Rattlesnake Bluff was donated to NCC (Nature Conservancy of Canada) by Phil and Arlene Thiemer, after the couple purchased the nine acre property in 2006 with the sole intention of preventing it from being mined as a rock quarry. Rattlesnake Bluffs became protected in perpetuity in 2009 when the Thiemers donated the property to the NCC. The Thiemers have lived across Ord Road from the Bluffs, for more than four decades and have watched a multitude of wildlife use the rugged cliffs and sagebrush-covered slopes to nest, feed and escape from predators.
Rattlesnake Bluffs now provides safe refuge for an impressive collection of species, several of which are on the provincial and federal endangered species list. White-throated Swifts and Cliff Swallows have made dozens of mud nests, sticking them to the cliff face. The Red-tailed Hawks and Say's Phoebes are known to nest here. The Brewer's Blackbird and Rock Wren have also be seen here. Bighorn sheep also take refuge here, with the ewes giving birth to the lambs in Spring. And of course, the Western Rattlesnake finds crevices and caves in which to hibernate, as does the Great Basin Gophersnake. A small colony of Yellow-bellied Marmots inhabit the property and are preyed on by Coyote and Bobcat.
Members of the Kamloops Naturalist Club have built a small trail along the base of the rocky cliffs, so visitors can walk among the Sagebrush and Prickly Pear cactus, while scouring the cliffs in search of the abundant wildlife.