A Covenant with Creation

Sunset on Kanawha River

Yesterday, I talked about the Noah covenant in Genesis 9.  Look at this again:

Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the cattle and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark.  I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth. (8:9-12)

Something I hadn't noticed before is that the covenant is not only with Noah; it is also with creation.

What does that mean?  If God values creation enough to include it all in the covenant, then we have a model for what we should value.  How does the idea that creation is valuable to God impact how we interact with creation?