Dominant invertebrates include red rock crab (Cancer productus), spider crabs (Pugettia spp.), red sea cucumber (Parastichopus californicus), and orange sea cucumber (Cucumaria miniata).

Harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) frequently visit the site and are often seen hauled out on the exposed rocks at low tide. California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) are also commonly observed at the site and may be seen hauled out on nearby navigational buoys.

The island-like nature of Orchard Rocks makes the use of shore-based interpretive materials difficult. Signage at the site is planned but will require altering the intertidal habitat to include the footing for the signs. The site and its restrictions are listed in the WDFW sportfishing pamphlet and a detailed description will be presented in informational materials on marine reserves. WDFW Enforcement Officers patrol the waters of the conservation area.

Most of the bedlands in the reserve were withdrawn for recreational uses by the Department of Natural Resources on behalf of the nearby State Park, while a small portion of the reserve bedlands are leased to the adjacent private aquaculture facility.

Volunteers proposed and sheparded the site for inclusion in WDFW's marine reserve system, however, there is currently no organized volunteer activity at the site.

The shallow and rocky nature of the site leaves it vulnerable to vessel groundings and to the accumulation of derelict fishing gear. Derelict gill nets have been observed in the conservation area. A navigational aid is fixed to the highest point of the rocks and minimizes the chances of vessel groundings, but the surrounding area is a high traffic area frequented by Washington State ferries, some of the largest naval vessels in the world, and by recreational and commercial vessels.

A large commercial aquaculture facility consisting of net pens containing Atlantic salmon is located at the eastern periphery of the conservation area. The bedlands in the eastern most portion of the Conservation Area are under lease from the Department of Natural Resources to the private facility. These bedlands, which are now within the Conservation Area, are used for anchoring the net pens. There are no known impacts to the site from net pen operations historically. Commercial net pen operations could cause negative impacts to the reserve when catastrophic releases occur, by enhancing fish waste in the passage, or by the flow through of antibiotics into the marine environment. Just to the south of Orchard Rocks is an experimental aquaculture facility that potentially could cause similar problems in the area.