Make the Pacific razor clam Washington’s state clam!
It’s a bill! The 5th & 6th-grade students of Pacific Beach Elementary school have asked the state legislature to make the razor clam an official state symbol. Razor clams are a time-honored part of Washington’s history and culture and well deserve the honor.
The students lobbied for the bill in Olympia on May 19, 2025. The students also had “Razor Clam Day” on January 15, 2025, dissecting a clam and learning how a bill passes through the legislature.
Young students throughout the state are enthusiastic about making the razor clam the state clam, as evidenced by the pictures below.
Six legislators are sponsoring Senate bill SB 5560, designating the razor clam as the state clam. Please take a moment to let your legislators know you support the students in their quest, and share your own enthusiasm for razor clamming, at the link here. It’s easy and just takes a minute.
“Razor Clam Day” at Pacific Beach Elementary, Pacific Beach, WA, on Jan. 15th, 2025
Art from a student on Long Beach peninsula, Washington
See more photos here
The Pacific razor clam well deserves the honor of becoming a state symbol. Please join the effort by signing the petition on this website and being in touch. Here is a link to the current bill and its status.
Razor clamming is a fun activity that provides food, recreational adventure and economic benefits. In recent years there have been about 400,000 recreational digger trips annually. People of all ages participate — men, women and children.
Pacific razor clams are endemic to the Pacific Northwest and especially abundant on Washington’s coastal beaches. They have been part of the culture of coastal Native American tribes from time immemorial.
Washington has a variety of state symbols, such as a state bird, state song, state flower and state amphibian. There’s also the state oyster, the Olympia.
In recognition of the razor clams’ significance to Washington’s history, identity and economy, and to further steward and educate, we applaud this effort to designate the Pacific razor clam, Siliqua patula, as the state clam.
See 2024 story in The Seattle Times (razor clam vs geoduck), and also story in the Aberdeen Daily World.
We welcome feedback on our efforts to make the Razor clam the state clam.
A good-sized razor clam just removed from the sand. Photo credit David Berger.