Last year's assesment was 1,481,000 clams. This is for Clatsop Beach, the stretch from Seaside to the south jetty of the Columbia.
The digging season is open, according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The reason is simply the "set" _ the term which essentially means where the clams happen to wind up along the beach. This year, they happened to land along the beaches where they are quite accessible to the public, instead of further beyond the tide line.
-- Terry Richard; email@example.com