Danny, a few islands in your pond is a good idea. Some bird species like to hang around islands because there they are more isolated from predators. A few hills in my pond became islands recently when the water level dropped and about 600 black-bellied whistling ducks found safety on them for about a month. Surely was a pleasure to see.
Eric, I've read that pecan, being a tree of bottomlands, is more tolerant of wet conditions than many other hardwoods. This seems to be more true for seedling pecans than grafted trees. A few years ago I planted a few grafted varieties and managed to get a few pecans before the squirrels did. Knowing that my isolated trees could only cross-pollinate among themselves, I planted the pecans in a low area. we'll see how the trees develop as time goes by, and know about nut quality and quantity in ten or so years. Yep, yer right, but I'm an optimist and I'm betting that I get to taste those pecans.
I know what you mean about pond water not stopping at the pond bank. Last week I dug a hole to plant a citrus tree about thirty feet from the pond and when I reached the level of the pond water, there was water in the hole. I suppose that the permeability of the soil would govern the area that would be affected.
