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If possible, capsules were placed in out-of-the-way and inconspicuous locations; <br />however, during the year several instances of intentional or unintentional disturbance <br />occurred. Most thermograph disturbances appeared to be caused by humans, although <br />during December 2001, an ice dam ruptured, encasing the thermograph on the Roaring <br />Fork River above the Fryingpan River above the water level in ice (Figure 17). In all <br />instances where thermographs were disturbed, loggers were redeployed or new ones <br />reinstalled. <br />Collected data was downloaded and imported into a spreadsheet program and checked for <br />accuracy. To alleviate any bias in water temperatures due to diel variability, data was <br />averaged by day for all days with 20 or more hourly readings. Data collected during days <br />and time periods when a thermograph was disturbed, were removed from analysis. The <br />Roaring Fork River upstream of the Fryingpan River had the most days eliminated (136) <br />followed by the Roaring Fork River at "Tree Farm" (58), Fryingpan River at gaging <br />station (48), and Fryingpan River above Roaring Fork River confluence (14). <br />Habitat Mapping <br />A quantified description of aquatic habitat is useful in determining the general condition <br />of habitats affecting fish and macroinvertebrate communities. Using a protocol <br />developed for the Pike & San Isabel National Forest (Winters and Bennett 1994), the <br />aquatic habitat was mapped at each of the four IFIM sites. Total length mapped per site <br />was partially dependent upon access (public land or landowner permission) to the <br />particular site. All aquatic habitats within the reach were observed and measured. Data <br />collected during mapping by the field crew included habitat type, length, width, structural <br />association, substrate type as a percentage of stream bottom, bank erodability, bank rock <br />content and presence of large organic debris. Field data were input into a computer <br />spreadsheet and analyzed using the Pike & San Isabel National Forest's Basin-wide <br />program. <br />Draft Final Report, Fryingpan and Roaring Fork Rivers February 12, 2003 <br />Miller Ecological Consultants, Inc. Page 24