Table 2.1.1. Summary of the sampling design by state and multidensity category for the 
2002 West Coast Intertidal Assessment. 
State 
Multidensity 
Category 
(Label) 
Design 
Target 
Number of 
Primary 
Sample 
Sites 
Design 
Actual 
No. of 
Sites 
No. Sites 
Successfully 
Sampled 
Number of 
Alternate 
Sample 
Sites 
Washington 
Puget Sound (Puget) 
25 
26 
24 
225 
Washington 
Willapa Bay (Willa) 
30 
30 
30 
271 
Washington 
Rest of State (Washi) 
13 
12 
7 
116 
Oregon 
Coos Bay (Coosb) 
30 
29 
30 
271 
Oregon 
Rest of State (Orego) 
35 
36 
36 
314 
California 
Rest of State (Calif) 
30 
29 
30 
271 
California 
San Francisco Bay 
Low Marsh (SF Low 
Marsh) 
10 
11 
9 
89 
California 
San Francisco Bay 
High Marsh (SF High 
Marsh) 
10 
10 
12 
91 
California 
San Francisco Bay Flat 
(SF Flat) 
10 
9 
9 
90 
California 
Southern California 
(Bight) 
30 
30 
30 
269 
2.2 Biological and Sediment Sampling 
Field sampling was performed independently by each state during a seasonal 
window spanning the period from July to mid-September. Intertidal sites were 
accessed, as appropriate, either by boat, hovercraft or on foot, at low tide to facilitate 
burrow counts, plant community, sediment chemistry and benthic community sampling. 
The core field data or sample types collected at each site included: 
- general habitat-type description and anthropogenic debris or perturbation 
- shoreline development 
- presence and cover of burrowing shrimp and other megafauna. 
- plant community composition and cover 
- sediment consistency, composition, salinity and temperature 
- sediment pollutants, including organics and trace metals; total organic carbon 
- sediment nitrogen and phosphate concentrations 
- benthic macroinvertebrate community structure 
2.2.1 Site Location 
The randomly selected sampling locations for each state were provided to the 
field crews, who located the sites by use of Global Positioning Satellite System (GPS). 
4 
