Responsibly Sourced

Legal Jade Here

WashingtonJade.com was purchased by Bull Trout Jade LLC to provide a source for legally harvested and responsibly sourced high grade nephrite jade from Washington State. Bull Trout Jade has high graded a very few superb boulders from the surface at outcrops on its federal lode claims as part of its staking and exploration efforts. These few are enough to provide a consistent source of quality material to the nascent jade culture in Washington State and to the international jade carving community.

Regulatory Regime

In Washington State, nephrite jade resides on lands for which guardians in this modern age are tribal, federal, state and private. Recreational collecting is allowed on many public lands, but is strictly regulated. The environmental regulations for rivers and streams and in the riparian areas on all lands public and private are published in the Gold and Fish Pamphlet. Stones collected recreationally are for personal use only. To use stones from federal land commercially one must collect from a registered claim on US Forest Service land and follow the direct supervisory authority of the District Ranger. To use stones commercially from state land, operators are required to lease the land from the state, first for exploration and then for production. At production, the fees and royalties accrue to the benefit of specific trusts, many of which are educational. To use stones commercially from private land you must have that land owner’s specific permission. Timber companies often have a policy that allows recreational access; however, commercial exploration or removal normally requires specific written contractual arrangements.

Recent Discoveries

Until recently, the significance of the jade resources in Washington have not been adequately recognized and therefore are dramatically under appreciated. Historically, the best recreational, subsistence and artisanal collecting locations were considered by most to exist on state-owned land, which is restricted to personal use. This has unfortunately inhibited recreational collectors and amateur artisans from showcasing local jade (and other stones) on a path to becoming professionals. The supply of stones from old collections that predate the current regulations are scarce, as is the supply from a very few closely guarded locations on private properties. However, recent discoveries by a handful of itinerant prospectors have changed this: The quality of materials from recently located federal claims exceeds that found in traditional locations and the quantities needed for this nascent market have been harvested as a matter of course while validating the lodes with non-invasive methods.

Responsible Sourcing

Responsibly sourced nephrite jade in Washington State is not only legally harvested in full compliance with environmental best practices, but also in a manner that advances an expanded and wise use of the resource for the benefit of all user groups and constituencies with particular attention to the potential for educational trust lands.

Link Requests

Links to sources of responsibly sourced jade and jade products by Washington professionals are found on the center panel on the home page of this site. Also, on the right hand side of this page are links to international carvers and artisans producing products for sale using responsibly sourced jade. Links of interest are found on the left. Send your request for links to webmaster@washingtonjade.com.

Legal Disclaimer

It is the both the amateur’s and professional’s responsibility to determine the regulations and ownership interests that apply to their specific location before venturing into the field to collect jade or any other stone. Professionals must do their own due diligence and get regular and specific legal advice.