The flooded lake country aroung the permanent water sources support stands of Coolibah, Lignum, Bluebush, Verbine and tussock grassland.
Flora includes slim snow tussock (Chionochloa macra) and narrow-leaved snow tussock (Chionochloa rigida) as well as an array of alpine herbs, while fauna include the New Zealand falcon/kārearea, sky lark, chukar, California quail and the New Zealand pipit/pihoihoi, as well as the common skink and common gecko.
Carex emoryi, the riverbank tussock sedge or Emory's sedge, a plant species
The habitat for all subspecies is closed heath, wet dense heath, open forest, open heath, swampy draiages and tussock grassland with bracken and sedge growth.
The western tussock moth, Orgyia vetusta, formerly Hemerocampa vetusta, is a moth found in the Pacific States and British Columbia, as well as an isolated population in Boise County, Idaho.