Bush and Callow Act Aquatic Lands Maps
   

In 1895, the Washington State Legislature passed the Bush Act and the Callow Act, which allowed for sale of state-owned tidelands into private ownership.
 
The Bush Act allowed state-owned aquatic lands to be sold for “the purpose of oyster planting, to encourage and facilitate said industry.” It provided for the sale of not more than one hundred acres of state owned tidelands into private ownership, at $1.25 per acre, to any qualified individual for use only for oyster planting and cultivation.
 
The Callow Act allowed for  “purchase and sale of oyster lands” into private ownership. The act limitied activity on the land to "artificial oyster bed."
 
 
To see where Bush and Callow Act Lands are located, view the county maps below:
 
Clallam County Grays Harbor County
Jefferson County King County
Kitsap County Mason County
Pacific County Pierce County
San Juan County Skagit County
Skagit, Island, Snohomish counties Thurston County
 
 
 
 
 
 

Basic Statistics

   Description
   Acres  
   Percent of Total
   Bush and Callow Act Lands
  46,784
  100%
   Bush Act Lands
  46,204
  98.8%
      Pacific County (Willapa Bay)
  25,324
  54.1%
      Grays Harbor County (Grays Harbor)
  7,054
  15.1%
      San Juan, Skagit, Island, Snohomish, Pierce, Thurston, 
      Kitsap, Mason, Jefferson, Clallam, and King Counties
  13,826
  29.6%
   Callow Act Lands
  580
  1.2%
      Thurston County
  391
  0.8%
      Pacific County
  187
  0.4%
      Mason County
  2
  0.004%