Hello everyone. I feel like I have one opportunity to do things right so I come to the experts for advice.
We have a gravel pit that is still being mined, and we are working on the next (and potential final) contract. Any restoration desires need to be laid out up front in this contract.
Goals: I want a private healthy lake for swimming and fishing. The kids and I swam out there on Memorial Day and it was glorious.
Current State: There are 15 acres of water. 25 feet at the deepest. Average depth maybe around 15 feet. There are 3-4 ponds that should all be made into one when everything is done. Below is some amateur drone footage from last fall. I added 50 lbs of shiners to the middle pond last November. I am not sure if they lived as I did very little to create any habitat for them. The pond seems relatively sterile.... The blue color of the water is interesting to me--is that phytoplankton?
DRONE FOOTAGE LAST FALL Questions: What can/should I do now? What do we need to make sure to get out of the mining company? Are there any links to previous threads about such a topic? (I looked but did not find much) WHat kind of water tests should I do before I add more fish? Is it too early in the life of the ponds to add fish? Will future mining harm fish? (mining is nothing more than them pulling gravel out with a backhoe)
I feel like I could go on and on... Can anyone help me?
