Preserve, a refuge encompassing untilled valley grasslands and rugged Lassen foothills. Protecting virtually the entire Dye Creek watershed and a diverse array of life, these wild lands are the centerpiece in a mosaic of properties safeguarding wildlife migratory pathways over land, in the water and by air. Blue oaks endemic to California dominate the preserve’s sun-baked hilltops, staying green through the rainless summer and providing a vital food source for woodpeckers and black bears alike. Winter storms high in the Lassen region push Tehama black-tailed deer, the state’s largest migratory deer herd, down to the Preserve’s foothills and valley floor, where the herd finds forage during the winter and spring.