Pallid Sturgeon - Ogallala, Nebraska

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locations. We recommend using the spacing of anchor points within each property necessary in order to systematically place 20 transects on future properties. Recommendations for Modifications to the Point- centered- quarter Sampling Methodology 1. Recommend using a laser range finder to get distances to plants to obtain more conventional estimates of density for trees and shrubs in the point centered quarter data collection. The methods implemented in 2001 in the point- centered quarters involved recording a 0 if there were no trees within 30.48m (100 feet). Although the methods used to calculate density with these data are statistically sound, they are not often used in botanical analyses. A laser rangefinder could be used to estimate distances to trees that are further than the measuring tape. Recommendations for Modifications to the Step -point Sampling Methodology 1. Recommend only collecting an additional vegetated hit, when the first hit is a non - vegetated hit, in the exposed sand beach/bar cover type. The methods implemented in 2001 for the step -point sampling involved recording the nearest plant in a 180 degree arc from the pointer (with lm radius), when the initial hit was a non - vegetated hit (bare ground, leaf litter, rock etc.). Percent cover estimates should not include the vegetative hits recorded when the first hit is non - vegetated to obtain the most accurate estimates of percent plant cover. The additional vegetative hit information is useful in documenting species composition for areas with very little plant cover. In this study area, the additional data should only be recorded for the exposed sand beach/bar cover type. Additional vegetative hits should be tracked on the datasheet as non -first hits and excluded from the total cover estimates and the percent plant cover estimates by species. This information can be used in a separate estimate of the relative percent plant cover.