Type: report

Article abstract: We monitored populations of Palmer?s goldenbush (Ericameria palmeri var. palmeri) on the San Diego National Wildlife Refuge between October 4 and October 31, 2002. Palmer?s goldenbush is a rare, perennial, yellow-flowered shrub in the Family Asteraceae that occurs below 600 meters elevation along coastal drainages and dry valleys, in Diegan coastal sage scrub, and in mesic chaparral. According to the MSCP ?Biological Monitoring Guidelines?, Third Priority Covered Species, such as Palmer?s goldenbush require biological monitoring once every 5 years. The Guidelines recommend (require) using permanent photo plots for monitoring of Third Priority plant species. Although photo plot methods may provide some useful information such as areal extent of a species or changes in plant cover of a particular species, more valuable data such as population structure, plant phenology, and site attributes are required to determine the trends that make long-term monitoring effective. Because of these reasons we chose a more rigorous, yet simple method to monitor Palmer?s goldenbush on the Refuge.