The frequency distribution of the distance from a randomly selected point to the rth nearest organism contained in a variable area transect is described. Estimators of density and variance are derived for both randomly distributed and aggregated populations. For randomly distributed populations exact confidence intervals are available. On an effort-precision criterion the method is more useful than other spatial distribution based density estimators. Under the condition where effort is a linear function of distance covered and numbers of organisms counted, the effort expended in achieving a desired level of precision is the same as that for quadrats; the variance of effort depends on the difficulty in counting and in covering the distance. An example using pismo clams (Tivela stultorum) is given: the density of clams was found to be 1 per 2.87 m'. The method was found to be superior to that of other distance-measures and quadrats. J. WILDL. MANAGE. 43(2):484-492 Two methods are commonly employed when measuring the density of plant communities and closed animal populations where the animals are relatively stationary: quadrats and distance-measures. Quadrats are simple to apply. The fact that means of plot samples provide an unbiased estimate of true mean density enhances the usefulness of quadrats. Unfortunately, problems arise in quadrat sampling. Quadrats of different size yield different estimates of density (GreigSmith 1964). Also, the degree of nonrandomness detected depends on plot size (Pielou 1957). Distance-measure methods, where the density is based on the spatial distribution of organisms, avoid these difficulties. The density estimate is based on the distance between some randomly chosen point and some rth closest organism and not on a fixed plot. Unfortunately, there are also problems in using distance-measures. The precision of the estimate is inverse to the product of the number of samples taken, n, and the number in each sample, r (Pollard 1971). In the field, an r beyond 3 or 4 is often impractical. This difficulty arises not from the measurement to the rth organism but in determining which is the rth. Increased precision is afforded only at the expense of increasing the number sample points. This has discouraged many investigators from using distance-