This study was conducted on the Fryingpan and Roaring Fork rivers to characterize the physical habitat and aquatic biota related to the operation of Ruedi Reservoir. The study components included instream habitat and flow relationships, thermal regime of reservoir releases, characterization of spawning habitat, and investigations into benthic macroinvertebrate populations and fish populations.

The study area for the fisheries evaluation consisted of the Fryingpan River from Ruedi Dam downstream to its confluence with the Roaring Fork, and the Roaring Fork River downstream of the Fryingpan River. The objective of the investigation and emphasis of this study is to provide current information on the biological and physical characteristics of the river and update information from the 1980s during a previous evaluation of operation of Ruedi Dam.

The intent of this executive summary is to provide a brief synopsis of this research study conducted on the Fryingpan and Roaring Fork rivers. For a more detailed and in-depth discussion of this study and its many subcomponents, please refer to the main body of this report.