Over the last year or so I've been working on an old family pond that was overcrowded with green sunfish. I drained it and killed off the sunfish then let it fill and stocked it with Channel Catfish.

The pond went unmanaged for about 20 years and the dam is basically covered with trees now. I cut all the trees smaller than 4 inches and left the rest. In the last few months I've noticed that several of the pine trees on the dam are dying. I don't know if it's a pine beetle infestation or if draining the pond had something to do with it, but I'm a little worried about the roots rotting out and the pond developing a leak. Is there anything I could be doing right now to combat this problem? Or should I just wait and see what happens?

The best thing to do is let nature take its course. You may never have a problem so if it isn’t broke don’t fix it. ----Mainly to fix it could be a complete working over of the dam. If there are a lot of trees it would be best to take all of them off the dam. By the time the trees are gone and the roots are removed most of the dam could be gone. It may need to be done sooner or later but later is better in this case.

Otto

Thanks Otto. I'll do as you say.