building a pond

[trapper1]

I'm in the process of buying about 50 ac. in NE Iowa, It appears to be a good sight for a pond and I was wondering if any one had any experience building one. Mostly looking for advice in how to get the state to help with the expense. The land is in CRP now. I have an appointment with the DNR but if someone else has an other angle I would appreciate any advise. Thanks.

[Try Too Fish]

I dont know for sure but i think NRCS would be the place to go first!They are the gov. agency incharge of farm crp crep and all the other programs to help.And if it is in crp you have to go through them,as they are in controll of the land via the crp contract!
good luck

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Try Too Fish
Forced Too Work!!

[doubleUcubed]

I'd agree with TTT on that contact. Once your in the process of actually building the pond please post with any questions you may have. I have experience with lagoons, liners and storage basin design and construction. Be glad to help any way I can.

[erikwells]

I have a friend who has a one acre pond that is about 15 feet deep. My friend put catfish,bluegills,rockbass and a few bass in his pond 5 years ago. My friend lives on acreage by the twin cities and found the lowest spot on his land where there was already a small natural slough. He had another friend use a backhoe and basically dug a larger deeper pond next to the slough. All the water runs off to this low area keeping his pond level up. My friend also cut a swath to a drainage ditch to allow runoff if the pond gets too high. My friend experience winter kill this year and had about 20-30 bluegills die off. The bluegills reproduce every year so a winterkill has been expected for a while. My friend does not aerate but does plow off the snow 1-2 times a winter to allow the sun to penetrate the ice to allow the weeds to grow. My friend says it's a lot of fun and the fish grow to sizes that you seldom see in the lakes around the Twin Cities; my friend has bluegills that are over a pound. Good luck.

[Guest]

Trapper1-
Do look into the Department of Ags. Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). I know they can find federal moneys to help you get habitat restoration work done, and they are also good about going thru with projects only if they meet your approval and management goals.

Another option would be the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. I'm not sure if there is a Wetland District near you, but they have an easement program. With that, the feds do all of the restoration work and all of the management work. You own the property and have complete control concerning access, but the catch is neither you nor anyone can ever alter the the portion you are having managed ever again.

A third option would be to look around for private organizations that do restoration work. The cost here might have to come largely out of your pocket, unless they have access to federal or state money (that I am not sure), but it might be a good option to consider to help keep the private guy in business.

Erikwells--- I'm not sure as to the legality of your friends self dug pond. Even though it is on his property and even used to be a lowland/wetland, it may still have been protected. There are some pretty strict wetland altering laws on the book. So anyone trying to dig their own pond should consult their local Soil and Water Conservation District to make sure the work is legal.

Hope that helps Trapper1

MJ

[LAUGER]

Remember, this is NE Iowa everything is legal there, I'm an ol' Cresco boy myself.
Leave your E-mail I may be able to give you some information.