Sounds like you are doing lots of excellent work!
Even if you can't make Pond 1 "perfect", I am sure the fish will be happy with you just making it better.
Also, my farm has a lot of acres that are still tallgrass prairie. My tallest species are big bluestem, little bluestem, and switch grass. They are very efficient at straining out the leaves from my neighbors trees before they reach my ponds.
Any chance you could create a tall grass buffer zone between a couple of your pines and the ponds to save a few trees? Personally, I love the look of trees around ponds - especially if the trees will behave and keep their litter away from the ponds!
