Rural deity first to appreciate local wildlife (5)
I believe the answer is:
fauna
'local wildlife' is the definition.
(the wildlife of a particular area)
'rural deity first to appreciate' is the wordplay.
'rural deity' becomes 'faun' (woodland spirit in classical mythology).
'first to' suggests taking the first letters.
The first letter of 'appreciate' is 'a'.
'faun'+'a'='FAUNA'
(Other definitions for fauna that I've seen before include "list of animal life" , "Animals of a particular region" , "The animals found in a particular area" , "(Region's) animal life" , "list of animals" .)