Thanks for the tip Jeff. I will keep all photos of progress on this thread. James, I am glad you mention the cottonwoods in the dry creekbed. That got me to thinking about the brook that flows into this pond. Since it comes out of the woods it has a lot of trees growing along it, both mature and small. It has very low banks as it exits a springhead, but just before it enters the pasture in the photos, its banks are high from erosion over who knows how long. probably about 3' deep. As we ran elevations, it seems a good possibility that when the pond is full, the water will back up into this little brook a bit and flood the banks about a foot deep or so, especially during heavy rain events. But it may subside and just remain somewhat "marshy" when the pond may not be as full during the dry season. I guess my question is whether I should clean out this area since it will standing in water at times. Will it be a problem to leave the trees standing in this area? Some are growing in the creek bed also and some in low lying areas above the banks. By the way, I do not have any issues with beavers at present since this is mostly uplands, not river bottoms. Hopefully, if I build it, they will not come. But my concern is more with siltation issues. Any advice?
