So, we bought our first home, finally settled in and its time to start planning for a pond! We have 3.3 acres and over 2 acres of it is wooded. I'd like between 1/2 to 3/4 acre pond, which means I'd probably want about an acre of woods removed. Now my question: Should I have someone clear the woods first, and then hire a pond builder? Or, try to find someone to do both at the same time? I forgot who it was, but I know someone on here had a pond dug in the woods and they were able to use the same contractor, and actually put a lot of the timber toward the cost of the pond, which is ideally what I'd like to do. Seems like it would be more expensive to have heavy equipment come out twice versus once. The good part is that the woods are in a sloped valley, which should cut down on a lot of costs for me (don't think I'll need any dirt hauled away).

This is in the Piedmont region of North Carolina near Winston-Salem, so if anyone can recommend a pond builder in that area, I'd definitely love all the help I can get.

Any advice would be appreciated!

"In the age of information, ignorance is a choice." - Donny Miller