Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Selecting a site WHY DO YOU OWN A POND? (forum members must vote)

1) Quality private fishery
2) To enhance land value
6) To attract wildlife for viewing and/or preservation
10) To study aquaculture
11) To study all of nature and/or biology
15) To provide non-powered water sports (ie; canoeing, rowing)
16) To provide escape, peace, and relaxation (therapeutic or otherwise)
20) A family or personal challenge of actually building it
21) A family or personal challenge to maintain a complex ecosystem
24) A fun place to gather with family and friends

All of the above! Ok, choosing one, I would go with 6) as I just love watching the wildlife near and in the water, it's peaceful and tranquil and leaves me in awe every time I'm out there.

Brettski - my #1 reason did not make the candidate list - our pond is our source of water for our home. Unless we qualify as livestock or the perhaps the fire-fighting angle. We live in the country - no city water. And unfortunately we are in an area where very few wells provide water of quality and volume - we drilled 2 wells before going the pond route.

16) To provide escape, peace, and relaxation (therapeutic or otherwise)
11) To study all of nature and/or biology
2) To enhance land value
6) To attract wildlife for viewing and/or preservation
1) Quality private fishery

Domestic water source should have been on the list; forgive us for missing it, as it is about as uncommon as it is important.

What county are you in?

My bad - after rereading the original request and many replies I see "other" was a common category choice that would have sufficed.
I am in Ashtabula County - extreme NE Ahia bordered by PA and Lake Erie.
I have two ponds - the first one was built after the wells went dry and is maybe 1/4 acre. Built in 1980. During dry weather it went down low enough to concern me so I wanted more - for water security. Figured I might as well try to make it a nature thing and of course have fish. You guys helped me tremendously. Thanks.

Hey all, I'm sorry it took me so long to vote. When this poll first started I didn't have a pond, and since I got one I've been super busy. Imagine that.

My Pond (I'll get Cindy to vote when hers is completed.

11) To study all of nature and/or biology
21) A family or personal challenge to maintain a complex ecosystem
16) To provide escape, peace, and relaxation (therapeutic or otherwise)
6) To attract wildlife for viewing and/or preservation
1) Quality private fishery

1) Quality private fishery
6) To attract wildlife for viewing and/or preservation
11) To study all of nature and/or biology
16) To provide escape, peace, and relaxation (therapeutic or otherwise)
22) To provide safe, fresh fish as food
24) A fun place to gather with family and friends

Other; wheelchair accessible water for my wife to fish and kayak
1) Quality private fishery
5) To attract wildlife for hunting
24) A fun place to gather with family and friends
15) To provide non-powered water sports (ie; canoeing, rowing)

My pond:
1) Quality private fishery
6) To attract wildlife for viewing and/or preservation
11) To study all of nature and/or biology
16) To provide escape, peace, and relaxation (therapeutic or otherwise)
21) A family or personal challenge to maintain a complex ecosystem
24) A fun place to gather with family and friends

I guess I'm overdue to re-calculate the tally. Many thanks to these last voters since the last run-off.
Please don't think any less of me as a precinct Captain; I'm from Chicago.

I must excercise my right to vote....

Pond #1 (About 4 acres?)
1) Quality private fishery
16) To provide escape, peace, and relaxation (therapeutic or otherwise)
5) To attract wildlife for hunting
6) To attract wildlife for viewing and/or preservation
24) A fun place to gather with family and friends

Pond #2 (About 1/3 acre?)
1) Quality private fishery
8) Grow-out pond (to raise young fish for transfer)(to pond #1!)
16) To provide escape, peace, and relaxation (therapeutic or otherwise)
5) To attract wildlife for hunting
6) To attract wildlife for viewing and/or preservation

I would have voted sooner, but since I just found this forum a few weeks ago, I have been reading a LOT of valuable information. I must say that I was not certain as to the depth of my ignorance about ponds.....It went pretty deep! The more I read here, the less ignorance I have...

-Dave

First post here.

Get to meet people at the conference. And shake there hands.

Otto

I'm with Dwight I vote yes as well.

my reasons are the same as davers

Good to get this going again.

Pond is less than 1/2 acre.

1) Quality private fishery
2) To enhance land value
6) To attract wildlife for viewing and/or preservation
16) To provide escape, peace, and relaxation (therapeutic or otherwise)

And, one prime reason that wasn't listed. It is the main ingredient in my geothermal heat pump. The highest utility bill so far for over 3000 sq ft home is $160 with the high this summer of $120.

1) Quality private fishery
16) To provide escape, peace, and relaxation (therapeutic or otherwise)
19) To create and enjoy the sounds of moving water (ie; waterfall)
22) To provide safe, fresh fish as food
24) A fun place to gather with family and friends

16) To provide escape, peace, and relaxation
1) Quality private fishery
24) A fun place to gather with family and friends
2) To enhance land value
3) Ornamental landscaping

1, 2, 4, 6, 9 and 15 are my top 6 reasons.

I built my pond for mainly for recreation, good fishing and attract wildlife, and there is no better place to cool off in those hot summer days than a pond. I also had an erosion problem in the area I built the pond.

1- Quality fishin
5- Attract wildlife
9- Swimming hole
18- Erosion Control
2- Enhance Land Value

I live on a subdivison lake, one of 6. When I purchased the property in 2000 it was for the following reasons.
4
9
15
16
19
When the water quality went south four years later my priorities and interests changed from enjoying the water, to realizing I loved the water. Now my interest is in improving the water, understanding lake ecosystems, evaluating the fishery and improving and managing it for the future, educating residents about Best Mgmt. Practices, changing policies and procedures to protect and preserve the lakes for the future, studying everything about water eco-systems. In short, I want to be a real Lake Steward and do something good in my life, when I look back years from now (if I am lucky) I can say I did something important that made a real difference. The friendships I make along the way with other like-minded people are a big bonus that I did not expect.
We own the bottom lands of our lake/pond, it was platted that way, but only on 1/2 of the lake. Sharing water frontage with others makes the management/practices more difficult than if it were a pond I owned or created myself.

Lynda, just a thought. You may be able to attract more fish to your area by installing an aerator to provide O2 and improve water quality in your vacinity. That is if you are looking for better fishing.

Thanks Bergmeister:
Now I know much more: the fishery has not been managed, some fish were stocked back in the mid-80's. The lake existed before the homes were built, it was a gravel pit. Shallow. Think about this: zero habitat, zero vegetation, like an aquariam with nothing in it. Pallet structures are out, swimming and diving, so we are going to have to create some safer lower type places, there are no docks, nothing in the bottom. Can't understand, no natural fish kill since I have lived there, wouldn't that mean there is enough D.O. in there?

Because I always wanted one!

2,3,6,16,24.