Final Report A Study of the Ecological Processes on the Fryingpan and Roaring Fork Rivers Related to Operation of Ruedi Reservoir Prepared for Roaring Fork Conservancy P.O. Box 3349 Basalt, Colorado 81621 Prepared by Jonathan A. Ptacek, David E. Rees, and William. J. Miller Miller Ecological Consultants, Inc. 1113 Stoney Hill Drive, Suite A Fort Collins, Colorado 80525-1275 June 30, 2003 MILLER ECOLOGICAL CONSULTANTS, INC. This page intentionally blank Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .............................................................................................viii Introduction..................................................................................................................viii Methods........................................................................................................................viii Results............................................................................................................................. x Conclusions................................................................................................................xviii INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 1 Objectives ....................................................................................................................... 2 Study area........................................................................................................................ 3 METHODS ....................................................................................................................... 10 IFIM Site Selection....................................................................................................... 10 Fryingpan River ........................................................................................................ 10 Roaring Fork River ................................................................................................... 13 IFIM Data Collection.................................................................................................... 14 Hydraulic Simulations .................................................................................................. 15 Macroinvertebrates ....................................................................................................... 18 Spawning....................................................................................................................... 20 Fish Community............................................................................................................ 24 Thermal Regime............................................................................................................ 24 Habitat Mapping ........................................................................................................... 26 RESULTS ......................................................................................................................... 27 IFIM Hydraulic Modeling............................................................................................. 27 Riverwide.................................................................................................................. 27 FPR-BP ..................................................................................................................... 29 FPR-HG .................................................................................................................... 32 FPR-LG..................................................................................................................... 37 RFR-TF..................................................................................................................... 37 Macroinvertebrates ....................................................................................................... 43 Spawning....................................................................................................................... 52 Fish Community............................................................................................................ 57 Whirling Disease........................................................................................................... 65 Thermal Regime............................................................................................................ 65 Hydrology ..................................................................................................................... 70 Habitat Mapping ........................................................................................................... 72 DISCUSSION................................................................................................................... 74 IFIM .............................................................................................................................. 74 Macroinvertebrates ....................................................................................................... 76 Influence of Ruedi Dam............................................................................................ 78 Mysis relicta.............................................................................................................. 81 Flow alterations......................................................................................................... 83 Thermal Regime............................................................................................................ 86 Spawning....................................................................................................................... 87 Dissolved oxygen...................................................................................................... 89 Substrate Size............................................................................................................ 89 Fish Community........................................................................................................ 92 Final Report, Fryingpan and Roaring Fork Rivers June 30, 2003 Miller Ecological Consultants, Inc. Page ii CONCLUSIONS............................................................................................................... 93 MEC Study Conclusions............................................................................................... 96 Management Recommendations............................................................................... 98 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.............................................................................................. 99 LITERATURE CITED ................................................................................................... 100 GLOSSARY ................................................................................................................... 108 APPENDIX A - Photo Documentation of IFIM Site Characteristics at Different Flows ......................................................................................................................................... 110 APPENDIX B - Invertebrate Data.................................................................................. 119 APPENDIX C - Habitat Mapping Data.......................................................................... 134 Final Report, Fryingpan and Roaring Fork Rivers June 30, 2003 Miller Ecological Consultants, Inc. Page iii List of Figures Figure 1. Satellite image of Roaring Fork and Fryingpan valleys from Carbondale upstream to Ruedi Reservoir....................................................................................... 5 Figure 2. Satellite image of Roaring Fork River study area and sampling site (Macroinvertebrates: red, IFIM: yellow). ................................................................... 6 Figure 3. Satellite image of Fryingpan River study area from Ruedi Reservoir downstream to below Downey Creek (Macroinvertebrates: red, IFIM: Artificial Redds: purple)............................................................................................................. 7 Figure 4. Satellite image of Fryingpan River study area from Downey Creek to Basalt (Macroinvertebrates: red, IFIM: yellow, Artificial Redds: purple). ........................... 8 Figure 5. Average daily discharge for Fryingpan River at Ruedi Dam (USGS gage 09080400) and Roaring Fork River at Emma (USGS gage 09080100) during water years 1999 through 2002. Data from WY 2002 is provisional.................................. 9 Figure 6. Site FPR-HG on the Fryingpan River, August 2001, at 239 ft3/s. Reported discharge is from USGS gaging station 09080400................................................... 11 Figure 7. Site FPR-LG upper on Fryingpan River, August 2001, at 239 ft3/s. Reported discharge is from USGS gaging station 09080400................................................... 12 Figure 8. Site FPR-LG lower on Fryingpan River, August 2001, at 239 ft3/s. Reported discharge is from USGS gaging station 09080400................................................... 12 Figure 9. Site FPR-BP on the Fryingpan River, August 2001, at 239 ft3/s. Reported discharge is from USGS gaging station 09080400................................................... 13 Figure 10. Site RFR-TF on the Roaring Fork River, June 2001, at 876 ft3/s. Reported discharge is from USGS gaging station 09081000................................................... 14 Figure 11. Aerial view of FPR-LG lower with transect placement and location of artificial redd construction. ......................................................................................