long time lurker here. my future pond site (in east texas) has many sweet gum trees and a few pine trees along a small creek. i'm trying to determine whether i should take out all of the trees or leave them standing. the water depth around the trees will be approximately 20 ft. so i really don't have water depth issues. if the trees were hardwoods, i would definitely leave them standing but not sure if the gum trees will be rotten in a couple of years and therefore, i might as well take them down now. any advice is greatly appreciated.