i would start out with: what kind of dirt do you have to start with? have you sent a soil sample yet. when you squeeze it up in your fist does it form a baseball and stick together and hold its shape, or fall apart (when damp)? secondly, if you have bad soil, do you have a supply of clay on your property close by? how do you know? well, a backhoe operator can dig you some decent size holes/deep...sometimes the clay can be 6 feet or more below your topsoil. but also think to yourself, self, do i have any soil to begin with, or is it a bunch of shelf rock under those cedars? also, if you have some down trees around other parts of your property, check the dirt under the bottoms of the stumps, any clay there? if not...may check your local dirt company...approximate costs here in the south, not sure about CO are... "gumbo" grade...good adequate stuff for 42 dollars a dump truck load (standard dual axle dump truck) or "road quality clay"... that deep red looking stuff that sometimes cracks during drought...more expensive..about 70-80 dollars a load.
I hope this helps, i hope you have as much fun with your project as some of us have, sounds like it will be a nice place.
What did you decide to do about moving those big trees? if you are interested in purchasing trees, i have found good prices by joing the National Arbor Foundation (10 bucks a year, 15 free trees or so a year with membership, and lots to choose from).
one more thing. you mentioned that none of the books touched this subject. but i thought i saw a section similar to this on the "Basic Pond Management" book offered on this site. i can't remember for sure, but if you don't have that book you might check there.
mark
