Well, as noted in a previous post I did reach out to the new NRCS agent. Before doing so, though, my contractor had already done so as part of another project he was working on. He assured me that albeit being a very young guy, he was personable and knows his stuff. This is a summary of the NRCS posture on ponds in my area: If it is anything to do with a wetland, they are very interested in engineering and cost-share...if it is a pond, they will help with basic preliminary engineering, but that's about it. Their limited time and resources must remain focused on the better ROI eco-projects. All that being said, tho, he followed up by saying that they appreciate my plan to use the entire parcel to create an eco-friendly nature preserve and arranged a meeting on the property with a state wildlife biologist. The 3 of us walked the property yesterday and discussed any/all options available. I will try to condense everything that Bob the wildlife biologist shared, as follows.
We are working with a mostly heavily wooded habitat...comparatively, this is not attractive to wildlife. It is the short brush, weeds, bushes and grasses that create the best environment. We have a 2 ac corner that is meadow; this lifted their eyebrows and a plan for cost shared native grasses was hatched. Then the pond. He likes the water feature for the overall environment, but it is critical to have shallows that create wetlands, noting that a pond with edges that drop off deep are not eco-friendly. He also said that I will need shallow areas for BG spawn anyway (I already learned this from you PB guys and it is planned). He was very impressed to know that I planned wasting soil from the pond bottom around the perimeter to create a "shelf" that will allow walking and driving access. This shelf should also receive native grasses on a cost share program. He pointed out that a 20-30' wide buffer of native grasses will create far more bio-diversity than the remaining 36 acres of timber. He wants me to find areas along the perimeter with smaller timber that can be sacrificed and cleared back to create little pockets to extend the native grasses into. Even one pocket is a huge improvement. My NRCS agent chimed in by suggesting we continue the native grasses in the 3/4 ac area where we will waste soil behind the dam. I believe he indicated including the actual dam mass....? We then walked into the woods and shifted to timber improvement. From an eco-attitude, less trees and more ground cover. To be practical, we should select areas to remove 75% of the trees and plant ground cover. I have an area of about 1 ac that collects and holds about 6 ac of run-off that is adjacent to the pondsite. It is seasonally wet. It runs away from the pond...my plan is to cut thru a berm and channel it into the pond and drain the area. Based on recommendation, we will remove a bunch of the silver maples growing in this area, "daylight it", and plant deciduous bushes and shrubs to create another eco-zone that is directly adjacent to the pondsite. I hope to include this in the cost-share program.
The government program being utilized is called "wildlife habitat incentive program...W.H.I.P." Basically, they will provide the names of recommended groups to provide products and services. I call, arrange, and manage the project. The govt covers 75% of the cost. The state guy was so interested in making it happen that he mentioned that the state would throw in some additional $ help to the extent that it may cost me very little to execute. They indicated that my contract with the govt would be 5 years.
I am pumped on this one! I told them that I wanted to incorporate this entire project with the pond construction this summer. They are on-board. Bob the bio. thinks that the entire package is a super eco-improvement and should yield excellent wildlife diversity.
