The pond won't be terribly large. I'm thinking an acre to an acre-and-a-half. It's mostly for aesthetics, and some light fishing for myself and my kids. I have an undergraduate degree in Zoology, so I like critters, and don't mind the ecology-management piece.
What I want to avoid is entanglement with any government red-tape (I know politics are discouraged here, but you know what I'm getting at). I have a neighbor who built a pond, and ended up getting into a pissing contest with the EPA (he's a lawyer, but I think he ended up having to give up the property... I don't want that to happen to me). The EPA doesn't take kindly to the "better to beg forgiveness than ask permission" philosophy, so I'd rather have the thing properly permitted/approved before I start digging.
There's no rush on this project, so I don't mind the delay.
