I actually joined several years ago when I bought a property with a very old shallow pond that the previous owner had tried to drain years before. That attempt lowered it about 2 feet to muck level so it was really just a bog. I have since excavated about half the original area to make a 0.2 acre pond. Avg depth 4 ft. Max depth 10 ft. Top 2 feet excavated was black organic. The rest was grey glacial clay. It’s been full now for a couple years. The pond is filled from surface run-off from about 9 acres (3 fully wooded under my control) in a semi-rural area with lots of trees. There is a pretty heavily vegetated buffer all around the pond. No domestic animals. I am about to start a house construction within the drainage acreage.

My goal is to have a natural-as-possible woodland pond stocked with fish, fun for me and grandkids to catch, and an inviting environment for critters that make for good grandkid adventuring. No lawn. Just natural grasses and whatever else grows.

So now I’m trying to absorb as much technical information as I can before launching a management plan. I remember some water chemistry from my undergraduate days, but all lab based without the complexity of natural environments. I have a few questions related to water testing and suspended clay and nutrient control that I will be posting on appropriate forum sections. Looking forward to interacting with this community.