Well darn. The bipartisan bill introduced this year to designate the razor clam as the state clam, HB 1061, passed the House but not the Senate. The short session and COVID-19 doomed the effort.  Key legislators, including Rep. Brian Blake (D),  Rep. Jim Walsh (R), and  Sen. Dean Takko (D) vow to try again next year “on Day 1.” 

The bill designates the Pacific razor clam as the state clam. It well deserves such recognition and honor. Please join the effort by signing the petition on this website and being in touch. Here is a link to the info about the bill on the state legislative site, and here is the bill itself.

The razor clam has long been important in Washington State as a source of food, income and recreational adventure. Digging for razor clams is a fun, nature-oriented activity that attracts men, women and children of all ages. In recent years there have been about 400,000 recreational digger trips annually. A lot of folks!

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. We also have a state oyster, the native Olympia. One other state in the union has a clam species as a state symbol, Rhode Island with the quahaug, though it is designated as the state shell.

In recognition of the razor clams’ significance to Washington’s history, identity and economy, and to further steward and educate, this initiative proposes to recognize the Pacific razor clam, Siliqua patula, as the state clam. See story in the Aberdeen Daily World.

We welcome feedback on our efforts to make the Razor clam the state clam.