The valley and the surrounding Saddleworth Moor are designated as 'Open Access' land for the public, following the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. Much of Saddleworth Moor is a 9,000 year-old peat landscape of blanket bog. The upper Greenfield Valley is part of the Dark Peak SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest). The millstone grit moorland is typically covered with grasses, mosses, heather and bilberry and is habitat for mountain hares and moorland birds such as red grouse, lapwing, skylark, curlew, golden plover and meadow pipit. The RSPB operates Dove Stone Nature Reserve in the valley, which includes old quarry cliffs that are home to peregrine falcons.