hello all, I have recently come to live on family land that has a pond. unfortunately the pond was neglected for some time and as a result a mix of pine and hardwood trees have grown on both the downstream side and on the water body side. the pines reach as high as 35-40 feet (eyeball estimate) and maybe 2-3 feet in diameter. I have been looking for a definitive "go/no go" for cutting and removing these trees. my internet research has given me some guidance, including some of the posts on this forum. I will admit to be being very new to the area of pond management. I have done what little I could with regards to clearing the brush and small trees off the dam but there is still a large amount to be done. my biggest concern is do I need to remove the large trees from the dam? if so, what is the best method? is it better to leave actively growing trees alone? if I do remove them am I basically guaranteeing myself problems in the future. any help would be greatly appreciated. I can provide photos of the dam if those would be helpful (and if someone with more knowledge can instruct me on how to post them on this forum). I have not yet called my local NRCS office to see what guidance they can offer.
