The Dubysa Regional Park has been established to protect the most distinctive erosional valley landscape in Lithuania as well as other natural and cultural heritage values:

• The impressive Dubysa River old valley marked with tributary valleys and gullies, and a landscape of great hydrographical, botanical and cultural value;
• Cultural heritage objects such as the poet Maironis‘ farmstead and its natural and cultural surrounds;
• The stability of the natural ecosystem, its biotic components, characteristic flora and fauna, and natural fish migratory paths and spawning grounds.

The landscape of the most picturesque in Lithuania Dubysa erosive valley of exclusive beauty. Dubysa old valley seamed with tributary valleys and ravines. The slopes of the valley are deeply seamed with long ravines, and the dry grasslands serve as home to one of the rarest buterfly species – Maculinea alcon. The slopes of Dubysa River are connected by the highest and longest in the Baltic states railway bridge. Dubysa Regional Park is closely related with the live and works of the famous local poet Maironis. In Betygala, there are still reminders of the last pagan worship and the last pagan priest Gintautas which was called krivių krivaitis.

The landscape of the regional park is characterised by the expression of the structure, originality of natural and cultural heritage, and large educational tourist potential. The diversity of the Dubysa Regional Park landscape results from the following major landscape types: deep flat-bottomed passage(junction)-type river valley, river valley rich in meanders and oxbow lakes, small river valleys, morainic elevation sub-valley, expressive erosional slopes and deep erosional small valleys, groups of small erosional ravines, ponded rivers and streams, and loamy undulating morainic elevations. This park makes up the typical morphological structure created by slope erosional processes in the Lithuanian landscape with difference in altitude reaching up to 50-60 metres, and Dubysa valley erosional slopes served as the foundation for the entire chain of defensive mounds.

The natural habitats of European Community importance in this regional park (code, title): 6210 Semi-natural dry grasslands and scrubland facies on calcareous substrates (Festuco-Brometalia), 6120 Xeric sand calcareous grasslands (Koelerion glaucae), 6270 Fennoscandian lowland species-rich dry to mesic grasslands, 6510 Extensively managed hay meadows of the planar to submontane zones (Arrhenatherion, Brachypodio-Centaureion nemoralis), 9050 Fennoscandian herb-rich forests with Picea abies, 9180 Tilio-Acerion forests of slopes, screes and ravines, 9160 Sub-Atlantic and medio-European oak or oak-hornbeam forests of the Carpinion betuli.

The total number of plant species is 805. The total number of animal species is 922. Mammals – 32, of these 2 are protected by the European Community, and 1 is included into the Lithuania’s Red Data Book. Birds – 145, of these 9 are protected by the European Community, and 5 are included into the Lithuania’s Red Data Book. Fishes – 15, of these 2 are protected by the European Community, and 1 is included into the Lithuania’s Red Data Book. Amphibians and reptiles – 6 species. Invertebrates – 724, of these 1 is protected by the European Community, and 4 are included into the Lithuania’s Red Data Book.

17 reserves have been established in the Dubysa Regional Park to protect its natural and cultural heritage values: 2 landscape, 2 geomorphological, 1 botanical-zoological, and 1 historical).

The landscape reserves have been established to protect:

Betygala – the Dubysa wide-bottomed, steep-sloped, deep, old valley complex with erosional gullies; lower reaches of the rivers Lelykas, Šventupis, Šakuma, and Upytė; the grassland habitats (Semi-natural dry grasslands and scrubland facies on calcareous substrates, xeric sand calcareous grasslands, fennoscandian lowland species-rich dry to mesic grasslands, extensively managed hay meadows of the planar to submontane zones) and forest habitats (Fennoscandian herb-rich forests with Picea abies, Tilio-Acerion forests of slopes, screes and ravines) of the European Community importance with the habitats of protected species, such as Gentiana cruciata, Dactylorhiza baltica, Orchis militaris, Orchis mascula, Prunus spinosa, Alcedo atthis, Crex crex, Lutra lutra, Salmo, Parnassius mnemosyne, Papilio machaon, Brenthis daphne, Lopinga achine, Euphydryas maturna; the complex of Betygala mounds, Kejėnai mound, the complex of barrows and cemetery; Darbutai and Ročiškės castle mounds; the complex of the Blessed Virgin Mary’s Assumption to Heaven Church and chapel in Ugioniai; historical part of the Betygala town; Lyduvėnai – the unique Dubysa River midsection’s diagonal gullies complex on the left side of the valley in the surrounds of the Kalniškės village; the meanders and the oxbow lakes of the Dubysa River; the deep narrow and strongly branching erosional complex of Dratvinis: the meandering riverine of the Lapišė lower reaches; forest habitats (Fennoscandian herb-rich forests with Picea abies, Tilio-Acerion forests of slopes, screes and ravine) grassland habitats (Semi-natural dry grasslands and scrubland facies on calcareous substrates, fennoscandian lowland species-rich dry to mesic grasslands, extensively managed hay meadows of the planar to submontane zones) of the European Community importance with protected species of animals and plants, especially the habitats of Isopyrum thalictroides, Dactylorhiza baltica, Orchis militaris, Orchis mascula, Platanthera chlorantha, Prunus spinosa, Gentiana cruciata, Conioselinum tataricum, Salmo, Crex crex, Alcedo atthis, Lutra lutra, Phengaris teleius; the complex of Lyduvėnai mound; and the highest in Lithuania Lyduvėnai rail road bridge.

The geomorphological reserves have been established to protect:
Kirkšnovė – the meandering valley of the Kirkšnovė River with floodplain, mosaically overgrown and open slopes; Luknė – the wide Dubysa erosional valley with pronounced erosional valleys of the left tributaries and finely seamed with ravines right slopes; the Dubysa riverine with the fragments of oxbow lakes; the grassland habitats (Semi-natural dry grasslands and scrubland facies on calcareous substrates, fennoscandian lowland species-rich dry to mesic grasslands, extensively managed hay meadows of the planar to submontane zones) and forest habitats (Fennoscandian herb-rich forests with Picea abies, Sub-Atlantic and medio-European oak or oak-hornbeam forests of the Carpinion betuli, Tilio-Acerion forests of slopes, screes and ravines) of the European Community importance with the habitats of protected species, such as Gentiana cruciata, Dactylorhiza incarnata, Dactylorhiza baltica, Platanthera chlorantha, Conioselinum tataricum, Alcedo atthis, Crex crex, Lutra lutra, Salmo, Maculinea teleius, Maculinea alcon, Lycaena dispar, Brenthis daphne, Coenonympha tullia; and Padubysys castle mound.

The hydrographical reserves have been established to protect:
Dubysa – the unique flume-like valley of the upper reaches of Dubysa, meanders of the riverine, and the oxbow lakes, Bulavėnai castle mound; and the habitats of the European Community importance: Semi-natural dry grasslands and scrubland facies on calcareous substrates, fennoscandian lowland species-rich dry to mesic grasslands, extensively managed hay meadows of the planar to submontane zones; Palonas – a reference example of a clean and almost not affected by human activity stream, its valley with slopes and exposures.
Plauginiai Botanical-Zoological Reserve has been established to protect the coniferous and deciduous forests characteristic to the East Samogitian plateau with the habitats of the European Community importance Fennoscandian herb-rich forests with Picea abies and Sub-Atlantic and medio-European oak or oak-hornbeam forests of the Carpinion betuli as well as ecosystems that are valuable from zoological and mycological perspective.
The Pasandravys Memorial Reserve has been established to protect the farmstead of poet Jonas Mačiulis-Maironis and its natural and cultural surrounds; also the burial-ground of the rebels of the year 1863.

There are 5 nature heritage objects in the Dubysa Regional Park: the Dubenuotasis rock, the Gražusis oak in Plauginiai forest, Mikalojus Daukša oak, Lelykas exposure, Skiručiai spring. There are also 54 cultural heritage objects in the park, of which 12 are cultural monuments.