Tim,
Hang tight with contacting the ACoE. I don't say this because I know what I'm doing with their regard. I say it because you want to make sure you have considered all the potential ramifications before you do so. It is possible that putting yourself on their radar might be a mistake....maybe not. You are right, not alot will transpire during the holidays. Let's get some input here for you to digest, first. A good pond contractor will know how to play; this would be my next step.
As an aside, my pond contractor worked as the NRCS agent a number of years prior. He told me to secure a copy of the "strip maps" of my property from the NRCS office. These are aerial photos of the property, often depicting wetland area with a "W" or similar designation. He wasn't sure if they still had that level of mapping info available. I did ask for, and got, my strip maps from the NRCS office, but mine did not have any soil ID's....but then again, my area did not have any wetlands. Just another thought. If nothing else, it's kinda cool to have them use a color printer and send you an 8.5 x 11 color aerial of your property.
