The river flows through the Somerset Wildlife Trust's Mounsey Wood Nature Reserve and Knaplock and North Barton SSSI, first notified in 1954, which are within Exmoor National Park. This is notable for the presence of rare plant and bird life and including Kingfisher habitats and one of the only sites of great burnet (Sanguisorba officinalis) on Exmoor. The river itself has been recorded as a habitat for otters.