The primary task of the WSHO is consulting with other federal agencies (e.g., U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Federal Highways Administration, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Navy, etc.), under section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, and regarding Essential Fish Habitat under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery and Conservation Management Act. In addition, the WSHO provides policy and technical expertise to non-federal entities that want to develop ESA section 10 Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs), and section 4(d) limits in Washington State. Done correctly, HCPs balance the conservation needs of salmon and steelhead, while providing the substantive administrative basis for a ESA section 10 incidental take permit for these species. The NOAA Fisheries Service Northwest Region is implementing 10 completed HCPs, including seven that cover about two million acres in Washington State. Another dozen or so HCPs, ranging in size from 100 to 215,000 acres are under development in WA. Programs approved under section 4(d) limits provide for the conservation of threatened species, such that the prohibition against take is essentially removed for activities done in accordance with the approved program. There are 30 state and local entities (WSDOT, 8 counties and 21 cities) covered under the 4(d) limit 10(ii) for Regional Road Maintenance in Washington State. The WSHO is working with other local jurisdictions to cover programs under 4(d) limit 13, for Municipal, Residential, Commercial and Industrial development.

To conserve federally protected salmon and steelhead throughout all of Washington State, NOAA Fisheries staff biologists working in the WSHO are engaged in a wide range of efforts at both the project and programmatic levels. Besides working with landowners to develop HCPs, 4(d) limits or consulting with Federal action agencies under section 7, WSHO is working on several regional and watershed salmon conservation or recovery plans with many non-federal groups. These efforts include several urban and rural counties, and address issues such as urban development, storm water management, and habitat restoration.

The population of more than five million people in Washington State has doubled since 1950, and is expected to double again by 2045. Much of the freshwater, estuarine, and marine habitats upon which these fish depend have been severely altered or destroyed by more than a century of land-uses that did not account for the habitat needs of salmon, steelhead, and cutthroat trout. The current number and distribution of ESA-listed salmon and trout reflects an independent analysis by the state and tribes of all 435 stocks of salmon and steelhead. Less than half of the stocks (43 percent) were rated healthy in 1992.